Page 37 of Fairy Cakes in Winter

“I’m fine.” And if I repeated it often enough, it would be true. I slouched against the sofa cushion and propped my feet on the coffee table. “Just busy with work.”

“Tsk, tsk. All work and no play make Scotty a very dull boy,” she singsonged.

“Guilty.”

“Have you been dating at all?”

I gave her a WTF look and countered, “Areyoudating anyone?”

My sister huffed. “Oh, God no. But I have terrible taste in men.”

“You do,” I agreed.

“Hey.”

“So do I.”

“No, you have terrible timing,” she joked.

I flipped her off but nodded. “You’re right. I do.”

Heather’s chuckle turned into a sigh. “I didn’t want to bring this up, but…I saw him.”

“Who?”

“Jack.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I scoffed.

“I get it. I just thought you might want to know.”

“You already told me he moved back to Seattle,” I reminded her.

“But this isn’t exactly a small town, and it was a little random to actually run into him.”

“You talked to him?”

“Mmhmm. I was dragging Darcy into the vet’s office and yelling at the guy at the door to hold it open for me, and…it was Jack.” She paused a beat, adding, “And his wife.”

“Oh.”

“His pregnant wife.”

Oh.

I squinted at the television in anticipation of a wave of something unpleasant washing over me and ripping open old wounds. Not so long ago, it had physically hurt to think about him. I mean, that was supposed to be us. Two dads, two kids, two dogs, a bakery. It had been a plan. A done deal.

Until it wasn’t.

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, and my sister’s crafty FaceTime call didn’t leave me with any wiggle room to feign total indifference. I tried anyway.

“That’s nice. I hope you congratulated them,” I replied nonchalantly.

“Yeah, I did. I’m a big girl. But…I aimed my happy gushes at his wife’s belly. He or she can’t help it that their daddy is a—”

“Let it go, Sis,” I advised with a weak laugh. “It’s been a long time.”

Seven years to be exact.