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Trystan would have chuckled, but now it was time to say good-bye to the real flower girl, and he thought he might cry himself because every hour and week and month he’d been here was evident in how much her sturdy little body and her soggy, toothy grin had changed. She tried to poke him in the eye with her wet finger before she snuggled into his shoulder ever so trustingly, then bounced on his arm.
It struck him that he was going to miss all the ways she would grow and change while he was away from her, and damn, that made his throat hurt.
“All right, piglet.” He tipped her and caught her foot, pretending to eat her toes. “I’ll see you soon. Remember that I’m your favorite.”
Handing her back to Em was like pulling his heart from his own chest and offering it. He dropped his sunglasses over his stinging eyes, saluted, and stepped into the copilot’s seat.
“Okay?” the pilot asked.
“Yep.” He would be, he told himself.
Chapter Twenty
Look who finally has a phone!Sophie dropped the message into the family text chain a week later, while Trystan was still in Vancouver.
A series of photos followed. Cloe with a man who was an older, masculine version of her. His hair was iron gray at his temples, his smile the same wide arc of beautiful white teeth against skin that was a darker brown than hers.
Then came Cloe with a young man who looked like their father. His hair was in twists. He had his arm around Cloe and he was playfully hanging his tongue out.
The last one showed her standing back-to-back with a woman whose profile was uncannily like her own. The other woman wore her hair long and straight, but her height and figure were almost identical to Cloe’s.
Cloe:
Can you tell which one of us is which?
Emma:
Someone misses you
Emma dropped in a photo of Storm standing at her crib rail wearing a grumpy expression.
Trystan copied Cloe’s number into his contacts, then sent her a private text.
You look happy. All good?
Cloe:
Really good. I have a job.
Cloe moved back to the family chain to expound on that. It was reception at a hair salon, but she made a commission off the sale of products and they did a brisk business. She thanked Logan for the contact because the salon was owned by the wife of one of his former clients.
Sophie:
I just told Logan I’ll come with him when he flies down to get his sailboat after Xmas. We’ll come see you.
Logan:
Like I didn’t ask her ten times already if she wanted to come. For YOU she says yes.
Cloe:
Awesome! With Biyen?
Sophie:
That wasn’t the plan, but maybe?
Trystan was instantly jealous of all of them. Sick with envy.
