Page 20

Unknown

Paige is on the warpath, watch out

Who is this?

Julien

how did you get my number?

Adam

Of course. Did she talk to you today?

she tortured me

did you crack?

Never

good to know

Three small dots appear at the bottom of the screen, disappearing and then reappearing again. But no text comes through. I’m consumed by my phone for longer than I’d like to admit, but it stays silent. He has to know this is just as frustrating digitally as it is in person. Goes to say something and then doesn’t. Frustrating man.

I make my way to daycare to pick up Levi, snuggling him to me as soon as I sign him out.

“Mama, mama, woo,” he says.

“Yes, little wolf?”

“Mamamamama.”

I sigh but smile and cheer for the words he gives me. I talk to him about my day, since studies show the more you talk to a child, the more they can understand.

Being exposed to adult speech has a positive influence on their vocabulary and social skills.

When we get home, my door is already unlocked. This can only mean one of three things: I’m being robbed. Paige is here to rip me a new one. Or Maggie and Thomas are here to steal Levi from me.

Sure enough, when I walk in, Maggie bounces over to me, scooping Levi from my arms.

“Hello, little man!”

“Woo,” he says to her. Maggie beams before turning to me, raising a brow .

“ Loup . It’s French for wolf.”

When she gives me a questioning look, I shake my head and tell her it’s from a friend and leave it at that.

“Well, you’ve got the night off. We’re claiming time with our grandson,” Maggie says. I know exactly what that means. Paige called her and told her I needed babysitting.

“I guess I’m going over to Paige and Adam’s,” I say with a sigh.

“Yes, I think she’s expecting you.”

After a big hug and kiss to Levi and a meaningful nod from Thomas that I cannot, for the life of me, decipher, I’m out the door again and headed to my sister’s house in the country.

They have a beautiful house on the water, a modern cottage with black-framed window walls and high-peaked roofs. The wraparound porch Adam built still smells of fresh-cut wood as I walk up the steps to the front door. Paige wanted to paint it bright blue. I think she was joking, but Adam talked her out of it.

I let myself in, knowing she’s expecting me.

But when I enter the house and look around their open floor plan, I don’t see her. Maybe she’s in the bathroom. Something catches my eye as I head to the kitchen for a glass of wine.

Outside the giant back wall of windows that faces the bay, Adam and Paige sit on the edge of the deck he never fixed after building it with his siblings. She’s on the step below him, his long arms draped over her, wrapping her in his embrace.

Their dogs run around the backyard, chasing each other. I watch as he places a kiss on the top of her head, and she turns to gaze at him. There’s so much love in her eyes I have to look away.

Ninety percent happy for her, I remind myself.

Has anyone ever looked at me that way? I don’t think so. Even Ian, who I was supposed to marry, never looked at me that way.

I turn my back, giving them some privacy, and pour a glass of wine while I wait.

Sure enough, the back door opens and when I turn around, they walk in hand in hand, giggling to each other as Q and Penny race into the house. The pups come and say hello before collapsing on their beds, tired and happy.

Eighty-five percent happy.

I’m only human, and my heart lurches. I want what they have so badly, but between my work and Levi, there hasn’t been much time for dating.

Adam notices me first, his smile shifting from lovesick puppy to genuine happiness at seeing me. He lets go of Paige’s hands and comes to hug me. I really love Adam. He’s the best brother I could’ve ever asked for.

Okay, maybe I’m back up to ninety percent.

“It’s not as bad as she’ll make it out to be,” he whispers before he pulls away, smiling at me knowingly.

I used to be the person who knew Paige best in the entire world, but now I’m not so sure. Paige and Adam get each other in a way I don’t quite understand. If it were anyone but Adam, I’d be jealous.

More than the ten percent I already am.

I nod, appreciating the warning. He turns to cup Paige’s face in his hands and places a soft kiss on her lips. She’s a little disoriented as he pulls away, watching him walk up the stairs .

But when she turns back to me, there’s fire in her brown eyes.

“Wine?” I offer. She nods and takes the glass from me. I hold in my instinct to say something snarky and pour myself another.

“Outside or inside?” she asks.

“Inside, are you crazy? It’s so cold out there.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” she says thoughtfully.

Yeah, that’s because she was all wrapped up in Adam, his heat keeping her warm.

“I spoke to Julien,” she says as soon as our butts hit the couch. I sink into the plush cushions.

“I know.” It was the wrong thing to say. Her brow pinches.

“He told you?”

“He told me you tortured him.”

For a moment, a smug smile appears on her face like she’s remembering her tactics.

“It was a shock to see him with you, Lee. What else was I supposed to do?”

There’s a beat of silence between us. I swear I physically feel the space widening as we get further apart. I hate it.

“I’m sorry, Paige. I was trying to keep this a happy surprise,” I assure her.

She studies my face.

“There’s more to it than that.”

Her accusation is a knife to my heart. I want to deny it, but there’s no way she won’t see right through me, even with the distance between us.

I take a deep breath. I can tell her half of it. “I knew if I told you, you would go all ‘Paige’ on my ass and take over the whole thing, giving me training plans and advice and everything you could do to help me.”

She tosses her hands up in exasperation. “And that’s a bad thing? Of course I’d want to help!”

“I didn’t want to need your help,” I say quietly.

“This again? Leah, you can ask for help.” It’s not often she sounds so annoyed with me. Usually, it’s the other way around.

I think about Julien, who I never asked to help me, but there he is every day. Knowing I needed help without me asking. Paige would’ve done the same thing, but she would’ve done it in her Paige way.

Overboard and all in. She’s the “jump into the water from the deep end” sister, while I’m the “dip my toe and slowly walk in, ideally on a ramp so it’s gradual” sister.

“So, we’re doing a race for our big weekend?” she asks.

I nod. “It was Julien’s idea. I got outvoted.”

She snorts. “I bet you hated that. What race are we doing?”

“It’s a half marathon, but if it’s okay with you, I’d still like to keep the location a surprise.”

Her eyes narrow no more than a fraction but I notice. She hates surprises. It’s why I warned her ahead of time about the engagement party. She slowly nods, her gaze flicking to where Adam disappeared. She knows he loves them.

“So you’re going to do a half marathon?” she asks, walking on eggshells .

I slump back against the cushions, careful not to spill my wine as I take a sip. The flavour explodes on my tongue, the fruity blend smooth and rich.

“Don’t I kind of have to?” I scan her face, searching for confirmation she wants me to do this. She’s been trying to get me running for years.

“I would never expect that of you. I doubt Iz is doing it.” She keeps her face carefully blank.

I laugh. “No, Isabel said she’s definitely not, but she’s happy cheering everyone on.”

“You could do that too, you know.”

And there it is—the small flicker of hope flashing in her eyes. She’s trying not to push what she wants on me, but it’s there.

“I know I could. But I want to do it.”

“Liar,” she accuses.

Some of the bite in her tone is gone. Does she know I’m doing it solely for her?

But that’s not entirely true. Not anymore. When I think about it, I look forward to my morning runs. Julien berated me one day for calling them “imposter runs” because we do more walking than running, but we’re getting there. It may have started with me only doing it for Paige, but I’m getting something out of it for me too.

I never thought I’d consider running a part of my life outside my spectator and crew role for Paige.

“So, Julien ...” she starts, but the front door swings open and in barges Isabel, always in a whirlwind. For a woman who refuses to run, she sure tends to move at an accelerated pace.