In contrast, Lia looked like she’d just come from the salon, her high ponytail swinging back and forth and her makeup still perfectly in place.

Lia stretched a hamstring, and it was impossible not to marvel at how tiny she was. Her thighs were the size of Sarah’s calves. Her expensive matching running outfit hugged her size zero body, as if it had been painted on. And Sarah hadn’t even realized women could have such defined abs.

“I really want everything to be perfect. The desserts will need to include some vegan and sugar-free options. Mal and I are climbing Mount Kenya in January and we’re in training.” She reached behind her to stretch one hamstring, then the other one.

Sarah was still trying to get air into her lungs.

“Wow. Mount Kenya. That’s ambitious,” Jessica said.

“No. They have a full…very detailed training schedule. Lia explained it all to me last night,” Sarah said, giving up pretenses and slumping onto a stool in front of the counter. Otherwise, she thought her legs might give out from beneath her anyway.

“Preparation and planning are the keys to success when taking on challenges,” Lia said as though repeating something she’d read on a Facebook meme. “We climbed Everest on our honeymoon.”

Didn’t most couples lounge on a beach somewhere sipping cocktails and making love in the afternoon? That was the way Sarah planned on spending hers if she ever got married. An image of Wes’s bare torso flashed in her mind, and she forced it away.

“Seriously? You went rock climbing on your honeymoon?” Jessica asked as a timer sounded in the kitchen and the smell of cinnamon rolls made Sarah’s mouth water.

“Yeah. Didn’t you see the pictures I posted on Facebook?” Lia finished stretching and yanked her dark hair free of her ponytail, shaking it loose around her thin, muscular shoulders. Not even so much as a ripple appeared in the dark locks from the elastic band.

If Sarah took her hair out of her ponytail holder right now, she’d have a huge lump in the back of her head all day.

“No, sorry, no Facebook account,” Jessica said.

Jessica preferred face-to-face connections. She always insisted on FaceTime phone calls and said texting couldn’t replace an actual conversation with a friend, while social media seemed to be an addiction for most. She’d survived this long without having an online presence besides her bakery website, and Sarah had given up trying to convert her friend.

Obviously Lia thought Jessica was a bit too out there. “How is that possible?”

“Jess is one of those weirdos who doesn’t need constant validation,” Sarah said, shrugging. “I know, bizarre, right?”