Page 34 of The Road Back to Us

“Yeah,” Lyric responded, clearing her throat. “That’s what I was thinking, too.”

“I love all of them, but this one is my favorite. Are you going to submit all of them, or do you have to narrow it down to just one?”

“I would have to limit it to one. But everything I created today is so cohesive that it could be its own brand. I wouldn’t want to give them that kind of control, which would mean separating myself from them and branching out on my own. I’d have to create my own label.”

“That’s been your dream for as long as I can remember,” I said softly, her eyes locking on mine as she sucked in a breath. “I think it would be silly not to go after it when it’s finally within reach.”

“I don’t know that I’m cut out for that. This was just a random idea that hit me earlier, who even knows if it would sell? It’s a long shot, and it would take a lot of work to get everything done to make this happen. I don’t know that I have the means to promote it or find the right audience. Starting my own label would be more than I’m familiar with and would take time that I don’t necessarily have.” She glanced at Chloe, and I knew that she was worried about finding that work and family balance she had already been struggling with.

“The best things in life are usually the hardest,” I replied, leaning back in my chair and licking my lips.

It was a stupid thing to do because I noticed the flush on Lyric’s cheeks at the same time I realized how those words could be taken. But fuck if I didn’t love the reaction I was getting from her as she thought about how hard I could get for her and how fucking amazing the sex was between us.

“That they are,” she said so softly I barely heard her.

“We can help you,” Kara offered, passing the sketchbook back to her. “Whatever you need, we’re all on board to make it happen.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate that. I’m going to take baby steps and see where things end up, but thank you all for the support. That means so much to me.”

After we finished dinner, I sent Lyric to rest with Chloe while Ben and Kara helped me clean up. I could tell by the look on Kara’s face that she was up to something, I just didn’t know what.

Thirty-One

Lyric

Cole took the kids to run errands, giving me a few hours to get some work done, which felt weird on a Saturday. But I still had a huge decision to make, regardless of whether I wanted to or not.

I’d been working for Laroque for so long that I’d grown accustomed to doing the bare minimum, just to say I had a job in fashion. But the passion I had once had for designing clothing had burned out a long time ago, even if I hadn’t wanted to admit it. It was like I had packed up a dream, moved to New York, and let it dwindle to nothing while I tried to navigate life without the man I loved.

That was until yesterday, when I accidentally created the perfect brand. Everything I sketched came so easily to me that I could barely keep up with getting the sketches down as ideas flooded my brain. I had to stop and write them down, making sure to store the information somewhere in case inspiration decided to flee as quickly as it had arrived.

There were easily fifteen designs that I could launch right away, with the opportunity to expand on them as needed. The ideas I had were simple, yet beautiful. They were fully functional designs that brought a sense of stability, allowing mothers to feel beautiful without sacrificing comfort.

While I had never had the pleasure of being a mother, I’d learned quickly from taking care of Chloe that I never stopped moving. She was constantly on the move, and I never knew where my phone was because I was busy chasing after her. I could only imagine multiplying that with several small children and knew that I needed to cater to the demographic that Laroque often overlooked—mothers.

I was so busy adding color and small details to one of the sketches that I hadn’t heard the door open when they returned.

“Hey, we picked up lunch while we were out,” Cole said, smiling at me as he headed toward the kitchen table where I had been working. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“I’m starving,” I replied, gathering the colored pencils and putting them back into the case. I set everything aside and heard my stomach growl loudly as the smell of hamburgers filled the air.

My eyes widened as I saw Kara and Ben come in, carrying takeout bags from my favorite food joint.

“No way!” I said, clapping happily as they grinned at me. “I haven’t had Foxy Burgers in forever!”

“I figured you hadn’t,” Cole replied. “I saw it when we were heading back and thought it would be a nice surprise.”

“I didn’t think they still had one in Willow Falls.” I sat back and waited while Cole pulled out my food and set it in front of me as Chloe climbed up beside me. Kara handed her the kids' meal box and barely pulled her hand away as Chloe ripped it open and shoved a handful of fries in her mouth.

My eyes widened in surprise as I watched her, wondering if Cole had bothered to feed her a snack while they were out. They were gone for a few hours, but I didn’t know where they had gone.

Everyone took their seats as Cole finished passing out the food before sitting down to join us.

“They don’t,” he replied as he unwrapped his hamburger. “We stopped at the one in Cyprus Canyon on our way back.”

I nodded and took a bite, feeling like it was none of my business why they went to Cyprus Canyon. Even though I was legally their guardian, that didn’t erase Cole’s presence in their lives. I wasn’t going to ask him to stop doing things he likes doing with them, just because a piece of paper granted me permission to do so. As far as I was concerned, he was as much their legal guardian as I was. I was surprised that Clay hadn’t listed him as their guardian, but figured he had his reasons and maybe didn’t want to tie Cole down to raising his kids.

“I forgot how heavenly their food is,” I said around a mouthful as I held my hand in front of me as I spoke, trying hard not to moan because it was seriously that good.