The Friends We Keep

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“Why not? I’m a nice guy, Nicole. I have a steady job, I like kids. Your son thinks I’m amazing.”

“Tyler thinks Brad the Dragon is amazing. You’re just the delivery system.”

“Ouch.” The smile faded. He pressed a hand to his chest. “Is it that you’re mad about before or you just don’t like me?”

“I don’t know you well enough to like or dislike you, and I’m not mad. I’m just not interested.”

He took a step toward her. The movement wasn’t threatening, so she didn’t move back. Instead it seemed as if he were trying to figure something out.

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Goodbye.”

He left. Just like that. No backward glance, nothing. Nicole stared after him, not sure what she felt. She’d thought he would make another run at asking her out. Apparently she’d been very clear in dismissing him.

Shannon walked back into the studio. “Well?”

“He’s gone. He asked me out, I said no and he left.”

Her friend glanced over her shoulder to where Jairus was driving away. His car was a black sedan. A BMW, but not overly flashy—at least for LA.

“Did you like him?” Shannon asked. “I know you hate all things Brad the Dragon, but I’m talking about the man. Was he nice? Were you tempted?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

Shannon touched her arm. “You’re my friend and I love you. I also worry about you. It’s been over a year since you and Eric split. The divorce has been final for months and months, but to the best of my knowledge, you haven’t gone out with anyone. Aren’t you lonely? Don’t you want a romantic relationship in your life?”

“I don’t know,” Nicole admitted, telling the absolute truth. “I don’t let myself think about it.”

Shannon’s gaze turned sympathetic. “That’s what I thought. Maybe this is a good time to find out why.”

* * *

When Gabby was a kid, Legos had been a toy only boys played with. At least in her circle of friends. Sometime in the past twenty years, they’d developed a line of Legos for girls. As she carefully applied the sticker to what would be a scale in a pink-and-purple vet’s office, she thought this was actually kind of fun. Building things with her girls.

The directions were simple and visual. The twins took turns putting the pieces together. They had already named both the cat and the dog, and had big plans for adding this business to their Lego village.

She finished with the sticker and handed the little piece to Kenzie, who carefully snapped it into place. Her hands were so small, Gabby thought. With tiny fingers. Sometimes it was hard to imagine the girls would grow into adults in just a few years. While part of her looked forward to watching the evolution, she had to admit, having them stay her girls forever would be kind of nice.

“Anybody home?”

The question came from downstairs. The three of them looked at each other before the twins shrieked in unison and headed for the stairs. Gabby followed, wondering what brought Andrew home at three o’clock on a Wednesday.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Gabby walked into the kitchen to find Andrew holding a twin in each arm. He smiled at her.

“My afternoon meeting got canceled, so I headed home.”

She walked over and kissed him, then took Kennedy from him and set her on the floor. “It’s a very nice surprise.”

“I like surprises,” Kennedy said.

“Me, too,” her twin agreed.

Andrew winked. “Some surprises are very nice.” He loosened his tie. “I thought I’d take the girls with me. We’ll go pick up Makayla and grab dinner. Does that work for you?”

He was offering her an evening alone, to do whatever she wanted. A gift as rare as a natural blue diamond.

“That would be amazing,” she admitted. What to do first? A nap? Read? A bath? If she took a bath, she could also read and have a glass of wine. Talk about heaven.

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you.” Andrew lowered Kenzie to the floor, then picked up his briefcase from the counter. “Oh, I almost forgot. This weekend the new wheelbarrows are being unveiled.” He frowned. “Revealed. Whatever it’s called. We should go see them.”

The twins clapped their hands together, then danced around him.

“Can we?” Kennedy asked.

“We want to go,” her twin added.

The wheelbarrows were an interesting tradition in Mischief Bay. When the town had first been founded, criminals—mostly drunks—had been transported to jail in wheelbarrows. In the past ten years, they’d become a tradition in town. They were a fun charity moneymaker. People bid on the chance to decorate a wheelbarrow for a year. Gabby had first met Andrew at a fund-raiser for the wheelbarrows.

She’d been young—only a few months out of law school. She’d spotted him right away. He’d been talking with a group of people, engaged in their conversation, but also watching her.

She’d had boyfriends, of course, some of them serious. But no one like Andrew. No one that funny and sweet and together. He’d walked up to her and smiled and she’d been lost. The more she’d gotten to know him, the more she’d liked him. Their relationship had been a natural progression. Dating, falling in love, getting married. There hadn’t been any drama, no questions.

She remembered the first time she’d spent the night at his apartment. They’d been dating about two months and while she’d wanted him, she’d been nervous. Her lovers had been guys her own age, most of whom weren’t exactly experts. What if she’d been doing it wrong? Andrew was so sophisticated and out of her league.

When they were done—both out of breath, with her still trembling—he’d pulled her close. “You are so incredibly perfect,” he’d whispered. “How did I ever get so lucky as to find you?”

She thought of that now, of how he always looked out for her. His caring wasn’t always done in big gestures, like the Nordstrom card. There were little things, like taking the girls.

“I would love to see the wheelbarrows this weekend,” she told him.

The girls cheered.

“Let me run upstairs and change,” he told her. “Then we’ll head off and you can start your evening.”

“Perfect.”

She took the twins to the bathroom they shared and put sunscreen on them. No doubt they would be outside at some point. There was a brief discussion about what to wear before Kenzie decided their shorts and T-shirts would be just fine.

Andrew joined them. He’d replaced his suit and tie with jeans and a deep blue golf shirt that matched his eyes.

He was still so attractive. He ran a couple of mornings a week and when he traveled, he always worked out at the hotel gym. She thought of her disastrous performance at Nicole’s studio and knew that her unexpected free time would probably be better spent going for a walk or doing sit-ups, but there was no way that was going to happen. Wine, bath and book, here I come.

The four of them headed downstairs. “You’ll pick up Makayla on your way,” she reminded him.

“Promise.”

She kissed each of the girls, then him. “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll take them shopping before dinner.”

“For what?” Kennedy asked.

“Something fun?” Kenzie added. “We need more Legos.”

“You do not,” Gabby said with a laugh. “If you get any more, we’ll be forced to move and none of us want that.”

The girls laughed. Andrew grinned. “I figured we’d go get booster seats.”

The girls started dancing and shrieking.

Gabby felt her good mood fade. “What? Why? We decided they were going to stay in their car seats a few more months.”

Andrew raised one shoulder. “We also talked about replacing them with booster seats. Come on, Gabby, they hassle you daily. Can you really deal with that for a few more months?”

Yes. Of course. They couldn’t let five-year-olds dictate decisions like this. Nor did she want the twins learning that if they complained enough, their parents gave in. Talk about the wrong message.

Both girls stared at her. Gabby knew that if she told him no, he would back down. But then she would be the villain. The one who took away the new, shiny thing. That her life would be hell every time she tried to get them into their car seats. “But Daddy said” would be a constant refrain.

She battled against anger. This was so wrong, she thought. Making the decision without her. Telling the girls so that she couldn’t really say no. She hated being put in this position.

“Is it really so bad?” he asked. “The car is safe and they ride in the back.”

“You’re not helping,” she told him.

“Mommy, please,” Kennedy pleaded.

“Yes, Mommy. Please, please, please.”

Everything about this was wrong, she thought grimly. From Andrew ambushing her to her giving in. Because it all came down to, as her husband often said, her willingness to die on this hill.

“All right,” she said.

The girls flung themselves at her. Andrew leaned in and kissed her.

“Was that so hard?” he asked. “Go have fun. We’ll be home around eight. I promise the girls will be tired and ready for their bath.”

She nodded and watched them leave. She knew she’d been outplayed. Worse, she’d been weak. What she didn’t understand was why it always seemed to come down to surrender or being the bad guy. When was there any middle ground?