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Turning away from me, she looked out of the bathroom window and answered the call. “Hey, everything okay?”

There was a pause as she listened to her ex. My nerves grew by the second, my throat growing tight.

“Right. No, that’s okay. That’s not your fault.” She nodded along to his explanations.

My finger tapped against the skin of my forearm.

With a sigh, Sarah looked up at the painted, white ceiling. “I can be there in like twenty? Stop apologizing, Jay. It’s okay. Alright, bye.” She hung up the call and shoved the phone back into her pocket.

Crossing the room, she rested her head on my chest and let out a loud groan. “I have to go.”

I rubbed her arms. “That’s okay. Is everything alright?”

Sarah grumbled into my chest, “Yeah. Leila doesn’t feel good and is insisting she needs me.”

“Duty calls.” Looking down at her, I lifted her chin to look at me. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Are you sure?” She looked up at me, guilt all over her face.

Laughing, I nodded. “Of course. That’s more important. Besides, you’ve made all of us so prepared that we don’t even need you here.”

It wasn’t even a lie, the house was coming along smoothly. All we really needed was a little more artwork. But I had a plan for that.

“But I should be here.” Sarah bit the inside of her cheek.

Shaking my head, I started to guide her out of the bathroom. “Life doesn’t stop for work. Take care of your kids. And then I’d like to take care of you.”

She tilted her head, her brow furrowing as she tried to decipher my meaning.

“I want to take you out again. Someone needs to spoil you. Just let me know when a good time is for you and I’ll handle the rest.” I narrowed my eyes at her, daring Sarah to challenge me.

But instead, she sighed and nodded. “Okay. But it might be a week or so?”

Satisfied, we started walking to the staircase. “Absolutely, just say the word.”

We stopped at the landing at the top of the stairs. I didn’t want to hold her up, instead planting a kiss on her cheek and rubbing her soft arms.

“Thank you, Vic.” Sarah brought her lips to mine, our mouths clicking together before she took off down the stairs.

All I wanted was more time with her. But I knew how busy she was and I wasn’t going to stand in her way. Instead, I’d wait here for her – ready to take care of her whenever she was ready.

The house settled into the churn of the housework. Robin finished up the kitchen, installing the countertops and making sure the rest of the house was on track.

Checking my email, I realized just how many people had RSVP’d “yes” to the party. It was a big deal. Ever since Pop blew up, every event I hosted was like one big networking thing. I wanted it to be perfect.

But I had closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. I trusted Sarah and knew she wouldn’t let any of this go south.

34

SARAH

The two weeksbetween Leila’s gnarly cold and my date night with Vic flew by. I scrambled to get the last pieces of furniture delivered to the lake house, going over multiple times to make sure nothing got damaged.

The kids had finished up their week at Jason’s and were back at the house. I gave each of them a massive hug as I stood in the doorway. With all of the renovations going on, today was the only day I could make work to see Vic again.

As I held Ava in my arms, a wave of guilt washed over me.

Zoey, holding her lower back as her baby bump tried to pull her down to the ground, watched on. I could tell that she knew exactly what I was thinking.