Page 61 of Second Round

He squinted. “Looks expensive. What gallery did you get it at? You should have rented instead ofbuying.”

I shook my head. “Refined, subtle art never comes cheap. You of all people shouldknowthat.”

“Actually, they might look nice at my new place. Maybe I’ll buy themfromyou.”

I really had to bite my tongue now. Brent would never have my art at his place. I’d have to invent a good story about some importantartist.

Carole joined us in the living room. “Great news! You’ve sold your house.Congratulations.”

Brent smiled and shook Carole’s hand. “Thank you so much, Carole.Greatwork.”

“It was a pleasure. And Jackie did such a fantastic job on the house, it made my job that mucheasier.”

“Yeah, she’s always been good at decorating,” he agreed. He made it sound like nothing, but it was my next job. I was halfway through collecting items for Fiona’s project, and I’d already begun drawing up plans for Amanda’s newplace.

We told the kids the place was sold before they left with Brent. Not that it was a shock, but the finality of a sale and a moving date was hard on them. I could see that Tristan was upset, but he didn’t want to cry in front of his dad. Brent whisked them both off to dinner with his parents. It would be up to him to deal with all the fallout of losing the only home they’dknown.

Leo was out of town so we had no dinner plans. I wandered around the house, touching things: the couch in the family room where we sat for movie night; the doorframe where we marked the height and ages of the kids, the dent from when Brent had swung Hannah up too high and her feet hit the ceiling. Finally, I sat down on Tristan’s bed. He had the worst nightmares, and I’d come in and lie down with him. The night would be so quiet, and all I could hear would be Tristan’s uneven breathing and the ticking of the grandfather clock. Brent had taken that clock with him, so right now the house was completelysilent.

For so long, I’d tried to keep everything the same. Our home was a fortress against a world that was coming apart. Now that fortress wasn’t ours any longer. I knew it was time, and I wasn’t afraid of the change. But all the memories of happy times were flooding my brain. That beautiful life that I assumed would lastforever.

I buried my head into Tristan’s pillow andcried.

22

New KidinTown

Jackie

Leo wastense as we waited in the restaurant. I knew from the moment he asked me two weeks ago to come to this dinner that it was a big deal. Why ask so formally when we saw each other so much anyway? He claimed he wanted me to meet Charlotte, who was arriving for the summer. However, I was pretty sure that his tension had more to do with the newlyweds who were bringing her—his ex-wife, Sophie, and her new husband, WesGraham.

Leo scarcely mentioned his ex-wife, and I was pretty curious to meet her. Dating Leo was odd, since he was so alone. We went out with Amanda and Chris, and he sometimes socialized with other hockey people. But he had no old friends or family here. He was from a family of six, but so far none of them hadvisitedyet.

And of course, I was dying to meet the woman that Leo had chosen to marry. He was such a commitment-phobe now that it was tough to imagine him being all head-over-heels. I chose a pretty print shift dress and took extra care with my makeup. These days, I needed extra time to hide all the tiny imperfections. But sleeping better meant the dark circles under my eyes were gone. Sex, it’s good foryourskin!

Leo fiddled with his phone and barely touched his beer. Since he was normally so confident and controlled, his nervousness was beginning to affectmetoo.

“Is everything okay?” Iasked.

He turned from watching the restaurant doorway to face me. “Yeah. Maybe I should have told you, but….” He paused and looked down at his phoneagain.

“Papa!”

A tiny blonde girl wrapped Leo in a tight hug. He squeezed his arms around her and hugged her back. His eyes were closed, and the expression on his face was one I had never seen before: utter, relaxed bliss. He was normally so guarded and that allfellaway.

After the hug, he scooped Charlotte into his arms and stood up. I watched as Sophie and Wes walked towards us. Sophie was almost exactly what I expected: tall, slim, and completelygorgeous.

Perfect skin, check. Blue eyes, check. Blonde hair in a sleek asymmetrical bob, check. And elegance up the ying yang, like every Frenchwomanever.

Her casual navy linen blouse and dark jeans made me regret the sateen shift dress. Damn, why didn’t I wear my usual shirt and dress pants? Now I looked like someone’s overdressed mom. I felt old and frumpy, and I tried to shakeitoff.

“Leo,” she said and they did that double cheek kiss thing. Was I going to have to do that too? Because I always messed up and bumped into the other person’s nose halfway. Also, she said his name differently:Lay-o. Great, I’d been pronouncing my boyfriend’s name wrong formonths.

“Hi, I’m Wes.” My hand was grasped firmly, and for the first time I noticed the man with Sophie. He was very tall, muscular in a lanky way, and very tanned. His hair was naturally sun-bleached in that way that Wendy spent hundreds to achieve at the salon. Wes’s warm smile and relaxed manner made me feel better. I could do this. I pulled on my corporate wifepersona.

“Hello, Wes. It’s lovely to meet you. I’mJackie.”

Sophie leaned over and shook my hand with a dazzling smile. “Ahhh, Jackie.Enchantée.” She shook her head at Leo. “Why do you deny you have a girlfriend when she is sopretty?”

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