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When the server left the table and after another sip of their drinks, Kelsey said, “Okay, Bella. It’s your turn.”

Isabella scoffed. “You called me Bella.”

Kelsey furrowed her brow. “Isn’t that your name?”

Isabella shrugged. “My name is Isabella.”

Kelsey sighed. “I barely heard your name on the bus. The traffic was kind of loud until we left the airport. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. You can call me Bella. I kind of like it.”

“Are you sure?”

Isabella nodded.

“I like your Southern accent,” Kelsey said with a smile. “Now, about your boys?”

“I’ve been divorced for two years. We alternate holidays. I had the boys last Christmas and it’s my ex-husband’s turn. I didn’t think it would be a big deal because we both live in Charlotte, but he decided to take them to New York to be with his family.”

“I’m sorry. That must be hard,” Kelsey said compassionately.

“I started to work over the holidays, but decided getting out of town would keep me from bringing my friends down. Can you imagine how awful it would be to spend Christmas with my friends and their kids? Anyway, I can work from anywhere, so here I am.”

“So we’re both single moms spending Christmas without our kids,” Kelsey said with a frown.

“Yep. Hey wait, what about your girls’ father?”

Kelsey raised her eyebrows and noticed their server coming towards their table. “That’s a whole other story.”

Isabella tilted her head and furrowed her brow.

Their server set the large platter of food in the middle of the table and gave them each a plate. Another server was right behind him with their second round of drinks. Once they had everything on the table and the servers were gone, Isabella raised her eyebrows.

“I’m all ears.”

3

Kelsey smiled and put an oyster, a shrimp, and a piece of fish on her plate. “Well, when I first got out of college I worked at a fertility clinic. I hadn't had much luck in the love game and I wanted to have kids.” She paused, picked up the oyster in the shell, added a few drops of hot sauce, and slid it into her mouth.

“Good?”

“Mmm.” Kelsey nodded and widened her eyes. “Do you like them?”

“I do,” Isabella said, then ate the oyster on her plate. “So?”

“So, I decided not to wait to find the right partner and went through IVF. When Dana was a little over a year old, I used the same donor and was able to get pregnant again. I had Emma and became a single mom of two.”

Kelsey looked over and saw Isabella staring at her.

“You are so brave,” Isabella finally said.

Kelsey shrugged. “I had help. My brother and his family live nearby, so the girls have grown up with their cousins. My mom and dad also helped.”

“Still, you were so young. God, when I was twenty-four there was no way I could’ve had a kid,” Isabella said.

“Parenthood is different for everyone,” Kelsey said. “Hey, what’s this?”

“What?”