“To having Matilda Carson open the door to us like it’s a normal, everyday thing.”
She laughs, making me want to pinch myself because, holy crap, it is like being around royalty.
“What are you guys doing here, anyway? You okay?” She aims the last part at me as she closes the door.
I sigh, feeling stupid now. “It just got to be too much. Living through it once was more than enough. I couldn’t—” I swallow, choking on my words. Arlo reaches for me, but Matilda beats him to it, surprising us both by wrapping me up in a hug.
I hug her back gently, remembering someone mentioning to me that she’s not a huge fan of being touched, though she’s a lot better now than she used to be.
Pulling back, she looks at me in a way that makes me feel like I’m the only person in the room. “Trust me, I get it. What’s cannon fodder for everyone else are pieces of your life.”
I nod, fighting back tears. She gets it better than most, and I’ve only experienced a fraction of what she did with the media.
“Come on, the cupcakes should be done soon. The kids are in the den watchingMoana.
“Ooh, I loveMoana.” Arlo rubs his hands, bursting into song before heading off to find the girls.
“You need help with anything?”
As if on cue, the sound of a baby crying comes from the baby monitor sticking out of Matilda’s apron pocket.
“Any chance you can grab Juni while I finish cleaning up?”
“Um, sure.”
“Thank you. She’s on the second floor, second door on the left.”
She heads back to the kitchen before I can say anything else. I swallow and head upstairs. The closer I get, the louder Juni’s cries become. I push the door open and briefly take in a nursery, wondering why they have one when they don’t have a baby of their own. But then, having a guest nursery is precisely the kind of thing Matilda would do. I know that, and I’ve only just met her.
I walk over to the crib and see Juni wriggling around, her red face looking angry as she cries.
“Hey, pretty girl. What’s got you all upset?”
I lift her into my arms and can tell straight away how full her diaper feels. I carry her over to the changing table and spy the little basket filled with diapers, creams, and wipes. Laying her down, I strip her down and clean her up before putting her in a clean diaper and redressing her. Picking her up, I can’t help but feel a tightening in my chest at the thought of what could havebeen. Tucking her under my chin, I rub her back as I carry her carefully down the stairs to the kitchen.
“Here, take a seat and give her this.” Matilda hands me a bottle, so I sit at the table and adjust Juni so she’s lying in the cradle of my arms. As soon as I place the nipple against her lips, she starts sucking, making me grin.
“She’s adorable.”
“That she is. Can you imagine what Blake will be like when she hits high school?”
I look up at her with wide eyes. “Fifty dollars says he tries to send her to a nunnery.”
She starts laughing as the timer goes off. She turns it off and grabs the cupcakes from the oven, placing them on a cooling rack.
The sound of footsteps running toward us has me turning toward the doorway in time to see Zoe and Mia come running in.
“Slow down, you two. They need to cool down a little before we can frost them anyway.”
Zoe lets out a big, dramatic sigh before she spots me. “Hey, Miss Sorrow. Mom says you can talk now.”
I smile and nod. “I found my voice just when I needed it.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Thanks, Zoe.”
She turns back to Matilda. “Do we have time to watch another movie before we frost them?”
