Chapter One
“Motherhood is not the same experience for every person. It’s not even the same experience for yourself when you have more than one kid. Just do the best you can.”
—Jennifer, Maryland, United States
April
April Davis used to be a catch.
Or at least that’s what her husband used to say. But once upon a time was a long, long time and oneveryfinal divorce ago.
A year ago. Her divorce had been finalized exactly one year to the day.
She gulped down all the emotion from the past year like it was a soda at the 7-Eleven near the yoga studio where she taught classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then, for the briefest of seconds, she honored the memory of what should have been…before refocusing on the future.
She had to honor that now instead.
Cell pressed to her ear in her suburban Denver kitchen, April listened as her social influencer team manager gave her last-minute updates before April left for her livestream that afternoon.
Meanwhile, she eyed her eight-year-old daughter, Harmony, as she forced her feet into one-size-too-small bright green dressy shoes that didn’t match her orange outfit. They didn’t match at all.
April shook her head frantically toward her daughter, gesturing at the shoes.
Harmony was patently ignoring her mother’s attempts to get her attention. Her daughter might as well be coated with an entire pound of butter, because the worries of the world always slid right off her.
These days, between teaching yoga, starting her new business, and wrangling her kids, April barely had time to grab a shower and comb her hair. Or clean her house. Or mow her yard. Her nonstick coating had deserted her right along with her original life plans.
April tried to follow along with the call, but her primary concern at the moment was getting Harmony’s cooperation to wear the black patent shoes April had laid out earlier. She had already caved and approved the orange outfit, even though it didn’t match the blue the rest of the family wore.
She pulled the phone away from her ear and put it on speaker so she could use both hands to help Harmony.
“These squish your toes,” she whispered, keeping one ear on the phone and both eyes on her daughter.
“They make me feel special.” Harmony raised her gaze to meet April’s with a silent resolve that April felt clearly in the depths of her bones.
Fine, if green pinchy shoes made Harmony feel special, then what did it really matter?
April’s teeth seemed to find her bottom lip all on their own, chewing the lipstick clean off. Which meant she’d need to reapply before she left. The mental list of things to remember as she got out the door and stepped into her future as a social media influencer was growing by the second.
“April, you are doing fantastic.” Jack Gibson joined the call, his voice throaty and deep. All business. Just before her divorce finalized, Jack was the man who had brokered the deal that would, in theory, make her a household name. He’d arranged a guest spot on the ever-popular, live morning web showPractical Parenting.Two weeks to the appearance that would propel her to household status.
Network morning talk shows had nothing on the audience ofPractical Parenting. Or so Jack said. April had seen the statistics of their audience numbers and they were big. Massive. So she believed him.
“Hi,” Harmony said as she skipped to the phone April had placed on the counter. “Who are you?”
Damn. Damn. Dammit.
Was it inappropriate to put her hand over her kid’s mouth? Yeah, April gritted her teeth. Inappropriate.
“Mommy’s on a call,” she said instead, holding her finger to her lips. “Shhh.”
“This is Jack,” Jack said, like this was an actual introduction. “Who is this?”
“That’s Harmony,” April said, pressing her fingertip harder to her lips. “She’s getting ready for the big shopping trip.”
“Wanna see my loose tooth?” Harmony asked, reaching into the depths of her mouth to wiggle at the molar.
“It’s not a video call,” April said, shaking her head frantically. “He can’t see your tooth.”
