Page 96 of Imperfectly Perfect

“Most of it.” Brinley poked at the food with her fork, obviously unsure if she wanted to eat it or not.

Fallon said nothing as she took her first bite, ready for the flavors to burst on her tongue, ones that she was so familiar with. Savannah was also eating and watching Brinley carefully. Fallon didn’t want Brinley to feel like she was in the hot seat, the center of so much attention that she would crumble under it, so she turned to Savannah.

“And how was your day at work?”

“Oh.” Savannah frowned slightly. “I didn’t go in today.”

Fallon furrowed her brow. “Too tired?”

“You could say that.” Savannah’s cheeks hollowed slightly, a dark cloud coming over her for a brief moment before it vanished before her eyes. “I just needed a day for myself.”

“But I wasn’t here all week,” Brinley added.

“Right,” Savannah said slowly, the pink deepening into a red. They were definitely not going to talk about that in front of Brinley. “It’s fine. I just wanted a day to get some things sorted.”

“Like cleaning the kitchen?”

Savannah’s shrug was all the answer Fallon needed.

“I’m glad you had a day to yourself.” Fallon stretched her legs under the table. She could use a day like that, and perhaps when Athena went on her next trip with Monti she’d be able to manage one. She hated taking time off work when Athena was in the office and took great pains to avoid it. She always had to be there to protect and help Athena if she could.

She did that with a lot of people. And she’d have to watch that habit when she was around Savannah. Not that a little of it was bad, but if that became her entire world, then they wouldn’t be on equal footing anymore.

“Fallon?” Brinley’s voice disturbed her thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“How was your day?” Brinley sounded as though she was repeating herself. Perhaps she was, and Fallon had been so lost in her thoughts that she’d missed the question the first time.

“Oh, it was good. Calm, quiet day in the office.”

“What do you do all day?” Brinley asked.

“Mostly sit at a computer.” Fallon wrinkled her nose. “But a lot of different things. I pay bills, I find articles and papers and books for my boss when she needs them. I make appointments and answer the phone. I take notes on some of the cases she has going on right now.”

“Sounds boring.”

“It can be sometimes,” Fallon agreed. But the work she did was fulfilling, and that was all she needed. Fulfilling and easy for the most part. “I think I’ll go out with Monti sometime this week, catch up with her.”

“Who’s Monti?” Brinley asked.

“My little sister.”

“I want a sister,” Brinley mumbled.

Savannah visibly tensed, but she didn’t say anything. Fallon was tempted to tell Brinley that being a sister wasn’t all it was chalked up to being, but she resisted the urge.

“Mom?”

“Yeah, baby.”

Brinley set down her fork and sucked in a sharp breath. Her lips thinned and her face became serious. She looked directly at Fallon before eyeing her mom. Every warning bell went off in Fallon’s head. This wasn’t going to be something that she wanted to hear, was it?

“Why aren’t you and Fallon girlfriends?”

Savannah choked.

“And I think that’s my cue to clean up.” Fallon left the two of them alone and escaped into the kitchen. She didnotwant to be part of that conversation. Not yet, anyway. Besides, she was enjoying the moment too much. Just simplicity and family—something she’d longed for her entire life. Smiling to herself, Fallon started with the dishes and let the two of them talk. She wanted this. She really did.

---