Wait for the Rain Read Online Free

perched on top of her head, then stood up and held her arms open wide. “Now get over here and embrace me.”
    Her nerves fluttering even more than she expected them to, Daphne let go of her suitcase and hugged her friend, suddenly feeling like she might cry. She hadn’t realized until right then how much she’d missed having Skylar in her daily life, how much she missed being able to share her deepest secrets—no matter how silly or foolish—with a friend who never made her feel silly or foolish.
    Please still like me, she thought.
    Not appearing to notice the conflicting emotions coursing through Daphne’s psyche, Skylar returned her hug with affection and topped it off with a kiss on the cheek.
    “It’s really good to see you,” Skylar said as they released each other. “I can’t believe it’s been ten years. We have so much to catch up on, I don’t know how we’re going to fit it all into just a few days.”
    “I know. It’s hard to believe Chicago was that long ago already,” Daphne said. She felt her heart beating faster than it should be and willed it to slow down. Relax. You can do this. She’s your friend.
    “Can you believe we’re forty?” Skylar said, her green eyes expertly framed by black mascara. “I’d like to think we haven’t aged a day since our last trip together, but we both know I’d be lying.”
    Daphne smiled, grateful to see that Skylar’s straightforwardness hadn’t diminished. For an instant she thought about mentioning the eye cream on her bathroom counter but decided not to. Skylar looked older than when Daphne had last seen her, but she wasn’t any less pretty, at least in Daphne’s opinion. She did, however, look more confident. It was clear she was a woman who knew what she wanted—and usually got it. Why can’t I be like that? I used to be like that.
    Daphne clenched her hands into fists. Stop it. You’re here to have fun, don’t ruin this for yourself.
    She looked at Skylar’s head. “I’ve never seen your hair so straight and shiny. It’s like a shampoo commercial.” Daphne knew the comment was a bit shallow for the circumstances, but she couldn’t help herself. She didn’t want Skylar to know she was mentally walking on eggshells, so she overcompensated.
    Skylar smoothed a hand over her auburn locks. “That’s because I ironed it this morning. Just watch, in this humidity it’ll be a jungle in no time. I’ve decided that my new goal in life is to make enough money to have a stylist travel with me to blow out my hair every day.”
    Daphne laughed. “ That’s your life goal?”
    Skylar shrugged. “Among others. I like to keep things interesting. How was your flight?”
    “Uneventful, which is just the way you want a flight to be, I suppose. I slept most of the first leg. How about yours?”
    Skylar rolled her eyes. “Ugh, a nightmare. I was in London last week and was supposed to fly here directly from there, but then at the last minute I had to go to Paris for a conference, then back to New York for another two days of meetings. I’m exhausted. You have no idea how much I need this vacation.”
    Daphne remembered that Carol had made a similar comment on the ride to the airport, how in her eyes Daphne’s life was hectic. What would she think of Skylar’s schedule? Ferrying around a teenager and working a few hours a week at a flower store seemed utterly mundane in comparison to the professional canvas Skylar was painting.
    Skylar resumed her seat on the barstool and patted the empty one next to her. “So enough chitchat. How are you doing? I haven’t seen you in the flesh since you and Brian split up.”
    Daphne sat down too. “I’m doing great, just really busy. You know how it is, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to fit everything in.” She spoke faster than she normally did, but in spite of that she was surprised at how nonchalant she sounded. When she and Skylar had been roommates, she’d never been able to hide her