Page 104 of Twisted Liars

Clara’s face brightened. “Okay. Let’s go.”

I smiled and shook my head, still wondering what she was up to. When I unlocked the front door, she dashed past me, made a beeline for the kitchen, and dropped her bag. “We’re home, Mommy!” she shouted.

“Clara, I asked you to be quiet so you don’t disturb Mommy,” I said as I set the groceries on the counter. “Now take your shoes off and wash your hands, please.”

As I spoke, I looked over in the breakfast nook that lay just off the kitchen. Amerie usually preferred to study there so she could be close to the coffee machine, but it was currently empty. On top of that, the house was completely still and silent. Even Clara wasn’t making noise anymore. She’d also disappeared from view.

“Where’d you go, princess?” I called out as I looked around. Usually she took her shoes off at the rack by the front door and washed her hands in the kitchen before having her afternoon snack, but the shoe rack didn’t have any purple shoes on it right now, and the kitchen sink was dry.

“In here, Daddy!” Clara’s voice echoed faintly through the house. It sounded like it was coming from the first-floor sitting room.

I trudged down the hall and stepped through the door, expecting to see my daughter playing on the floor with her favorite bears. Instead, I was greeted by a crowd of people in a room decorated with silver balloons and streamers.

“Surprise!” everyone yelled in unison.

My jaw dropped in disbelief as I looked around. Everyone I knew was here. Even some of my old friends from high school that I’d lost touch with in recent years, like Brad Chilton and Jameson Nash.

Amerie and Clara emerged from the crowd, wearing smug smiles on their faces. “What is this?” I asked, scooping Clara into my arms.

Amerie raised a brow. “You didn’t think we’d let you finish your degree without a celebration, did you?” she said, gesturing to the back of the room. A banner reading, ‘Congratulations, Jensen!’ hung there with little decorative graduation caps on either end.

“I can’t believe it,” I said, looking around the room again. “You did all of this in an hour?”

“I had a lot of help with the planning,” Amerie replied, eyes glinting with mischief. She dipped her chin toward Clara. “Our little girl was the biggest help. I told her we needed her to keep you out of the house until three o’clock this afternoon, and she pulled it off perfectly.”

“Ah.” I ruffled Clara’s hair, making her giggle. “I had a feeling you were up to something, missy.”

“It’s the pirate life, Daddy,” she declared.

Amerie gave me an incredulous look. “Are we sure she’s only five?” she asked in a low voice, cocking her head.

“She’s five with your brain.” I raised a brow. “So she’s a force to be reckoned with.”

“Can I have some cake, Mommy?” Clara cut in. “Because I did such a good job?”

“Of course you can.” Amerie smiled and reached out to take our daughter from my arms. “We’ll go and eat while Daddy says hi to everyone.”

The closest person to talk to was Addy, who I hadn’t seen in several months. “Hey,” I said, giving her a big hug. “Good to see you.”

“You too.” She beamed. “Congratulations on the criminology degree. I can’t believe it’s already over.”

“Me neither.” I let out a long sigh of relief. “The time has just flown by. Probably because I’ve been so busy.”

“Yeah. I can’t even imagine studying and having a kid at the same time.”

“I couldn’t have done it without Amerie,” I said. “She picked up all the slack for me, seeing as my course was fulltime.”

“She’s a rockstar.” Addy looked over at the overflowing food table, where Amerie and Clara were standing and chatting with Piper. “God, Clara is so big now. It honestly feels like yesterday when she was still a baby.”

“I know, right? I still think of her as a baby, but I swear she’s actually smarter than me now,” I said with a proud grin. “Anyway, speaking of smart… how’s grad school?”

Addy grimaced. “Hard. Long hours. Expensive.”

“But you like it, right?”

“Yes. It’ll be worth it in the end,” she said. “Besides, that money from the Netflix special paid off all my student loans, so at least I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

I nodded. “That’s true. It was a big help for us too.”

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