“What’s wrong?” Jade looked up from her laptop. They were in Seb’s office, and she was working at a small table in the corner of the room. It was amazing how much room there was in here now that he’d organized, archived, and yes, just plain pitched a bunch of stuff. Although Jade was nowThe Clementine Timesoffi-cial accountant, fully allowing Flora to retire, she was the one who suggested they share an office. He was more than happy to oblige.
He rubbed his temples. “Writer’s block.”
“For Seb’s View Part Deux?” She frowned. “You never have trouble writing that.”
“I do today.” He fiddled with his gold wedding band. “It’s hard to say goodbye.”
“Ah.” She got up and went to him, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Then it’s to be expected.” She nibbled on his ear, sending a shiver straight down his spine. “Is this helping?”
Seb grinned and spun around in his chair without a squeak, thanks to regular maintenance with WD-40. He grabbed her around the waist. “Doesn’t hurt.”
Jade leaned forward and kissed him, and he was ready to pack up not only the column but also the rest of the day and take her back to the house. The column could wait—
“Ahem.”
They both groaned and Seb looked over his shoulder, half expecting Evelyn Margot to be there, then remembered she was still on her honeymoon with Haskell in Branson. Instead, it was Kalista.
“This is a no PDA zone, Mr. H.”
“I’m the boss.” He set Jade aside, reluctantly. “I can do what I want.”
“Oh good, does that mean Tyler and I—”
“Can’tdo what you want.”
Jade chuckled and went back to her table while Kalista flounced in, a little disappointed scowl on her face. “I wanted you to look at the advertising mockup before I took it to Cletus downstairs.”
Seb eyed the thumb drive she was handing him. “Okay,” he said, putting it next to his computer. “I’ll go over it.”
“Thanks! You both still coming over for supper on Sunday? I’m making biscuits from scratch. Mr. Clyde gave me the recipe.”
“I thought that was a family secret,” he said.
“I can be very persuasive. See you later. Bye, Jade.”
He shook his head and picked up the thumb drive. Looking over this was a formality. Evelyn Margot had trained Kalista well, and she did have a gift for design—a lot more than Seb did. He was inserting the drive into the computer when Jade’s phone rang.
She answered it. “Yes,” she said. “Oh. What? Really?”
Seb looked up, seeing Jade’s stunned expression. Was it Lydia? She was over a year out from her transplant and was doing well. Maybe it was Logan and Tameka—they’d been getting serious over the past several months.
“Okay. Thanks. Bye.” Jade closed the phone and set it down on the table. Behind her on the shelf was Polly. Jade had insisted on adding her to the decor, and Seb was happy to oblige.
Uh-oh. It wasn’t engagement news. He went over to her. “What’s wrong?”
She blinked and looked up at him, then slowly got up from her chair. “That was Mrs. Roberts.”
He took Jade’s hand. Libby Roberts was the social worker that had been working with them. “And?”
Jade’s eyes teared. “We’re officially foster parents.”
He couldn’t believe it. Shortly before he proposed last September, they’d discussed having a family. Jade was adamant about fostering a child, and Seb was open to it. If they were blessed to have a biological child, that would be great, but fostering and adopting took precedence.
He scooped her into his arms. “I’m so happy,” he said, kissing her. Then he stilled. “I’m so terrified.”
“Me too. I don’t know anything about being a mom.”
“Logan would beg to differ.” He smiled and held her close again. “We’ll figure it out, together.”
