Page 2 of Momcom Vacation

I lean against the door, and when he’s said a quick goodbye to his mother and tapped the End button, I chuckle. “Perks of a Vegas wedding.”

“She’s driving me nuts. I want every detail to be perfect for Dylan, and we both know the last thing she’ll want is a huge society wedding.”

Lips pressed in a line, I nod. Dylan left all the wedding plans to Cortney’s family because she truly doesn’t care. So long as the girls are there, along with our ridiculous oversized family and both her immediate family and Cortney’s, she’ll be happy. But unlike Dylan, Cortney Miller’s mom is a professional when it comes to throwing over-the-top events. And since her older son eloped years ago and her daughter isn’t married, this is Evelyn’s first chance to plan a wedding for her child.

“Did you actually let Liv leave?” Cortney saunters over and peers around me, like he thinks he’ll find Liv tied to my desk chair.Although…

I shake my head. Liv would kill me if I even dangled a pair of handcuffs in her direction.

Stomach burning, I head back to my desk in search of my roll of Tums. “I sent them on the Langfield jet. It took off half an hour ago.”

“Ah, the Keys. I wish we coulda made it a family vacation, though.”

I nod in response, my jaw locked tight.

“Too bad you don’t have another plane,” Cortney teases.

Yeah…although…

My wife’s words from earlier echo in my mind.“You aren’t interrupting…”

I slip my phone out of my pocket and unlock it. “What time are we supposed to pick up the kids from school?”

Chapter 2

Shayla

Me: Hey, Beckett! It’s me again. Just wanted to make sure you had a chance to read through the updated parts of the health and wellness checklist. I added a few new items before we left.

Unease rolls through me as I drop my phone into the cupholder. At least the leather recliners in Beckett’s private jet are comfortable.

There’s no denying the generosity of the gesture. He offered it up before Liv could even ask, along with the use of hispalatial estatein the Florida Keys for our girls’ getaway. It’s almost Christmas, and god knows we all need this vacation.

He may be generous, but I do wish the bastard would reply to my text messages more often than once a decade. The man is taking care of my son. He should be easily accessible at all times.

My stomach churns as I think about all the things that could go wrong while we’re gone and the kids are at home with the menfolk. What if someone gets hurt? What if Beckett forgets that it’s too cold for them to go outside without wearing thermals under their sweats and parkas? What if he lets them stay up pasttheir bedtime? Or allows Kai to go to bed without brushing his teeth with his charcoal toothpaste?

This was such a terrible idea.

If Rowan weren’t gone for a short stretch of away games, Kai wouldn’t have to sleep over at Beckett and Liv’s.

Chest tightening, I pick up my phone again and type out another message.

Me: Also, it’s important that Kai takes his organic turmeric capsules. One of my great-aunts had degenerative eye disease, so it’s vital we take preventative measures to ensure he doesn’t get it.

Me: Also, I packed boxes of bone broth into his backpack for smoothies. Feel free to offer it to the other kids too. I know how much they miss the smoothies I made for them when we all lived together.

I lean back against my chair again and am searching for a comfortable position when Liv’s phone lights up with a message.

She’s sitting on the other side of the coffee table, facing me, head lowered over the device and her face fixed in a scowl. “Seriously.” She snaps her head up and zeroes in on me. “How many times are you going to message him? Now I’m hearing about it.”

I hold back an eye roll. It’s so like Beckett Langfield to go through his wife for all the hard stuff. “I’ve only messaged your husband a couple of times?—”

“Fourteen times in the past hour, according to him.”

Delia snorts from her seat next to me. She’s busy finishing up work for one of her clients so she can fully switch off and relax with the rest of us this weekend. Thankfully, Enzo’s home withthe twins. He’s amazing with them, so she has nothing to worry about on that front.

I scoff. “He is taking care of my one and only child and, well, I’m just…”

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