Page 72 of Love Me Sweet

“You said no.”

“Initially,” Lexi admitted. “My life was here, my job, my friends. I had a daughter. Addie was seven at the time. I couldn’t just uproot her.”

“What happened?”

“We compromised. We would spend part of the year in Texas and part of the year here. It couldn’t be fifty-fifty because of Addie’s schooling.” Lexi stared at the last piece of pizza and picked it up. “Oh, what the heck.”

“That couldn’t have been easy.”

Lexi paused, the pizza near her lips. “Few things in life seldom are. It was a difficult couple of years, but Nick and I were together and that was the important thing, to Addie and to me. During the following years, his father added several more attorneys to the practice. This allowed Nick to spend more time building his practice in Jackson Hole. Now, he only consults with his father on special cases.”

Sylvie thought of Andrew. Thought about compromise. Thought about how far she was willing to go.

For the first time in forty-eight hours, the tightness in her chest eased. She met the other woman’s gaze. “Lexi, I need your help.”

* * *

If Sylvie could have left that day for Boston, she’d have done it. But she had clients and obligations and Lexi couldn’t fill in for her until after the first.

She purchased a plane ticket with the last of her savings and hoped that Andrew would welcome her. She loved him and between them, surely they could find a way to compromise.

The painting of the fox hung in her small living quarters. Each time she looked at it, she assured the fox that yes, she was going after Andrew.

There was a chill in the air the morning of her birthday. She baked for her clients and went about making her deliveries. Other than Josie, who was still on her honeymoon, no one else knew that today was her birthday. Sylvie didn’t mention it.

If she did, they might want her to go out and celebrate. She had to pack and get her sleep. Tomorrow she had an early flight to catch.

Her phone rang just as she was finishing up the last of her deliveries. “This is Sylvie.”

“Hey, Sylvie, Keenan McGregor. I need a favor.”

Sylvie tried to keep the surprise from her voice. “Sure. Anything.”

“Great.”

Was that relief she heard?

“Mitzi is convinced she lost her earring when we stopped over to your house.”

For a second Sylvie was confused. As far as she could recall, Mitzi had never stopped into The Mad Batter. Then she realized he was speaking of the house in Spring Gulch, down the street from his. The one where she’d lived with Andrew.

“I cleaned the house before I closed it up,” Sylvie told him. “I didn’t find any earring. Are you sure she didn’t lose it somewhere else?”

“She’s certain she was wearing it there. Would you mind stopping over there this afternoon and checking inside?”

“I locked the door and left the key inside.”

“There’s a keypad on the garage door. Surely you remember the code?”

“Yes, but I—”

“It would mean a lot to me, ah to us, if you’d look.”

Sylvie wasn’t quite sure how she felt about going back inside. There were so many memories, including the argument with Andrew. She’d done everything she could to stay positive this week but going back inside could derail her optimistic mood. Still, Keenan and Mitzi had been kind to her.

“What does it look like?”

For a moment there was only silence. “What does what look like?”

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