“Good point,” Miles said, shaking his head as if to rid himself of the future he was busy planning with Maren. “We should probably just get back to work.”
“Buzzkill.” But Adrian was already making his way to the dining room to salvage his sketches.
We launched straight into it without another word about Maren. For all of our sakes. Miles and Adrian talked non-stop about installation playlists, swapped mockups, and fell into a mindmap saga that ran in circles. I kept up, reining in the rush of ideas so we’d have a cohesive strategy to present to Cara later.
Somewhere between talks about ice sculpture rentals and the gallery’s no-glitter policy, the day slipped by. Afternoon sun caught the windows and spilled over the work we had splayed out on the dining room table. Scrapped ideas were stained with coffee rings like blueprints to the sense we were making, and just when I was about to call it a day and get ready for the meeting, the front door opened.
A gust of cold air rushed in, but that was about it. I looked to the guys, who looked back at me. Where was the buffalo herd? The sibling warzone in motion?
“She killed them and now she’s come back to finish us off,” Adrian whispered.
Miles slapped his arm and told him to zip it. That’s when Emma’s head popped into view, with Maren coming in behind her.
“Is it okay if I sit here?” Emma asked.
A request for permission. All I could do was nod. Only then did she enter fully, her arms laden with art supplies. She got comfortable at the other end of the dining room table and set out markers, paints and brushes, a shocking assortment of artistic tools, and some colorful paper. Then she got to work, humming softly to herself.
I looked at Maren, my surprise written all over my face, and she just smiled. Totally pleased with herself. Curiosity got the better of me, and I moved into the hall to catch a glimpse of Will back in his favorite armchair. Playing video games. But the difference this time was that he wore a brand new set of headphones.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath.
“The best solutions are often the simplest,” she said, and handed my credit card back with a flick of her wrist. “Don’t worry. We didn’t go too crazy.”
“I would’ve let you max the damn thing if it meant we’d get them to settle down.”
Her laugh thawed the last of the outside chill from the house, settling deep in my chest. Sylvie popped into my head, and I pushed her right back out again.
“Where’s Sadie?” She was the only one unaccounted for.
Maren smiled and pointed to the middle of the living room. I had to move closer to see over the couch, and found Sadie criss-cross applesauce at the coffee table, talking to—
“A goldfish?”
Sadie whipped around at the sound of my voice, her face wide open in unbridled glee. She jumped up and practically dragged me over to sit with her.
“His name’s Mr. Scallywag and he’s only a baby,” she said, tapping on the side of the bowl. “But Maren said he’ll grow bigger like me. Then we’ll get him a bigger bowl.”
“Mr. Scallywag, huh?” I’d never had a pet growing up and never developed a need for one in adulthood. But I knew Sadie was obsessed with everything in the animal kingdom, and just seeing her little face light up made my day.
She pulled out a book of nursery rhymes—also new—and started reading to the fish. Part of me wanted to grab my phone and record it for her parents, but I was more content to just be in the moment with her. That was way better. Watching the frown that formed each time she came across a harder word, her chubby pointer finger jabbing at the letters as she sounded it out.
When I looked up, Maren was where I left her, a soft expression on her face. I mouthed a silentthank you, and the smile I got back hit me straight in the chest.
Talk about unexpected surprises.
5
Maren
I had one foot firmly in dreamland when a light tapping on my arm dragged me into the real world. I stirred, for a second not quite sure where I was. The sheets were softer, the pillows practically new, and there was no sinkhole sucking me into the middle of my mattress.
“Maren? Are you awake?” The tiniest whisper, and more tapping.
It started coming back to me. Ethan Cross. His brownstone in Back Bay. The job as a nanny. I squeezed my eyes shut as if it would transport me back to the nether realm. Back to where things were how they should be.
I had a journal when I was in junior high, in which I’d plotted out my whole life. Liv was shocked when I showed it to her a couple of years ago for the first time. Everything—from the dress I’d wear to senior prom, the college I’d go to and the school where I’d end up working… Even the age I’d be when I got married. It was all in there. She couldn’t believe it, and didn’t get how someone could plan their lives down to the smallest detail and see it through. I didn’t get how anyone couldn’t.
“Maaareeeen….” The whisper had a bite to it now.
