gone from her face. But there was a graceful beauty to her still.
“You must be Jesamyn Breslow,” Lily said. “I recognize you from your pictures in the newspaper.”
Jesamyn nodded, not sure of her voice.
“Thank you,” Lily said, embracing Jesamyn carefully. “Thank you for all you did for me. I can’t express my gratitude. And I’m so sorry-for everything.”
Jesamyn looked over at Mount, who had the biggest smile on his face she’d ever seen. He looked beautiful-
“You have nothing to apologize for, Lily. And you’re welcome,” Jesamyn said, putting a hand to the girl’s face. “But Detective Stenopolis really deserves all the credit. He never gave up.”
Lily walked over to Matt then and took his hand, sat in the chair beside him. Matt looked like he was going to float away. Jesamyn felt something in her chest lighten and shift.
“I’m so sorry for everything you had to go through,” she said to him.
“Seeing you here, Ms. Samuels, it was worth it,” he said softly.
“Please,” she said. “Call me Lily.”
Jesamyn slipped from the room, looked back at Matt for a second, then looked down the hall. She saw Dylan and Ben sitting on the benches over by the elevator. Dylan stood as she approached.
“You guys didn’t have to wait. I could have met you downstairs.”
“We couldn’t let you walk out of here alone,” Dylan said.
She smiled up at him and let him put his arm around her as she waited for the elevator. She turned around a second and saw the door to Mount’s room close. She felt a little joy and a little pain. That was life, she guessed.
I’m not sure it counts if you have it catered,” said Jeffrey with a teasing smile.
“Trust me. Nobody needs me to be cooking a turkey.”
He held his stomach and nodded his agreement.
“Just help me set the table,” she said, smacking him on the shoulder.
The kitchen around her was littered with white and orange bags from her favorite gourmet shop and the air was rich with the aromas of ham, turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie, and everything else she could order. There was enough food for twenty people, though they were only expecting five: Lydia’s grandparents, her half-sister Este and Este’s boyfriend Jones, as well as Este’s mother. Dax was incommunicado; Lydia hoped he might retrieve her messages and show up at the last minute. It was going to be an odd grouping of people linked only by their connection to Lydia and her father. Lydia couldn’t begin to imagine how it was going to go.
“Hey,” he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Are you nervous?”
“Jeffrey.”
He let out a whooping laugh. “You
She breathed against the flock of butterflies in her middle and smiled at her husband.
“Remind me again why I married you,” she said.
He took her into her arms and held her tight. “Because you adore me,” he told her. “Couldn’t make it a day without me.”
She laughed. “It’s true,” she said, looking up at him and kissing him quickly. He tasted like the pumpkin pie he’d been eating.
“I don’t know,” she said into his shoulder. “It’s like we have a-family.”
He pulled her back and looked at her. She was half frowning, half smiling.
“That’s a good thing, right?” he asked with a light laugh.
“I guess we’ll see,” she said.
He kneeled before her and rested his head on her belly. It was still flat and firm. But she figured not for very long, if all went well this time.
“What do you think, little guy?” he asked.
“How do you know it’s a boy?” she said.
“I can tell,” he said, rising. “Very masculine energy.”
As if in agreement, the buzzer rang announcing visitors downstairs.
“Ready, my love?” he asked.
She gave him a bright, full smile that belied the flutter in her heart.
“Bring it on,” she said. And they walked toward the elevator doors together.
Acknowledgments
I am most thankful to (and for) my husband, Jeffrey Unger, whose tremendous talents as my publicist, webmaster, editor, reader, and fan are only surpassed by his being the most wonderful husband and my very best friend.
As always, thanks to my fabulous agent, Elaine Markson, and her indispensable assistant, Gary Johnson. Their faith, advice, guidance, and enthusiasm are all priceless.
I am so grateful to Kelley Ragland for her wonderful editing. Every book I have written has been enriched by her talent and guidance.
I have been blessed with an amazingly loving and supportive network of family and friends who have each offered their own special brand of encouragement and support in my career and in my life. I am eternally grateful for each and every one of them.
And very special thanks to Master Nick Scrima of the Chinese Martial Arts Center in Dunedin, Florida. He knows why.
Lisa Unger
