Page 46 of Loving London

“I sure did. His name is Evan Loïc Berkeley.”

“Evan,” I say softly as baby Evan wraps his tiny fingers around my thumb.

“I couldn’t get the name Evan out of my head. I kept coming back to it. And then, of course, I decided to name him after the man who has loved me more than anyone else. If you hadn’t saved me over and over, I wouldn’t even be here to be his mommy. I want him to be strong and brave, like you.”

“Thank you, Sarah.” I look to her beautiful but tired face.

It’s hard to wrap my mind around everything she and I have gone through together. We’ve been through hell and back. Yet it was all worth it because, now, we have this little guy here.

“I’m going to be the best uncle ever,” I say to her as I place Evan back in her arms.

“Yeah,” she agrees softly.

But I don’t miss the edge of disappointment I hear in her voice.

London

“I don’t want to be with anyone else until I can give him my whole heart, and right now, it belongs to someone else.”

—London Wright

The waiter refills my iced tea, and I thank him before I continue my conversation with Brad. I’m reading off the notes from my phone. “So, then I’ll interview the parents and discuss her plans for Tokyo?”

“Yes, that sounds good,” Brad answers.

I’m interviewing a swimmer from Los Angeles who won a gold medal at the summer Olympics in Rio. The title of the article is going to be “Life After the Games.” Of course, I want to talk to her parents and get some sweet story from when she was young. Readers eat that stuff up. Maybe, if I’m lucky, I will score a photo of her at three with a swim cap on, and her parents will tell me,Her very first words were gold medal. I laugh to myself.

“What’s so funny over there?” Brad asks from beside me.

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

“You’re going to have the shoe story ready, right?” he asks.

“Oh, yes. This story is right up my alley. You sure I shouldn’t be buying a few pairs on the company’s dime? You know, for research purposes.” I give Brad a smirk.

It’s the end of November, and shoppers have already started buying Christmas presents. I’m running a story on the most in-demand shoes and where to find them. Tomorrow, I’ll get to spend my day going from boutique to boutique, checking out heels.

How amazing is that?

“Sorry, it’s not in our budget. No new shoes for you.” Brad shakes his head with a grin.

“Oh, I’ll be getting some new heels. I’ll buy them with my own hard-earned money.” I wink.

“Like you need more.”

“Oh, a girl always needs more shoes, Brad. You should know this by now.”

“Well, all right. So then, your other stories are already turned in?”

“Correct.” I nod.

The waiter comes with our food. I adore the way they present the food here. My southwest chicken wrap has flowers drawn on the plate with guacamole sauce. It’s so cute. This is definitely my favorite little café. Kate and I eat here several times a week. Plus, it helps that it’s right next to my apartment. It has this adorable terrace area out front with tables where we always choose to sit. It’s pretty awesome that we can sit outside to eat in late November.

Brad shovels his steak salad in his mouth.

“Whoa, slow down there, boss.” I laugh.

“Sorry, I have to meet Elizabeth across town in an hour. So, I have to go soon.”

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