They walked back toward the street, the house bright against the dark. At the bike, Jake stopped.
His hand brushed her arm as he reached for the handlebars. Maybe an accident. Maybe not.
He pushed off, pedaling back the way they'd come, and Sophie stood on the sidewalk until he disappeared around the corner.
Then she went inside to find out what Lily meant by huge fight.
Later, after dinner had been cleaned up and the house had dispersed into its separate corners, Meredith found Tom on the rooftop.
He was sitting in one of the teak lounge chairs, beer in hand, looking out at the dark ocean. She sat down beside him with her own glass of wine.
"What a day," she said.
"It was."
They sat in silence for a moment. Then Meredith said, "I've been thinking. About the retirement plan."
Tom took a sip of his beer but didn't respond. Waiting.
"I can't walk away from the practice. Not yet." She looked at her wine rather than at him. "I know you've been running numbers, and I know the math works. But I've spent fifteen years building something, and I'm not done."
"I never said you had to sell."
"You said 'we.' You said if we sold, we'd never have to work again."
Tom set down his beer. "That was a possibility. Not a plan."
"It sounded like a plan."
Tom turned to look at her. "Meredith. I've known you for twenty-four years. Do you really think I expected you to agree without discussing it? I was starting a conversation. That's all."
She didn't answer. The wine was cool in her hand, the glass sweating slightly in the evening air.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"I'm still working through it."
"Then take your time. I can wait."
"What if I figure out something you don't like?" She finally looked at him.
"Then we talk about it. That's what we do."
She set her glass on the deck and got up from her chair, crossed to his, and settled onto his lap. His arms came around her automatically. She draped hers around his neck.
"We're okay?" she asked.
"We're always okay."
She kissed him.
After the day they'd had, after everything—she could still do this. They could still do this.
CHAPTER TEN
The sectional was more comfortable than Jen had expected, which was good, since she'd been sleeping on it for over a week now. Tom's surprise arrival had bumped her from Meredith's room, and nobody had figured out a better arrangement since.
She lay there in the dim room, staring at the ceiling, listening to the house. Nothing stirred. Even the ocean seemed quieter at this hour, the waves a distant murmur rather than their usual insistence. The sliding doors reflected the interior back at her, the beach beyond them still invisible.
