He looked good tonight, all dressed up for the engagement party. Normally Sharon saw him dressed either casually or in his leathers for the club. Tonight he was wearing what she had a feeling would be standard for the rest of the men as well - dress slacks and a button-down shirt. The forest green of his shirt set off the caramel brown of his skin and picked up flecks of green that usually weren’t noticeable in his dark eyes. Kate had opted for a similar look, although she’d gone with a soft blue sweater instead of a button-down.

She’d said it was too freaking cold for dresses and she was right - but that hadn’t stopped Sharon from putting on her favorite red sweater dress to go with her black tights. It was sexy without being scandalous and it made her feel more confident. Red was totally a power color.

Of course, right now they were all bundled up in their coats, but that would only be true until they got inside.

The door opened almost as soon as Andrew rang the bell to reveal a very pretty woman with a wide smile on her face. She had plenty of laugh lines around her bright blue eyes – no need to guess where Jake and Lexie had inherited their own baby blues from – but unlike her children’s black locks, her hair was a light brown liberally streaked with blonde highlights. Although it was dyed, Sharon figured they must have gotten their darker hair color from their father, because the lighter colors suited Mrs. Standish too well not to be close to her natural color. Like her daughter she was petite and quite thin, and looked very pixie-ish.

“Andrew!” she said, sounding delighted. “Come in, dear, come in.” Her eyes flicked back to Kate’s face as she hugged him and shooed him through the door. “And Kate – Lexie said you go by Kate now, correct?”

“Yes Mrs. Standish. It’s so good to see you again,” Kate said as she stepped inside, half turning to gesture at Sharon before giving the older woman a hug as well. “And this is my best friend Sharon, whom I don’t think you’ve met.”

“Hello,” Sharon said, pasting a smile on her face as her heart thudded inside of her chest. Please like me... or at least don’t hate me... She made herself step forward, holding out her hand to shake.

To her shock, Mrs. Standish took it and pulled Sharon in for a hug too. Sharon automatically returned it, since she was a pretty tactile person herself, even as she blinked in stunned astonishment. Parents hugging her, especially right off the bat, was not someone in her wheelhouse.