“Of course there is,” she said. She just didn’t quite know what it looked like.
She wanted to say yes. She wanted to leap into this moment, let herself believe that the boy she’d once fantasized about had somehow grown into the man she could love.
But Danny’s face flashed through her mind. That reckless spark. That inconvenient flutter of excitement she hadn’t felt in years. Not to mention, her divorce papers had barely just been signed. And that was honestly far more of a deterrent than a flirtation with a client.
“Peter,” she said softly. “I… I don’t know what I’m ready for. I’m still figuring everything out. I love spending time with you. I just… I need a little more time.”
He nodded. “Take all the time you need. I’m here for a while, then…” He pulled out his phone. “Hang on.” He frowned, reading the text. “Oh, wow. This is big.”
“You found the missing guy?” she asked, her heart tumbling. That meant he’d leave, unless she?—
“Do you think Maggie and Jo Ellen are still up?” he asked, the question throwing her a little.
“Yes—baking a great-grandmother celebration cake, according to Eli. Why?”
“I have news about your father’s case. We should go see them.”
“Okay.” She broke away as he reached to open the car door.
“And Viv,” he added, smiling at her. “I don’t mean to pressure you. Take your time. I got carried away with the thrill of victory.”
She just smiled at him and slid into her seat, her heart full and confused. Had her teenage heartthrob just asked her for…a future?
She glanced at the Goofy Golf sign as he rounded the car to climb in. Iconic, indeed.
Vivien openedthe front door to the Summer House and frowned at the muffled sound she heard. Was that…someone crying?
The strangled noise was followed by a deep gasp, a wheeze, and…a snort?
“Jo! Get ahold of yourself!” Maggie exclaimed, but she didn’t sound like Maggie. She wasn’t mad and she certainly wasn’t crying.
Was Jo Ellen? Had a bout of grief?—
“I can’t!” Jo Ellen shouted, then a gale of giggles followed. “Look at that! Mags! I’ve seen five-year-olds do better! And that color! You had a great-grandson, not a Smurf!”
Maggie choked a laugh. “Fine. Icing isn’t my forte. And that’s supposed to be a globe, for Atlas. You want to do—” She looked up and saw Vivien come in from the entry. “Oh, hello.”
“Hello.” Vivien paused at the sight of Maggie and Jo Ellen smearing bright blue icing on a sheet cake, wearing the aprons that Kate and Jonah used to love when they cooked. “This looks like fun.”
Her mother almost looked embarrassed to be accused of having fun. But she didn’t deny she’d been caught in a moment of sheer abandon with her former best friend.
Jo Ellen didn’t look guilty or ashamed. She wore a huge smile, a dab of blue icing on her cheek, and the first real glint Vivien had seen in the grieving woman’s eyes.
“We baked a cake!” she announced. “A baby boy cake. With…a globe. Or something.”
“I see that.” Vivien came closer, glancing at the …creation. “It’s a masterpiece.”
Maggie gave her a dark look. “It’s a mess,” she shot back, sounding much more like the mother Vivien knew and expected to find. “We attempted baking.”
“We should stick with cooking,” Jo Ellen said dryly, then elbowed Maggie. “Nothing ventured, right?”
Maggie rolled her eyes and tried to smooth the icing some more, then looked over Vivien’s shoulder. “Hello, Peter.”
“Maggie, Jo Ellen.” He came to the island counter and took a long look at the cake, then up at them. “Looks delicious. I say you should never judge a cake by its icing.”
“Smart man.” Maggie took her icing tool to the sink to rinse it off. “How was dinner?”
“We need to talk,” Peter said, making Maggie freeze in the act of flipping the faucet. Slowly, she turned, dropping the icing knife in the sink unrinsed.
