My chest tightens at her kind invitation. She’s so unlike my own mother, and a wave of sadness crashes over me that I didn’t grow up with someone this welcoming and gracious.
“Thank you. I’ll discuss it with Millie and see what she thinks about us following along.”
“Okay, I’ll let you get back to it. Millie, I’ll see you in a couple of days. Love you.”
“Love you too, Mama.” She smiles before ending the call.
***
Millie sits quietly in the passenger seat, a box full of our perfect croissants in her lap. She requested to come home with me to see the girls before I put them to bed and then have Lena pick her up, and I’m more than happy to oblige.
I tentatively put my hand on her knee at a stoplight, encouraging her to look my way. “Why haven’t you been to Maggie’s recently? It looked like there was a story there.”
She tilts back to the headrest and closes her eyes. “I don’t want to say it out loud because I’ve been avoiding thinking about it,” she whispers into the dark car.
“You can trust me with it. You can trust me with anything.” I squeeze her leg once in reassurance.
She lets out a deep breath and looks to the window beside her. “I haven’t been back since I sawhim.” Her hands fidget with the hem of her dress. “That was my place, and it doesn’t feel like mine if he’s there. It doesn’t feel safe.” She says the last part so quietly I almost can’t make it out.
My hand on the steering wheel squeezes tight as I try to control my rage, but I force the one on her knee to stay relaxed. She should always feel safe. I hate that she has to worry about whether he’ll be somewhere.
“He’s still texting every once in a while, and it’s scary to thinkabout seeing him.” She sighs. “I wish I could take every hurtful thing he said that still echoes in my mind and shove it back down his throat. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to get through it, though.”
My teeth grind at the news that he’s still messaging her. I can’t even imagine what he’s saying, but if it makes her this uncomfortable, it can’t be good.
“Millie.” She finally looks back toward me, and her eyes are red around the edges. “How about we go back sometime together?”
Silence hovers between us as I pull into my garage and turn off the car. I shift in my seat and reach for her hands, cradling them between mine on the console.
“I have no doubt that if you saw him or had to talk to him, you could stand up for yourself all on your own. But if it makes you more comfortable, I could come with you the first time and be your cheerleader. Or your bodyguard. Or your coffee-cup holder while you punch him. I’ll be anything you want.”
A tear rolls down her cheek, and I brush it away with my thumb.
“I’d like that,” she whispers. “Can you be all the above?”
“Always.”
***
“I want Millie to read our bedtime story,” Avery requests from her snug position under the blanket.
I turn to the doorway and raise an eyebrow at Millie. She puts her hand over her chest. “Me?”
“Of course, you.” Eloise giggles, scooting all the way to the edge of the bed to make room for her.
“I’d be honored.” She crawls between them and opens the book.
My mind wanders as I watch Millie read their bedtime story while the girls cuddle into her arms. Ave and El have completely fallen for her in only a few short weeks. Her presence has createdthis spark in the girls that I haven’t seen in months, and I don’t ever want it to end.
When she closes the book, she lifts her arms, and the girls rest their heads against her sides.
“Uncle Finn, will you sing us ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’?” Avery requests, her eyes already drifting closed.
Warmth hits my cheeks, but I force myself to sing anyway. Millie watches me through the first and second lines, Ave and El drifting off to sleep at her side.
But as I start the last half of the lullaby, Millie’s gentle, bright voice joins my rough, low one in the most beautiful harmony I’ve ever heard.
Chapter 24
