Page 24 of Face Off

“Hey.” Taylor rushed over to us and bent down to get eye level with Sadie. “I’ve been waiting all day to meet you.” She held out her hand. “I’m Taylor. I work with your mom.”

Sadie looked up at me, then back to Taylor. “You’re pretty.”

Taylor beamed. “Oh, well, thank you. You’re quite beautiful yourself. I love your dress.”

“Mommy and me match.” Sadie pointed at her chest then up at me.

“And your hair,” I reminded her.

Taylor gently touched one of Sadie’s curls. “Oh, you do look just like your mommy.”

I loved hearing that, even if it wasn’t necessarily true. She did have my honey blond hair and small nose, but her light blues eyes and dimpled smile were all her father’s.

“Hi, guys.” Chloe walked up wearing a gray shirt and jeans, looking far more casual than I imagined ever seeing her, but it was the baby on her hip that caught my attention. “This is Callan.” She took his pudgy hand and waved.

“How old is he?” I asked, smiling at the giggling boy.

“Almost a year,” she answered.

“I’m three.” Sadie held up her fingers.

“You’re so big.” Chloe said the exact thing Sadie loved hearing.

“Let’s go show you off.” Taylor straightened and offered her hand to Sadie, who didn’t hesitate in ditching me to go with her new friend.

“And just like that, I’ve been replaced,” I teased.

Chloe looked around. “Elena!”

A woman I vaguely recognized left the group she was talking to and came over. “Hi, Chloe.”

“Holly, this is Elena. She’s married to Nikolai.” I tried to hold back my reaction, but after meeting him yesterday, it was hard to.

“I know. He’s a lot to take, but he’s a big softy once you get past the brooding and scary accent and stuff.”

I laughed. “Yeah, he was great with the dogs.”

“Here’s a baby.” Chloe shoved Callan into Elena’s arms, and without missing a beat, she was bouncing with him and making him smile. “See, it's the best group to lose your child to. There are too many women and not enough kids to go around.”

“You have a kid?” Elena asked while swaying side to side.

“Yeah, Sadie.” I looked around the room and finally spotted Taylor standing next to Brandon Cullen and a tall, willowy woman wearing a long, paisley skirt and tank top, with her hair piled up on the top of her head in a messy bun I’d never manage to make look chic.

“That’s Sydney. She and Brandon have twin boys, Milo and Finn. They’re a bit older than Sadie, but I’m sure they’ll all get along,” Elena explained.

“Especially if Sadie likes swimming,” Chloe said. “Those boys would spend all day every day in their pool if they had the chance.”

“I was planning on getting her into lessons this summer.” If I managed to find the time and money.

“Oh, I bet Sydney could teach her. I swear, she’s a wizard when it comes to kids,” Elena said before waving. “Amelia, come here.”

A woman around my age, with long brown hair and eyes similar to Elena’s, walked over. “Hi.” She smiled at me.

“This is Holly. She works on the social media team with me and Taylor,” Chloe said.

“Amelia’s my sister,” Elena added.

“And that one’s mine.” Amelia pointed across the room to where Olli and Derek were chatting.