He was silent, and for a moment she thought maybe the connection had been cut.
Then, "Look, I know this isn't great timing, but I was thinking maybe it would be better if we didn't see each other for a while."
"What?"
"I just had a big contract come through, and I really need to concentrate on this job. You know, and... you've got the kids to worry about."
There was something wrong. His words were too rehearsed. What was going on?
"Is this about last night? About what you told me?" Was he having second thoughts about letting her get close?
"It's not." But his voice was tight, as if he was working to control his emotions.
She pressed her fingertips into the bridge of her nose. Her head was starting to pound. "I don't understand. Can we talk about this?" Later, sometime when she would be able to think straight. When she might be able to understand what he was really saying. This wasn't about him opening up to her. But he wanted tonot see each other for a while.
It didn't make sense.
"PJ needs you,” Noah said. “So do Lindsey and Casey."
That wasn't an answer. "Noah—"
But he'd already hung up.
She was shaky and confused as she straightened from the wall. She started to dial Noah back, then thought better of it and slapped her phone against her thigh.
Stupid man was right. PJ did need her.
But she needed Noah. She loved him, and she didn't understand what had just happened.
She gave up on the coffee and decided to make sure PJ was settling in to his room. She was nearing the elevator bank when the doors opened and Iris stepped off.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Her sister held out a Styrofoam mug from the coffee shack. "Making amends. Checking on you. Callum has the kids and everyone is fine."
Jilly's tears resurfaced, and she couldn't contain them.
Iris pulled her into a sisterly embrace. Jilly lost it completely, sobbing right there in the lobby. Iris pressed a wad of tissues into her hand as she ugly-cried.
Iris let her go on until the tears were spent. "How is PJ doing?" she asked as Jilly dabbed at her eyes.
She was a mess. "He's okay. Shaken up. He was in a lot of pain earlier." Her voice wobbled. "I'm afraid they're going to take the kids away from me." She'd had less than two months with Lindsey and PJ and Casey. She'd messed up. PJ could've died.
"And I think Noah just broke up with me."
Her tears were back, choking her. She pressed the tissue into her eyes, trying to stem the flow by sheer force.
"What?” Iris sounded indignant. “Why?"
"I don't know." She drew a shuddering breath. There. She wasn't going to cry again.
"He's in love with you,” Iris said. “It was obvious in the way he paid attention to your every move yesterday."
She knew. She'd thought Noah cared, too. Something was going on. And now wasn't the time to get to the bottom of it. There was a scared little boy upstairs who needed her.
She drew one last breath to steady herself. "I should get back to PJ."
Iris stopped her with a hand to her arm. "Jilly. I'm really sorry. About everything. I didn't mean to rub your nose in the fact that I was pregnant. Cal and I were happy, so I thought..."
Her petty jealousy and the fight with Iris seemed like a lifetime ago. "There's nothing for you to be sorry about. You have a right to be happy. Ecstatic. Incandescent. I didn't want to take any of that away from you and Callum. I should've talked to you. I shouldn't have been jealous."
"Maybe we both could've done better," Iris offered. She looked a little teary. "Is your doctor sure? That you can't get pregnant?" She hesitated over the question, as if Jilly might burst into tears over the sensitive subject. Maybe she would've, before.
"I have kids," she said with a teary smile. "I'm going to fight for the three of them. I'm petitioning for adoption."
She should've told Iris from the beginning. Her sister had always been on her side. She'd been beside Jilly through her cancer. She'd attended every doctor's appointment and sat beside Jilly when she'd been violently sick. Her sister was a warrior, and Jilly needed her on her side.
Especially now that she'd lost Noah.
