“I’m fine,” I insisted. “How much longer do we have before afternoon pickup, anyway?”
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket to check the time and was shocked to see the number of text notifications. I always kept the sound turned off while I was with the kids because I didn’t want them to think I was distracted by my phone.
It was a Tasha text storm.
This many notifications meant that something was wrong.
“Uh-oh,” I said as I unlocked my phone. “Did someone die?”
Ahsley craned her neck to look at my screen. “Yikes, what’s up?”
“Not sure, but clearly something’s going on,” I muttered. “Do you mind if I step outside to check?”
She swished her hand at me. “Oh my God, go, please. I can handle the hoard.”
Tasha and I had had no time together in person since the breakup, so I’d been forced to tell her everything over FaceTime. As a result, she was a charter member of the Drag-Logan-Through-The-Mud club. But her text had a different tone this time around.
Check it out. Maybe he has a heart after all, it read.
I clicked on the link to find an article announcing that Ashford Cruises had broken ground on their new employee childcare center at HQ. My heart went heavy at the news, because it was a reminder that I was supposed to be there leading the charge. Not that I didn’t trust Logan and his team to make the space perfect, of course. I knew they were creating something special. What got to me was how desperately I wanted to be a part of the positive change going on.
It was sort of my baby, after all.
I paced as I kept reading. Not only were they going to launch the new facility, they were looking to build something much larger than their initial plans—something far beyond what the staff currently required. Reading further, I got the explanation for the expansion. The additional slots were going to children being raised by single, working parents. The foundation was also looking to build out other sites and partner with current daycare programs to underwrite their expenses so they could eventually switch to a fee-free model.
Clearly, Logan had been paying attention when I’d told the board about what I’d been through with my last employer that had to close due to lost funding. The new model was an improvement to the plan that I couldn’t have anticipated, and despite everything Logan had put me through, it warmed my heart a little.
Not enough to be truly moved, though. I’d started the project, his team had bought in big-time, and his seeing it through was inevitable. It had nothing to do with me at this stage.
It was a smart business move and nothing more.
I paused to stare out at the blue vista and let out a sigh. I knew I’d get past the heartbreak, eventually. Didn’t feel like I was any closer to healing, though, especially now. The reminders of him followed me despite my attempts to blot him out of my life.
The phone rang in my hand, and when I glanced down, I expected to see Tasha’s profile picture. Instead, it was a close-up of Noah’s goofy grin. I smiled. Thankfully, I’d been able to compartmentalize my pain enough that my connection to Noah was as strong as it could be, considering.
I loved that we were able to keep in touch under Josie’s watchful eye. The two of us had decided that the best way for Noah and me to have natural conversations was to not have Logan involved in any way. Having her hovering in the background instead of him made it easy for me to be the upbeat, positive person Noah remembered.
“Hey, buddy!” I answered. “How are you?”
“Hi, Nina! I’m good. Did you read the newspaper?”
The phone echoed, which meant I was on speaker.
I bit back a smile, because I hadn’t evenseena newspaper in years. He’d been reading some vintage comic books that featured newspaper reporters, which probably made him think they were still a thing.
“Idid. I saw some really good news about the daycare center.”
“Did it make you smile?”
I chuckled at his excitement. “Of course, it’s wonderful.”
“Yay! Daddy said he wanted to make you happy.”
I paused a beat because Noah didn’t usually mention his father. “Well, it definitely did.”
“Okay, so does that mean you’re going to be married again and move back home? Because Daddy said you were sad before, but now that you’re happy, you should probably come back. Right? Ariel misses you.”
“Noah,” Josie scolded quietly in the background.
