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Something darkened almost instantly behind Aster’s eyes as his focus narrowed to her. “Perhaps if you asked nicely,” he prompted, his voice low and filled with intent.

Molly’s knees very nearly buckled under the weight of Aster’s tone.

“Oh, gross. Not in front of my kids,” Roy grunted. “Or me.” He stepped forward and scooped up Thomas. “Let’s go have cake or something while I try to forget witnessing that.”

Following cake and gifts, everyone wandered back outside, enjoying sunshine and a gentle breeze.

“How was going back to work, by the way?” Alannah asked, laid back on a blanket and soaking in the sun. “All this party prep really stole the whole week from me. I feel like I missed so much.”

Molly snorted. “It barely qualifies as going back. I’m easing in very slowly over the next few weeks. I only did two half days, so there wasn’t much to miss.”

Alannah propped herself up a bit. “Okay,” she began, drawing out the word. “But how was it? Did you like it or—”

Molly didn’t know how to answer because she wasn’t sure she knew the answer herself. It had been new and overwhelming, and also totally fine at the same time. Seeing it with Eli before officially starting had helped. She almost told him so when he showed up and loitered on her second day, but she hadn’t felt like dealing with his self-satisfaction.

“It was . . . nice, actually. Having sales goals is going to take some getting used to. But I like the shop. And getting to chat about books all day is hardly a burden. The whole experience is still a bit bizarre though. I guess the plan is to ease me into all my responsibilities? Which I’ve yet to get a comprehensive explanation of.”

Alannah gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m not sure how much I’m supposed to say. Your job is one of those things Bishop was very serious about us leaving to him.”

Molly’s attention landed on Aster in the field across from them. He was crouched down, helping one of Alannah’s little nieces hold her bat the right way up. “Of course it was,” Molly said with a sigh, reluctantly captured by the sight in front of her.

“I saw that, by the way. Earlier,” Alannah said, slipping into a singsong voice. They watched Roy, Aster, and Simon as they attempted to organize a small flock of children into something resembling a baseball team. Their efforts were rewarded almost exclusively with whacks to the shins by poorly wielded plastic bats.

“Saw what?”

“You watching Bishop. With the kids. I guess I should have warned you.”

“What? Warned me that Aster knows how to interact with children? It’s surprising, sure, but—”

“Oh, no, no. More about the warm, melty feelings you get when you see him with kids,” Alannah said knowingly.

Denial felt too exhausting. Instead, Molly made a quiet humming noise as a passive agreement. “That obvious, huh?”

“You’ve mentioned it once or twice. Kind of makes you want to jump his bones, doesn’t it?”

“Alannah. Please.” Molly didn’t have the emotional energy to determine how true that statement was. Struggling to conjure a rebuttal, she deflected. “You sure you’re not thinking of you and Roy?”

“Of course I am. I’m one bout of baby fever away from scheduling our sex life.”

Alannah said it so casually, so without care or caution, but her words slammed into Molly with an unexpected force that sent her spinning. A memory of her first night back in the apartment barged its way to the forefront of her thoughts.

Sex, planned in her calendar.

I like children, Aster had said.

“Ack. I’m sorry. I did it again. Of course you wouldn’t know,” Alannah said, mistaking the source of Molly’s shock. “We decided we want three. Gluttons for punishment and all that.”

“Alannah,” Simon called from the field. “Please come convince your daughter not to play with spiders. I’m not going near it.”

Alannah was already on her feet before he’d finished shouting, shaking her head with amusement.

When she’d gone, a shadow replaced her, blocking the sun from above. Aster stood there, looking windswept and at ease and not at all like he’d omitted an enormous piece of information about their lives.

“Hi,” he said, a touch out of breath. He sat in the space Alannah had just vacated and leaned back on his elbows. “We gave it a good shot, but the under-four crowd over there is struggling with the rules and regulations of a traditional game. They keep hitting each other with the bats.”

Molly didn’t respond. Her mind spun too quickly to engage in casual conversation, little clues about her life slotting together before her eyes. Worse, a kind of dread had bloomed in the pit of her stomach, begging to know if her suspicions were correct.

Aster lay back completely, resting his head against the ground and looking as relaxed as she’d ever seen him. He had his eyes closed, the line of his lashes a dark curve above his cheeks. “This place certainly has its merits, despite how chaotic it can be. We had our first date here, you know.”