Page 22 of Beyond Perfect

“Want to talk about that?”

“Maybe later.” She flopped into a cushy chair. “What am I going to do for a week?”

“Take care of yourself. You’re exhausted. You’ll sleep. Work out. Read some books you keep putting off. Take care of wedding stuff. Work on the house.”

“I guess.”

“Will you talk to him again?”

“The shower/rehearsal party is tomorrow night.” She closed her eyes. “We planned it together. He’ll be there.”

“Can you handle seeing him?”

“I have no choice.”

“What would you like to do now?”

“Tear something apart.”

“Go get into your old clothes. We can probably finish the den in that time.”

She gestured to the papers on his desk, which would eventually be in the new den. “Weren’t you busy?”

“I was outlining some stuff for the counseling practice. Go ahead, honey.”

“All right. See you—"

Her phone rang. She looked down. “Oh, shit.”

“Him?”

“Yeah. You answer it. Tell him I don’t want to talk to him. Ask him about Frankie.”

Caleb said, “I think you should talk to him.”

“No!”

“All right. I’m putting it on speaker, though. Hello?”

“I’m calling for Maisy Shepherd. Who is this?”

“Caleb. She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Are you sure?”

Her brother raised a brow at her. She shook her head.

“Yeah. That isn’t going to happen, Jackson.”

“Okay. Stay with her.”

“I intend to. Did you find Frankie?”

“Not yet. Tell her I’ll let you know when I do. And ask her if I should pick her up for the meeting tonight.”

“No!”

A pause. “You are there. Maisy, let me drive to the La Trattoria.”

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