With a combination of excitement and dread, Declan looked around the empty house in Maryland that heβd rented for himself and the girls for a year.Β
βItβs big, Daddy.β This from Meli, his impish twin daughter. βDo we have our own rooms?β
βOf course.β
βWant to go see ours, Morgy?β she asked her sister Morgan. They both had blond hair and blue eyes, like him; Meliβs pixie-short, Morganβs almost to her waist. Maggie, his oldest, was the spitting image of her mother.
Dec held out two hands, which his kids clasped. βIβll show you.β
They climbed the open oak staircase with skylights shining down on the foyer and made their way around the railings. Declan led them down one hall. At the end were two doors. βLetβs go in here first.βΒ
Once in the room, the girls scanned the wide windows, another skylight above the ceiling fan, and then their gazes landed on a doorway. Morgan rushed over and yanked it open. βItβs a bathroom.β
βWith another door on that side.β
The girls burst through both entrances. Screeches. Proclamations like βOh, this is so cool,β and βJust what we need!β Their rooms were connected by a Jack-and-Jill bath like the Marinosβ third-floor quarters, built for Whitney and Connor.
Declan leaned back against the wall, grateful that he could please these two munchkins after heβd uprooted them. Thankfully, theyβd been old enough to go into middle school in Lakeville and would have had to change buildings anyway.Β
βIβm taking this one,β Meli said coming back in. βMorgan wants the other.βΒ
Her sister hugged him. βWe love them, Dad.βΒ
βUncle Nick scouted this area for us, which is close to our family, and when he saw this part with an adjoining bathroom, he thought the place would be great for you two.βΒ
The house also had a master suite up here, making it four bedrooms, and a den and bath on the first floor. Which could be converted to a fifth area for his parents.
Meli crossed to a window. βOh, look, a big backyard.β She turned to her father. βFor our dogs, right, Dad?β
Heβd also bribed them when he told them they were leaving Lakeville: if they cooperated in the move, they could each get a dog. He wanted animals anyway. βYep, and the yard is fenced in.β
Morgan said, βDoes the house have a room for Maggie?β
βYou bet. This is her home, too.β
His oldest was at orientation for college right now, only forty minutes away at American University where sheβd live on campus, but she also had her own space here. He hoped sheβd use it.
βWe wanna see yours too, Dad.β
βIβll take you to the other hallway for mine, but Maggie should show you hers.β Theyβd been staying with Gabe and Macy, and heβd dropped Mags off at orientation before they came here around noon.
When the girls had their fill of touring, they settled in the kitchen. Declan had ordered a pizza so it was piping hot, the scent of spicy sauce and cheese filling the expansive kitchen/dining area. They sat at the long bar separating the two on the stools left by the previous owners and dug in. They were almost finished when chimes sounded.Β
βThatβs our furniture!β Meli declared, sliding off her seat and racing to the foyer. Morgan followed and Declan took up the rear.
Meli threw open the door. βOh. I thought you were our delivery.β
Lila, their mother, smiled at the girls. βArenβt you glad to see me?β Dec recognized uncertainty in her voice.
βYeah, Mommy, we are.β Morgan wrapped her arms around her motherβs waist, then Meli took her turn.Β
His ex-wife raised her gaze to Declan. βHi.β
The mere sight of her churned him up inside. βI didnβt expect to see you today.β
βI got excited about the girls being so close, so I came out on my lunch break.β
All Declan said was, βThereβs pizza left.β
βOh, well, can I have a tour of the place first?β
Meli grabbed her arm. βWait till you see our rooms. Thereβs lots of windows, a bathroom that connects us, and skylights.β
Lilaβs mouth thinned. βHow nice.β She looked at Dec. βI always wanted skylights.β
Theyβd lived in apartments in D.C., then bought a home in Lakeville, which was old, like most of the houses in town. βYou should put a couple in your new place.β Declan almost cringed at the bitterness in his voice.
βItβs a colonial. Skylights donβt belong in that eraβs dwellings.β
Ignoring her comment, he said, βTake Mommy on a tour, you guys.β
When they left, he returned to the kitchen and sat back down. He took a bite of a half-eaten slice of pizza, but now it tasted like cardboard. So he scanned the room. High ceilings with more skylights, now open to warm mid-August air, granite countertops, big enough for a table by the fireplace at the far end. Lila would probably love this room. But he hadnβt rented the place with her in mind. No, she had a new guy, a new house, a new life now.
Ten minutes later, the girls raced into the kitchen to the backyard through French doors. Their mother went outside with them, then came back in alone.
βThis is lovely, Dec.β
He turned. Speaking of lovely, she looked pretty in a yellow summer sundress and strappy sandals. Her hair was up in a knot befitting the hot day.
βThanks. We have an option to buy it, but Iβm not sure we can.β
βWhy?β
βThe house in Lakeville would have to sell first.β Though trauma surgeonsβheβd been one for yearsβwere paid top dollar, areas around D.C. and Maryland were expensive.
Taking a seat another stool down, she ignored the food. βSo you came down here.β There was a cutting undertone in her voice, but he knew why. And she was entitled.
βMy parents said moving was a deal breaker.β Like it had been in the end for him and Lila, though he didnβt know that at the time.
Her mouth got tight. βDid they buy something?β
βNo. Theyβre staying with Nick now. Theyβve had offers to stay in four different places. We donβt know if theyβll want their own.β
βFour?β
βSure, here. Thereβs a first floor den for them. Nick and Gabe each have a suite set up and you should see the house Connor and Calla bought. Itβs got a guest house behind the main one.β
βBefitting a princess.β
βAnd the heir to the throne.β
βSeriously? Sheβs pregnant?β
βBefore the wedding.β He lasered her with a look. βLike us.β
βAre they happy about having a baby so soon?β
βYes.β
βUnlike us.βΒ
βI know we were wary at first, and especially when I was away those six months, but when Mags came we were happy, Lila.β
βI know. I guess what followed, what brought us to where we are today, is still in the forefront for me.β She shook her head, releasing a few more tendrils. βI thought we were invincible back then.β
βI did, too. What happened to those kids?β
βThey grew up. And modern life was too much for them to withstand, I guess.β
βHow sad.β
βAre Connor and Calla settling here permanently?β
βTheyβre splitting their time between Maryland and Casarina. Theyβre both working part-time at the D.C. clinic, but exploring options here for one of their own.β
The children burst back through the door at the end of the kitchen. βDaddy, they left their jungle gym. Itβs got a fort, and a slide and swings.β
He frowned. βI was thinking about tearing those things down. That youβre too old for them.β
Their faces fell. Until Lila laughed. βDaddyβs kidding.β
βOh.β
βOh, good.β
Chimes again.Β
Declan stood. βThat has to be our furniture.β
Meli tugged on her hand. βYay! Mommy, can you stay and help us set up our rooms?β
She looked to Dec. He said, βSure, Iβve got my hands full with the rest of the stuff. Will you be able to get out of work?β
βI make my own hours. I have to call in, though.β She looked down. βAnd I keep workout clothes in the car.β
βThen itβs settled.β
The delivery was the new furniture. And right behind the store guys was the moving van from Lakeville. Declan signed papers and Lila headed to her car. Halfway down the sidewalk, she looked over her shoulder and said, βI canβt believe youβre here.β
He didnβt know what to say. Or if he could even speak around the sock stuck in his throat. Had he made different decisions, if circumstances had gone their way, they could be buying this house together, settling in together, building on a life they made through the years.
But that was a fairytale, and he wasnβt a doctor marrying a princess, like Connor. He and Lila were two soldiers who just couldnβt merge their lives together.
Again, he thought,Β How sad.
Once upon a time Simone Harlow decided to write a book. She never understood why she had to write a book she just did. She has a great life. A family that loves her. Friends she can mother. And a dog who thinks sheβs his reason for living. (No, really, he told her so.) She should be content. But alas she still had to write that book. So she did, and it was the beginning of an excellent adventure.
Conflicted in the depth of her feelings for bad boy Gavin Kingsley, lonely librarian Emma Bell knows heβs all wrong for herβyet the heart wants what it wants.
The start to a sexy new series from New York Times bestselling author, Kendall Ryan…
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.
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Some things in life were inevitable; death, taxes, and lying, whoremongering men.
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