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Sasha texted back.
I’ll bring you a cake with a nail file.
She took her time getting ready, since it sounded as though Patty and Libby were already there. Patty had wanted to speak with the doctor first thing, so that didn’t surprise her, but the pair hadn’t slept much, so they had already gone back to their hotel by the time Sasha got there.
“Libby is mad at me, too,” Molly said, trying to mollify Sasha. “For letting her believe my engagement was real.” Her gaze darted toward the open door where Gio had disappeared.
“Why is he still here?” Sasha mouthed.
“I don’t know,” Molly mouthed back.
“Do you want me to—”
“No,” Molly said hurriedly. “He can stay if he wants to.”
When Molly grew sleepy, Sasha left, promising to come back later. She filled an hour picking up some random things for her—magazines and moisturizer, a deck of cards and a board game that was suitable for a tween. Did she want to go broke buying bribery gifts for Libby? Heck, yes.
Instead, she went home and checked in with her counselor, who said, “Time may not heal all wounds, but all wounds need time to heal.”
Ugh. It was glib, but she was right.
She had just missed Patty and Libby when she went back to see Molly, but at least she was able to eat dinner with her, since Rafael had already said he would be working late.
“Do you think you two will get through this?” Molly pried gently.
“I don’t know, Moll. What I did was pretty unforgivable, but...” She swallowed. “I didn’t mind being married to someone who didn’t love me when I didn’t think I deserved to be loved. Now...”
“Sash.” Molly squeezed her hand.
“Don’t worry about us, okay? You’re not allowed.” Patty was being pretty strict about keeping Molly’s cortisol levels down. “For now, the only thing I’m thinking about is you and the baby.”
“And Libby?” Molly guessed.
“Yeah,” Sasha admitted with a pang in her throat.
“She’ll come around. And she’ll be nosy as hell when she does,” Molly warned with amusement.
Sasha looked forward to it.
Time slowed to a crawl, leaving her too much time to fret about her marriage, especially as Rafael didn’t come home until well after midnight.
“Is everything all right at work?” she murmured when he slid into bed beside her.
“Just putting the house in order.”
“The house?” She picked up her head.
“Proverbial.” He hesitated, then, “No matter what happens in the next week or two, you and I will need some time.”
“Oh.” She dropped her head back onto the pillow. Her heart stalled, then restarted.
“That’s not—I just called the hospital. They said Molly and the baby are fine. Don’t worry. Go back to sleep.”
She couldn’t help worrying. She wanted to ask him to hold her, but they were in too precarious a place. Instead, she waited until his breathing had evened out, then let her hand creep across to rest on his arm before she was able to drift off again.
He was gone again when she woke, leaving her to turn over his words as she waited until she could go to the hospital again.
On the third day of Molly’s bed rest, she was in the lounge, waiting for Patty and Libby to leave, when Libby walked in.
