Page 42 of The Wrong Promise

Piper strolls into my room in her pajamas. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I say, deflated.

“Did you two fight? I saw Jobe leave, and he looked pissed.”

“Our first one,” I lie.

Why do I expect it to be different now? We have clashed since the day I met him.

It’slate Sunday night when Piper drops me off. Upstairs, the penthouse is dark, empty, and hot—a freaking sauna. I turn the temperature down and head to my room, stripping out of my jacket as I go. It’s not enough. It feels as though I might melt.

Opening the freezer, I frantically search for ice cream, anything to cool me down. Is the heating faulty? I take a bowl of ice cream out to the terrace as I wait for my room to cool down. It’s cold out here, but I don’t care because it’s better than being inside when Jobe comes home.

There’s no way I can sleep in there. I’ve left the windows open so the cool night air will waft into my room and hopefully make it tolerable.

Settling into the padded chair, I stare across the Thames at the twinkling lights. It’s a beautiful view, but it’s not home. It’s another moment where I feel homesick, missing being able to drive over to see my friends and have a good cry.

I check my cell. It’s around lunchtime in LA, so I open up my contacts and call Penny.

“Hold Summer, it’s Zara,” she says, and I hear Summer cry in the background, then rustling. “Zara. Is everything okay?”

“Hi, Pen. Yeah, I’m good. Is this a bad time?”

“No, no, Summer has gas, and we’re trying to make her comfortable. She’s three and half months and grown so much.”

I smile into the phone. “I can’t wait to see her. See both of you.”

“I’ve missed you,” Penny says in a high, sad voice.

“I’ve missed you too. Tell me, what else have I missed?”

“There’s not a lot to tell. I spend all my time with Summer, and we split our time between Frank’s penthouse and the beach house. Mom and Dad are doing well. Have you spoken to Hugh recently?”

“Not yet. I wanted to check in with you first.”

“Poor Sienna has been sick almost the entire pregnancy. She is huge. Retaining fluid too. They are monitoring her blood pressure.”

“Oh, he never mentioned it.”

“It’s been a difficult pregnancy, but she only has eight more weeks until her due date.”

“Wow, a Christmas baby. How are you, Pen?” I don’t want the entire call to be about babies. “Honestly.”

“Tired. Sad that I can’t see you like we used to.”

“I’m sad for that too but even if I were there, it wouldn’t be like old times.”

“No, I guess not. But babies grow, and life will be easier soon. Anyway, enough about that. Tell me about London. What are your new friends like? Jobe told Franklin you’re thriving.”

Thriving.

“He said he has caught up with you a couple of times, and you’ve met at a pub for drinks. You introduced him to some of your friends.”

“We did. They are my work colleagues and are younger if you know what I mean. We all stayed at a beach house over the weekend at a place south of London. It was fun, but… I’ve kind of outgrown the things they were doing for entertainment.”

Penny giggles. “We’re old, babe.”

“We are. But they’re fun to be around too. We eat together most lunch breaks and meet up on weekends, so it helps with homesickness.”

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