“I have some time,” Emily said. “Where are you?”
Gabi told her the name of the sandwich shop on the waterfront.
“I won’t have a ton of time,” Emily said. “Order me a tuna salad on whole wheat and some iced tea. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“I should probably call Samantha and see if she wants to join us,” Gabi said.
“She’s at Castle’s. It’ll take forever for her to get away. Besides, she and I said our goodbyes last night. I’d like a few minutes alone with you.”
“Then I’ll see you soon,” Gabi said, shaking her head as she disconnected the call. There was an old rivalry between her younger sister and her older sister that she’d never understood. Emily and Samantha were nothing alike, so the competitiveness made little sense. Still, it seemed that more often than not over the years, she’d found herself mediating between them.
She placed their order, then sighed, relieved to be off her feet. She glanced down and noticed that her ankles were slightly swollen. She’d read that was to be expected, but wasn’t it too soon? She really did need to get back to Raleigh to see her ob/gyn. It probably made even more sense to find one over here if she intended to stay with Cora Jane and take these art classes until the baby was born.
“Why are you staring at your feet?” Emily inquired as she pulled out the chair opposite her.
“My ankles are swollen.”
“Get used to it,” Emily said. “I hear that’s just one of the things you’ll have to deal with for the next few months.”
“Given your fondness for fancy shoes, how do you intend to cope with that?” she asked Emily. “You and Boone are planning to give B.J. some brothers or sisters, aren’t you?”
Emily sipped her tea, her expression surprisingly wistful. “You know, if you’d asked me that a year ago—about having babies, I mean—I’m not sure what I’d have said. I never really thought about being a mom. Now, with Boone and B.J. in my life, it’s just about all I think about.” She studied Gabi. “Is it wonderful? Being pregnant, I mean? Knowing that you’re carrying a tiny little human being inside you?”
Gabi considered the question. “Even though I’m not even remotely in love with the baby’s father the way you are with Boone, it is amazing. Sometimes I just lie in bed at night with my hand on my tummy, waiting for the baby to move around. I can’t help wondering if it’s going to be a boy or a girl, what the baby will look like. I want to count the little fingers and toes.”
Even as she spoke, she recognized the yearning note in her voice. “I’m so messed up about this, Em. I don’t know what’s right anymore.”
Her sister smiled at her. “Yes, you do. Keeping this baby is the right thing for you. It’s in your voice. I can hear it. We all can.”
“But I don’t want to be selfish.”
“You will give this baby a loving, supportive family. You’ll be an incredible mom. There’s not a doubt in my mind about that.”
“How can you say that after all the years when I was totally absorbed by work, just like Dad?”
“Because you, of all people, know what it’s like to have a workaholic parent,” Emily said simply. “You won’t be that person. I know that as well as I know anything.”
Her sister’s vote of confidence brought tears to her eyes. “Thanks for saying that.”
“I said it because I believe it. Now, tell me what you’ve been up to today.”
Gabi filled her in on her meeting with Meg Waverly and the planned visit to the wind-chime artist. “I’m really excited,” she admitted. “Even though the sane, rational side of me says this whole thing is crazy, it feels amazingly right.”
“Then go for it,” Emily told her.
“How about you? Are you anxious to get back to Los Angeles?”
“Not so much to Los Angeles,” she admitted. “But I love the work I’m doing for the foundation. We have two safe houses being remodeled right now, and we should be closing on three more properties in the next few weeks. Knowing that I’m helping to create places where these women and their kids can be safe and get back on their feet is incredibly rewarding.”
“You look so happy,” Gabi said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look happier, in fact. While some of that’s obviously Boone’s doing, the job is making a difference, too.”
“I’m more than just happy,” Emily replied. “I am so grateful that Boone understood how I felt about this and decided to open a restaurant on the West Coast, so we can be together.”
“Any thoughts about making this your home base?” she asked.
Emily made a face. “How could I not consider it? This has been home for Boone his whole life. The headquarters for his restaurants is here. And, as he likes to remind me whenever he thinks I’m feeling particularly receptive, I have family here, and there are people around who might be in need of the kind of work I enjoy doing.”
“Valid points,” Gabi said.
“True,” Emily agreed. “But I’m happy with things as they are. The West Coast suits me, and I think maybe Boone’s coming around.”
“Really?” Gabi asked doubtfully.
“Well, I hope he is,” Emily amended. She gave Gabi a penetrating look. “Any particular reason you’re asking this now?”
“To be honest, I’m thinking of sticking around here after the baby’s born. It would be great to have you and Samantha both close by.”
“Samantha? I don’t see it,” Emily said. “She’s determined to stay in New York, even though it seems to me she’s getting more and more frustrated by the lack of acting jobs coming her way.”
“But you’re not considering Grandmother’s cleverness,” Gabi said, grinning. “You know perfectly well she has something in mind for Samantha, or should I say someone?”
Emily laughed. “Not a doubt about that, now that you mention it. So, I suppose anything’s possible. It would be
