That sounded scary. But if it would get him to talk to her again, she was willing to do almost anything. She didn’t expect him to like her. That was an impossibility. But it would be nice if he stopped ignoring her. “Okay.”
She grinned. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”
* * *
“That’s wonderful news, Logan.” Jade tucked her Razr in the crook of her neck as she pushed the elevator button on the bottom floor of the Harrington Media building. When she returned to Atlanta a little over a week ago, she’d gotten a new briefcase with a flawless latch—she’d tested it several times at the store to make sure. She put her cell back to her ear. “Any news on the transplant?”
“No,” he said. “But the doctors are more optimistic about her prognosis now that she’s not retaining as much fluid anymore. They’re surprised too. They’d been so sure she wasn’t going to make it.”
A chill went through her. “What changed?”
“I think it was you, Jade. Those three days you spent with her perked her up. Like she had something to live for again.”
Jade doubted that, but Logan sounded convinced. The elevator door opened. “I’ll check back later today,” she said. “Gotta run, I’ve got an appointment first thing this morning.”
“Good luck. Love you, sis.”
“Love you too.” She hopped on the empty elevator and hit the button, then leaned against the wall, relieved. During her stay inLittle Rock, she’d spent hours with Lydia, and they’d gotten to know each other again. Jade found out things about her mother’s childhood that mirrored her own. Lydia had repeated the patterns, and she was thankful Jade had broken them.
On her last day, the doctors said she was well enough to be released. She did look a lot better—definitely less swollen. Jade wasn’t sure about her staying in her apartment alone, but Logan had asked for early release from the halfway house, and because of his stellar recovery, it was granted. He moved in with Lydia, and Jade couldn’t thank him enough. Since her return to Atlanta, she called them both every day, sometimes more than once.
She smiled. They were family.Herfamily.
The doors opened and she hustled to her cubicle. She wasn’t used to taking time off, and because it had been unexpected, work had backed up. She was plowing through it, though, and she would finish if she worked the weekend. But she wasn’t going to. Not this time. She planned to go to Peachtree City, rent a golf cart, and drive the paths that connected the shopping villages in the city. It was a little more than half an hour away, but she’d never visited before. There was always work to do instead.
“Mornin’ sunshine.” Charlotte Rae was standing by Jade’s cubicle, holding a mug of peppermint tea.
“Good morning.” Jade smiled at her friend and set her new briefcase on the floor.
“Did I mention how nice it is to see you cheery and smiling?”
“A couple times.” She sat down and powered up her computer. “But I don’t mind hearing it again.”
“I don’t mind saying it either. How’s your mother?”
On her first day back, Jade had filled Charlotte in on her mother and brother, but she didn’t go into too much detail and Charlotte didn’t ask. She did want to know how her trip to Clementinewas, and Jade wasn’t sure how to answer. She had landed on “Unexpected” and left it at that.
“I have a proposition.” Charlotte grinned.
Jade glanced at her polar bear sitting near her computer. She’d ended up naming her Polly, and while Charlotte had raised a thin eyebrow when she’d brought it into work and set it on her desk, Jade didn’t care, and she didn’t explain. She needed something tangible from Clementine. From Sebastian. Eventually she’d take it back home and, at some point, donate it. But right now Polly reminded her of better times. “Do I want to hear this?”
“I’ve found the perfect man for you.”
Jade’s stomach sank. She should have known Charlotte wasn’t going to give up.
Over the past two weeks she’d tried to put Sebastian out of her mind. It was difficult, and even Lydia had sensed she was holding something back when she talked about why she was in Clementine. Jade finally told her everything.
“That’s it?”Lydia had said, her brow lifting. She could sit up now and was eating a small cup of vanilla pudding.“You’re not going to make things right?”
“He’s not going to listen to me, Mom. I wouldn’t either if I were him.”
“But what if—”
She’d shut the conversation down at that point. Her mother meant well, but she didn’t understand, mostly because Jade didn’t want to discuss her past mistakes with Sebastian. She wanted to forget the latest one, like she’d managed to do ten years ago. Two weeks wasn’t long enough. Two decades might not be either. Not this time, and that was her own fault.
“Charlotte, I’m not—”
“Just hear me out. His mom is friends with my aunt, and he just moved back to Atlanta. He’s a lawyer, so you two have your bigbrains in common. He’s thirty-one. A bit younger than you but he’s not opposed to dating a cougar.”
