She lifts one shoulder and lets it fall. “Maybe because during the last show I was in, the director practically forced me to quit because I was fat.”
My heart pangs. Dammit, I hate that this conversation is bringing up bad memories for her. “Don’t let one asshole ruin your career, Mills.”
“It’s a little too late for that. But I’ll find a new career,” she says nonchalantly as she pulls a pillow from its case. “Between LULU, narrating audiobooks, and FrenchSHEs, I make pretty good money.”
“But this is?—”
“Drop it,” she scolds.
Damn, I’ve never heard her voice laced with so much venom. Raising my hands, I back out of the bedroom. “I’ll be next door while you finish getting ready.”
When I walk into Asher’s cabin, Kane is working on a puzzle with Bea on the floor. I don’t know who is more frustrated—Bea, who keeps forcing half of the kitten’s eye to fit with half of the puppy’s eye, or Kane, who can’t convince her to lay out the corner pieces first. When Kane spots me, I offer him a sympathetic look.
“Good morning,” Rachel says when I enter the kitchen.
I return her smile. “Good morning. Something smells good.”
“Thank you, though it’s no french toast casserole,” she says as she flips a pancake on the griddle.
“I’m sure it’s just as delicious.”
“Where’s Millie?”
I plaster on a smile, hoping it looks natural. “She was still getting ready but should be over shortly.”
Ethan and Asher enter through the door to the back deck, Ethan’s arm slung over Asher’s shoulders. The sight tugs at my heartstrings unexpectedly. The only time Rob ever wrapped an arm around me was when he was dragging me from one bar to another when I was a teen, wearing a drunken smile, not the genuine grin that’s painted on Ethan’s.
A question hits me then. Will I ever get that opportunity? Not as the son, of course, but as the father to my own child. I shrug off the thought, determined to enjoy my last bit of time here.
Millie joins us just as I finish preparing her coffee.
“Thank you.” She kisses me on the cheek and steps back.
I scan her face, hoping her expression will reveal her true feelings, but it doesn’t.
“Who wants pancakes?” Rachel calls. “We’ve got plain, blueberry, and chocolate chip.”
“Oh, me. Me. Me. Chocolate!” Bea erupts, nearly knocking over a glass of orange juice in her excitement.
“Anyone?” Rachel asks, pretending not to hear her.
“Me,” Bea shouts louder.
“Oh, darn. Guess I’ll have to eat them all myself.” Sighing, she forks a pancake and drops it onto her plate, then does the same with a second and a third.
“Mimi,” Bea scolds, her cute little hands on her hips.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” her grandmother says as she places the giant stack of pancakes in front of her.
Asher quietly reprimands his mom for offering his daughter so much chocolate for breakfast, but Ethan waves him off.
“That’s what grandparents are for. We do all the dirty work raising kids, then get to enjoyour grandbabies.”
Grandbabies. Does Asher plan on having more children one day? Or is he referring to the possibility that Millie might?
Though I try to focus on the discussions taking place, the image of children with my hair and Millie’s eyes around this table in the future creeps its way in, nonetheless.
I eventually force myself to tune into the conversation, and breakfast goes smoothly until Bea finally does knock over the glass of orange juice. Right onto her chocolate pancakes. She immediately bursts into pitiful tears, but thankfully, Kane saves the day when he sacrifices his meal.
