“Yes. But Matty doesn’t know, and I’m afraid to tell him.”
“Also understandable.”
“The fight at the beach was about Riley wanting to spend time with him—withbothboys—and me being hesitant. Luckily, we’ve sorted that out, and he’s been getting to know them for a little while now. Spending time with them just as my boyfriend. We’ve agreed not to rush telling them about Matt’s paternity, and Riley’s okay with leaving it up to me to decide when the time is right.”
“That seems fair,” Piper notes, then tilts her head as though listening. “Did you hear something?”
Lucy and I both pause, but there’s nothing but the faint ticking of the old clock in the hall. Matt and Alex are both out with friends tonight and shouldn’t be home for hours.
“I don’t hear anything,” Lucy says.
“Me neither,” I murmur.
Piper shrugs, and I sigh, picking up the conversation where we left off.
“Itisfair,” I say, pushing up from the table and moving to the fridge. I remove my filtered water jug and get a glass from the nearby cabinet, holding it up silently to ask if they want some, but both women shake their heads. “Time for me to switch,” I murmur as I pour, then return the jug and retake my seat, slumping forward as I do.
“It is fair,” I repeat, agreeing with her. I look down at my water, twisting the glass in my hand. “But I’m still scared. I’m scared Riley’ll slip up, or that he won’t be able to resist, and he’ll blurt it out during some bonding moment. Or that Matty will somehow figure it out—the way Sam did. The way Riley did. I mean, those eyes are pretty distinctive.”
“True,” Piper agrees. “I’m actually kind of annoyed I didn’t pick up on it myself,” she says. “It’s not like I’ve spent much time around Riley, though.”
“No, but Nora has the same eyes,” Lucy says, and I nod again.
With that observation, we all fall silent once more.
I’m unsure how long I stare into my water before Lucy chuckles, causing Piper and me to look at her in surprise.
“Well,” she says with a smirk. “When you decide to open up, you really let the floodgates loose, don’t you?”
41
Riley
“Riley.”Steph’spanickedvoicecomes through the phone, and I’m instantly awake, rocketing up to a seated position in bed.
“What happened?” I demand. “What’s wrong?” But all that comes through the line are muffled sobs. My stomach lurches at the pained sounds. Pulling the phone briefly from my ear, I glance at the time. A little after six in the morning.
“Jesus, Steph, tell me what’s happened,” I repeat, already throwing the covers off. Connor leaps from the foot of my bed, where he’d been sleeping, hot on my heels as I movetoward my dresser. I yank the top drawer open and pull out some boxers before heading for the closet, my heart in my throat. I may not know what’s happening yet, but I do know Steph needs me. My family needs me.
“Okay, okay, babe, breathe,” I tell her, between her sniffles. Switching the phone over to speaker, I set it on a shelf and quickly dress myself. Her breaths are coming in short pants. She’s hyperventilating. “I need you to breathe for me, Steph. Please. Take a deep breath.”
She coughs, then does as I ask, inhaling sharply.
“Good, now let it out slowly,” I command, and she does. “Okay, another one … slowly … good.”
She takes another breath, and then another, but the next one is cut off by more panicked wailing.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. One more.”
She sniffles, then does as I ask, letting out a shaky exhale.
“Good. That’s good. Now, tell me what happened.” I’ve moved into the bathroom now and quickly splash some water on my face, before I’m out in the hall and headed for the front door. Connor starts barking as I step into my boots, thinking he’s about to get an early morning walk, but I shake my head, shushing him as I tie my laces.
“I fell asleep on the couch last night after the girls left …” she starts, then pauses, swallowing audibly before continuing. “I finally told them about … about us—our story. It was hard, you know? A-and I had a few glasses of wine. More than a few,” she chokes. “And … Oh God, I’m a horrible mother!”
“No, you’re not, baby. Far from it.”
“I slept there all night,” she wails. “I didn’t even realize he hadn’t come home.”
