She wiggles her brows. "No promises."
I turn to leave, but before I do, I twist back around. "Hey, Jo?"
"Yeah?" she asks, still looking at my screen.
"Thanks."
She drops her hands into her lap and smiles at me. "Does this mean I'm off the hook for the whole blood sugar thing?"
I roll my eyes and move toward the door. "Not even close."
42
Liam
"Tessa?"
"Actually, it's Jo… her sister."
My heart drops into my stomach. "Is everything—"
"Tess is fine," she jumps in. "Well, we're at the hospital—"
"What?"
"But for me," she clarifies—about three seconds too late for my liking. A dull beeping in the background sounds as if to prove it. "We're both okay, I—just a little blood sugar thing on my end. All good now, though."
"Okay…" I say hesitantly, though my pulse doesn't slow as I turn my back to Jace. "So, what's going on? Why do you have her phone?"
"Oh, I took it. Well, technically she gave it to me. I lied about mine being dead to use hers, but she knew, so I had to cover it with the truth. Genius, right?"
My silence must explain my confusion as I try to follow her logic.
"You don't have any sisters do you?" she asks simply.
"Just one brother."
"Ah, yep. That explains it." She exhales a breath of relief as if she were the one that's been handed a mess of half-formed information. "The hockey guy, right? Luca? Leon?"
"Levi."
"Man," she says, brushing it off. "Strong genes. What exactly do yourparents do?"
"Jo…"
"Sorry… Digging's sort of my thing."
I inhale deeply, gripping my phone a little tighter. "Jo… why are you calling?"
"Oh, good point. I don't have much time before she gets back." Her tone shifts. "I need you to not let her bail."
My stomach twists. Her last word triggers the fear that's been taunting me since I saw that pink note.
"Bail on what?"
"On you and her—telling Ruthie, falling in love—I didn't really catch your whole plan in her little spiral."
I whip around at the sound of my daughter's name and spot her and Sammy both chasing the same ball. Ruthie's laughing as Sammy's tongue flaps out of his mouth, both completely unaware that I'm slowly unraveling as they play. I meet eyes with Jace just briefly as he takes practice swings, either conveniently or purposely giving me space.
