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Quinton exhaled sharply. His expression softened, and his shoulders dropped.

“Okay. You’re right. I’m sorry, but all of this is new to me.

There’s no handbook for husbands on what to do when the wife you thought was dead for fifteen years comes back after you’ve fallen in love with and married her sister. ”

“Really? Because there’s not one for sisters who thought their sister was dead for fifteen years and came back after you’ve married her ex-husband either.

” Leah added extra emphasis on ex since Quinton seemed to keep forgetting that Nova wasn’t his wife, and if she was, then that made him a bigamist. But he wasn’t, because Nova was declared dead, and their marriage ended with that declaration.

“Okay, look. I may not have responded the right way, and again, I’m sorry, but ...”

“Why is there always a but? Why can’t you apologize and be done with it.”

“Because it’s not as simple as that. What I was trying to say is that you have to give me some grace here.”

“That’s the thing, though. You shouldn’t need grace—not for that.

Coming to my defense and making sure I’m okay above everyone else should be automatic for you.

It shouldn’t have to be something you have to think about or remember to do.

” Leah opened her door, then looked back at Quinton, feeling more isolated than she’d ever felt before.

“Where are you going?” Quinton reached for her. His brows furrowed, and his eyes showed a hint of panic. “We can’t leave things like this.”

“I have a client. I have to get ready for work.”

Leah was surprised to hear movement in the kitchen. Most mornings Leah or Quinton had to drag Skye out the bed.

“Is Skye cooking?” Quinton asked.

The answer came as soon as they walked in and saw the table set with eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice.

“Good morning,” Skye sang. “Sit. I made breakfast.”

Leah and Quinton exchanged glances. Of course, Skye was up to something. She never cooked breakfast or anything else.

“What do you want?” Quinton asked, taking a seat at the table.

“Okay, since I don’t have a lot of time, I’ll make it quick. Friday night after the game, some of my teammates are getting together to hang out at the lake. I want to go,” Skye said, clasping her hands together and rocking back and forth.

“Absolutely not,” Quinton said without giving her request any thought. “You think I don’t know what goes on at the lake at night?”

“Kids hanging out,” Skye said innocently.

“Yeah . . . okay.” Quinton laughed.

“Dad, I’m serious. We’re going to hang out. That’s it.”

“And I’m serious too. Maybe they’re going to hang out, but you’re not.”

Skye narrowed her eyes and glared at Quinton. It was a look Leah had never seen from her before, and she was nervous. What was happening?

“You know, my mom was right. She said that I should be allowed to do what I want, and no one should be able to tell me what to do with my body,” Skye said.

Leah and Quinton exchanged a look that conveyed much more than confusion—it was a silent conversation where they were both asking what in the hell was Skye talking about?

And bigger than that, why in the hell was Nova giving her that kind of advice?

Not that it was entirely wrong, but it didn’t apply to them.

Did Nova clarify that, or was she just throwing out incomplete advice?

“I know that this has nothing to do with my body, but the point is that I’m glad I have a parent who trusts me and understands that I’m not a baby anymore.” Skye yanked her book sack off the counter and stormed out of the kitchen.

Quinton sat in stunned silence. Skye’s behavior seemed as shocking to him as it had been to Leah.

There was one thing Leah wished she’d said before Skye left, though.

She wished she’d told Skye that Nova wasn’t the only person fighting for her to have a little more freedom.

Leah had been fighting for years for Quinton to give in a little, but he wouldn’t budge.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Skye. It was all the other people he didn’t trust. He felt that he’d failed Nova, and unfortunately, Skye was paying the price for that.

One thing Leah learned that morning was that exercising didn’t always make you feel better—not when you were doing it with a partner who somehow forgot that you were on the same team.

Leah looked up from her computer when someone knocked on her office door.

“Come in.” She put on her brightest smile and stood, expecting her temporary assistant, Tanja, who was filling in for Leah’s real assistant who was still out on maternity leave, to walk in with her first appointment.

They were a new couple, and Leah had been excited when they contacted her last month.

“Ms. Lefleur, the Smiths called, and they’re running a little behind,” Tanja announced.

Leah sat, confused as to why she didn’t call with that information instead. “Thank you, Tanja.”

“But”—Tanja’s face lit up as she made her way closer to Leah—“Lance is here to see you. He said it’ll only take a few minutes.”

“Lance Dupre?” Leah questioned.

“Yes, the football player.” Tanja’s eyes were almost wider than her smile.

“Okay. Please send Mr. Dupre in,” Leah said, correcting Tanja’s informal use of Lance’s name.

Tanja glanced toward the door, then back at Leah. “Would it be okay if I asked Mr. Dupre for an autograph for my son?” she whispered.

“How about I get one for you?” Leah suggested.

She knew Lance wouldn’t mind, especially when it came to children, but Leah was curious about his unannounced visit and didn’t want to waste any more time before she found out.

Tanja nodded before sashaying to the door and ushering Lance inside.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Leah said to Lance. To Tanja she said, “Thank you, that’ll be all.”

Tanja closed the door behind her.

“I’m sorry to drop in like this,” Lance said. “I finished my appointment with my new therapist, and you were right. I can tell that Dr. Brown is going to be a great fit for me. He was easy to talk to. Like you were,” Lance said.

“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” Leah leaned against her desk.

“But that’s not why I’m here.”

Leah was hoping his visit would be quick.

With so much attention on Nova these days, she didn’t know who was watching them.

Then her mind went to the magazine. She thought about what Quinton had said.

They didn’t know who was sharing information about them.

It could’ve been someone they didn’t even know, as far as Leah knew.

It wasn’t like they’d shared anything personal.

Leah assumed the family hurt the “family friend” was referring to was Leah and Quinton’s marriage.

It wouldn’t have taken an inside source to assume that Nova may have been hurt once she was informed.

“So why are you here?” Leah asked once she realized she hadn’t responded.

“I figured since you’re no longer my therapist, and I was in the area, then it would be okay for me to stop by and check on you. Nova told me what happened.”

Leah leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. “I’m fine.”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “Yeah, you look like you’re fine. Come on, Leah, I see the pain written all over your face.”

“What you see all over my face is Fenty number three ninety.”

Lance narrowed his eyes. “I have no idea what that means, but I saw how hurt you looked when I mentioned Nova’s name. The two of you were closer than any siblings I’d ever met. I know you can’t be okay.”

Leah desperately wanted to talk with someone about everything that was going on in her life, but that someone couldn’t be Lance.

Not only because she already had enough guilt from sneaking around and working with him all those months but also because Lance was Nova’s friend.

His reaction to Leah’s story would be even worse than Quinton’s.

Leah needed someone who would side with her, whether she was wrong or not.

Who she needed was Harper. Her best friend would give Leah all the outrage Leah needed, but Harper was busy with her vlog and her family.

Leah didn’t want to dump all her issues on her, even though Harper would insist.

“I don’t know what you think you saw in my eyes,” Leah said, “but I promise you that I’m fine.

It’s not like I wasn’t expecting this to happen.

I knew Nova was going to be upset. I also know that after she’s had some time, she’ll come around.

” Leah stood. “And when she does, we’ll talk, and all of this will be a thing of the past.”

Lance stood too. “I believe that as well.”

That made one of them because Leah didn’t believe a word she’d said.

All she needed was for him to leave so she could go on with her day.

She liked Lance, but she didn’t like the feeling she got whenever she was around him.

She wasn’t doing anything wrong, though.

She was simply doing her job and shouldn’t have felt bad about that, but she did.

“Oh, before you go.” The magazine article popped into Leah’s mind. “Did you, by any chance, say anything to anyone about Nova?”

Lance furrowed his brows. “You’ll have to be more specific. The whole town of Bayou is talking about Nova. You know that.”

“I know. I mean.” Leah paused. “One second.” She walked around to her desk and pulled the magazine from her bottom drawer. She gave it to Lance, then explained the quote from the family friend.

Lance was quiet as he read the part that Leah had pointed out. He lifted his eyes to her. “You think I’m the family friend?”

“I didn’t know, but I had to ask.”

Lance gave her the magazine back. “Well, I can assure you that I never said this to anyone. And you know there’s no way I’d ever talk to a reporter about anything. After the way they dragged my name through the mud.” He shook his head.

“I know. I’m sorry if I offended you, but ...”

“No, I understand. I don’t know who said it, but it sounds like a family friend that you all may want to distance yourselves from,” he warned.

“I agree.”

“Take care.” Lance touched her arm. “And thanks for everything.”

“Don’t mention it.” Leah smiled, but she meant it literally.

“I see what you did there.” Lance wagged his finger at her.

They were both laughing when Leah opened the door to let him out.

“Oh, I completely forgot.” Leah looked at Lance. “Would you mind signing your autograph for Ms. Peterson’s son?” Leah asked, pointing to Tanja, who was standing behind her desk, still beaming.

Tanja gave Lance a sheet of paper to sign while looking over at Leah. “Ms. Lefleur, these are for you.” Tanja lifted a beautiful glass vase filled with sunflowers.

Leah loved sunflowers, and there was only one person who knew that. Her heart expanded with the love she felt for Quinton. Yes, her husband had his faults, as did she, but he was an amazing man who loved her so much. She needed that reminder today.

“That man,” she smiled, lifting the flowers to her nose to smell.

“Your husband dropped them off. You just missed him. I told him you were meeting with Lan—I mean, Mr. Dupre, and you wouldn’t be long, but he didn’t want to wait.”

Leah froze. Her gaze flicked between the bright sunflowers and Tanja’s oblivious smile. A knot tightened in her stomach, and she struggled to keep the flowers steady in her shaky hands. “You told him what?” Leah asked, keeping her voice as calm as possible.

Tanja’s smile melted. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Yes. You did,” Leah said, working hard to keep her tone even. “You don’t ever share information about who I’m meeting with to anyone. There’s a such thing as client privacy, you know?”

Tanja smiled nervously. “I know, but I thought since he wasn’t a client, then ...”

Leah held up her hand. “It doesn’t matter who it is. Client or otherwise,” Leah snapped.

“I’m ... I’m sorry.” Water pooled in Tanja’s eyes.

Leah was furious, but Tanja didn’t do it on purpose. “It’s fine. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Here you go.” Lance handed Tanja the paper he’d been holding. “Are you good?” He looked at Leah.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll see you soon.” She left them both standing there while she retreated to the safety of her office. Leah closed the door behind her and leaned against it for some much-needed support. She took deep breaths and tried to calm the storm that started brewing inside her.

As she placed the flowers on her desk, she told herself not to overreact.

Besides, Quinton may not be upset. Her situation with Lance was nothing like Nova’s.

Leah wasn’t hiding her meetings with Lance because of personal reasons .

.. only. She had legal reasons too. However, Lance wasn’t there as a client, so that reasoning didn’t apply to today’s meeting.

But Quinton knew that Lance was a big supporter of mental health.

He always served on some board or donated to some foundation.

He even started his own foundation a few years ago.

After Leah talked herself off the edge, she picked up her phone to call Quinton.

He didn’t answer. He had to be driving. Even though he didn’t like talking and driving, he still did it.

She was about to call again when her intercom buzzed.

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith have arrived,” Tanja announced, sounding a lot more somber than she had earlier.

Leah didn’t have time to focus on Tanja’s hurt feelings. She only had the energy to fix one problem at a time, and at the moment, her marriage ranked above Tanja’s emotions.

“Send them in,” Leah said, once again pushing her problems aside to focus on her clients.

Surprisingly, Leah was able to focus long enough to get through their entire session without her mind wandering off.

The Smiths were the first couple she’d counseled who didn’t have a traditional marriage.

Leah’s interest as they talked about their other partners was enough to keep her engaged.

There was no way she could imagine sharing Quinton with anyone.

When it came to her husband, she was selfish and wanted him all to herself.

Once the Smiths left, Leah dialed Quinton again. No answer. She didn’t have any more clients, so she called Harper and did the one thing she said she wouldn’t do ... unload all her problems on her friend.