Page 108 of Better Daddy

Cal: Balloon animals! Think about it. Fuzzy could be the model for it. A million giant cats floating through the air.

Lo: I’ve literally got chills.

Cal: It’s awesome, right?

Lo: No, baby. No, it is not.

Me: Could the two of you focus? I’m talking about a cocktail party. Brian won’t go out to meet women, so let’s bring thewomen to him.

Lo: Oh my god. She’s in love.

Cal: Who?

Lo: Sloane! She’s in love, and now she wants Brian to be in love too.

Me: You are so annoying.

Cal: Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with us. We won’t tell him.

Sully: I’m literally in this chat.

Snorting, I shake my head and smile down at the phone. Just the sight of Sully’s name on the screen makes me damn giddy. What is that?

Maybe it’s love. Because Lo is right. I’m in love with my husband.

I try to cover my face so no one walking by my office sees my dopey smile, but really, why should I hide it? So what if I’m happy? Isn’t that a good thing?

And I am. God, am I happy. The past month has been a fever dream. Despite my nerves surrounding the potential of ending up on bed rest, I wasn’t lying when I told Sully I knew we’d be okay. My doctor has been keeping a close eye on my labs and insisting I come in weekly, and I’m doing everything I can to keep my blood pressure down—including heading home at a normal hour, putting my feet up, and focusing on the good in my life and not the stressors—and Sully’s gone above and beyond to help with all of it.

Now that I’ve passed 34 weeks, I can breathe even easier. Going into labor soon wouldn’t be ideal, and the idea of her ending up in the NICU is scary, but I have faith that we’ll all be okay. Now if I can make it to nine months, that’d be stellar.

No matter when I deliver, we don’t need a baby shower. Our room is barely big enough for Sully and me, and besides a bassinet and changing table, the baby doesn’t need much for the first few months anyway. By the time she’s old enough to sleep in a crib, we’ll be back in New York City.

God, just the thought of moving back home with Sully, of returning to our home as a family of four, has my smile growing again.

Because I can see it. And I can see us being happy there.

Though I refuse to rush this time we have in Jersey. Surprisingly, I kind of enjoy it. I’ll even go so far as to say that I’ll miss it when we leave. Or maybe it’s just my friends that I’ll miss.

“What did baby daddy do now?” Julius asks as he saunters into my office, a wicked grin on his face.

I try to school my expression. “What are you talking about?”

He leans against my desk, studying me. “You’re all smiley. Why are you all smiley?”

I roll my eyes and tap at my keyboard, ignoring him. “What’s in your hand?” I point to the piece of paper he’s holding tight between his fingers.

“I’ll share mine if you share yours.” This level of excitement from him makes me suspicious. Maybe it’s dirt on Will. Maybe he’s fumbled a case. It would serve him right after the stunt he pulled two months ago.

In the end, the Simpson matter resolved in our favor. Apparently, he’d done the mediation statement long before he assigned it to me. While I used to tolerate him, now I see him for what he really is: a weasel.

I’ve stayed away from him since then, and fortunately, since I was assigned to the estates division, he’s stayed away as well.

I snatch the paper out of Julius’s hand while he’s distracted, still gloating, like he thinks he’s getting one over on me. As I read the court order, though, my eyes narrow. “I’ve been appointed by the court to represent a child,” I murmur.

It’s a domestic violence matter. One that’s arisen during a divorce. The child is developmentally disabled, so a special-needs trust will be required. That’s where I come in.

This isn’t how I typically find myself involved in these cases, so I’m immediately suspicious. “Where did this come from?”