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Emmie was glad for him. She didn’t even mind being referred to assecond bestbecause for Harold, that’s exactly what she’d been. Without love, what was the point?
Bear gurgled happily nearby from his bouncy seat, and she focused back on her baby with a smile. But her throat still ached. Had she done the right thing?
“Are you happy, sweetheart?” her father asked quietly beside her. “Truly?”
She watched as her brothers bobbed for pacifiers—instead of apples—with the intense rivalry of a party game. Daniel rose from the bucket of water triumphantly with a pacifier in his teeth, his whole head wet.
Emmie smiled, though her heart was hurting. She took a deep breath. “Actually, Dad, I’m thinking of moving back to Queens.”
“Really?” He looked astonished, then delighted. “What about the penthouse in Manhattan?”
“It’s a little too fancy.” She’d been lonely there since Theo left. High up in the sky, far from human contact, the huge triplex had felt isolating, imprisoning, not luxurious. “I’d rather get an apartment near you. Maybe I can set up to do bookkeeping, taxes and payroll for the neighborhood. I could work and still keep Bear with me.”
“That sounds wonderful, honey. But...”
“But?”
Karl hesitated. “If you’re moving to Queens, that must mean Theo, he...” He licked his lips. “The two of you, you’re not...”
“No,” she whispered, staring at her cup of punch. “We’re not.”
Her father took a deep breath, then reached for her hand. “I’m sorry, honey.”
“Me, too.” But Emmie did her best to smile, for the sake of the people she loved, who’d gone to so much trouble to celebrate her and Bear.
He was the best baby in the world, especially since he’d learned how to sleep five hours at a time at night. Always smiley—though, some uncharitable souls might declare it mere gas—he was growing plumper and more adorable by the day. She tried not to notice Theo’s features in his face. Bear was his own person. And already the light of her life.
As they ate delicate little cakes and drank coffee, the wind grew cold off the Atlantic. In spite of the heat lamps, Emmie shivered in her dress and light cardigan in the autumn evening. If only things had been different. If only Theo could have been here, his handsome face smiling, his powerful arm over her shoulders.
Sitting on the cushioned furniture on the decorated terrace of the beach house, Emmie opened gifts for her baby, thanked her family and friends and didn’t let herself cry.
“What’s going on with Theo, Emmie?” Vince asked suddenly. Her eldest brother was sitting beneath a nearby heat lamp, holding her sleeping baby in his arms. He winced at their father’s sharp glare, but persisted. “Why isn’t he here?”
“Is your marriage over?” her brother Joe asked.
A lump rose in Emmie’s throat. There was no point in hiding it from everyone. Even if it cast a pall over the evening, getting the truth out in the open would help her finally make a fresh start. Taking a deep breath, Emmie said slowly, “You might as well know... Theo and I—”
“Am I too late?”
Emmie’s breath caught as she turned her head.
Theo stood in the doorway of the house, coming out onto the terrace. His tailored dark suit was wrinkled and rumpled, but somehow he’d never looked more handsome. The night breeze off the Atlantic ruffled his dark hair, as his black eyes met hers.
“Theo!” Honora hugged him, and Nico shook his hand.
But he had eyes only for Emmie. He came toward her where she sat on the sofa beneath the round, colorful lights swaying in the dark trees.
Heart pounding, she looked up at him. “What are you doing here?”
“I brought you something.” Pulling a small, beautifully wrapped present from his jacket pocket, he placed it in her hands. Trying to ignore the way she’d shivered at his touch—the night was cold—she unwrapped the package.
Inside, she found lumpy blue baby booties, clearly homemade. She looked up with an intake of breath.
“From Sofia,” he explained.
Emmie told herself she’d treasure the gift from Bear’s aunt, of course she would, but even so, she felt a swell of bitter disappointment. Licking her lips, she set the booties aside. “Thank you. It was kind of her.” Then she frowned at him. “You flew here just to deliver it for her? All the way from Paris?” It seemed strange that Theo had agreed to such an errand.
“That wasn’t the only reason,” Theo said softly.
