Page 35 of Between the Lines

Joe noticed. “Uh-oh.”

She lowered her mug slowly. “What would you say to being my second guest?”

He blinked. “Me?”

“You,” she said. “You already wrote the music. Which makes you a part of this from the ground up. And you’ve got stories to tell, I know you do. About your work, about retiring, about pursuing something that was always a dream. You’d be perfect.”

He considered that, rubbing his thumb along the handle of his mug. “I don’t know. I’m not exactly headline material.”

“That’s kind of the point,” Cece said. “Neither am I. Neither are any of these people. Okay, maybe Blaise is a little, but I wanted to start off with someone big to get some attention. You’d be great.”

He smiled at that. “You’re serious.”

“I am,” she said. “We could talk about creativity, about second chances, about how you were able to take a chance and try something you always dreamed about. It wouldn’t be an interrogation, I promise. Just a conversation.”

Joe was quiet for a moment, the breeze dancing across the porch. “Let me think about it,” he said finally.

“Of course,” Cece said. “No pressure. You can listen to the first episode, if you want. Get a feel for how it would go.”

“I might do that.”

“I’ll send you the file today.”

Joe shook his head and let out a small laugh. “You know, I should probably say no just to preserve some of the mystery in this relationship.”

Cece smiled. “You don’t have any mystery. I’ve heard all your stories. Well, most of the good ones.”

“Fair point.” He glanced out toward the water, then back at her. “What would you actually want to talk about?”

She thought quickly, coming up with a few concrete topics. “Your music,” she said. “How you ended up where you are now. What it’s like to be creative at this age, because I think a lot of people believe you hit a certain age and the well dries up.”

“That is definitely not true.” He considered what she’d said, nodding slowly. “That sounds good.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“That’s a maybe,” he said.

“Is there anything you don’t want to talk about?”

“Why I left the law. I can talk about it vaguely, but no details.”

Even she didn’t know that story, so she was okay with that. People were allowed to have secrets. “I’m fine with that. We won’t talk about anything you don’t want to.”

“Okay.” He took a breath and nodded. “Then that’s a yes.”

Chapter Fourteen

Essie woke to see morning light peeking in around the edges of the blinds. She lifted her head. Liliana slept beside her, one arm flung across the pillow, the even rhythm of her breathing a quiet comfort. The baby monitor on the nightstand glowed softly, no sound coming from it. Everyone else must still be down for the count.

The house was dead quiet, but she could hear enough sounds outside to know it wasn’t super early.

She eased out of bed, careful not to disturb Liliana, and padded down the hall. The house felt different when it was full of family, but she was the only one up. Like something special was about to happen. Maybe it was. They’d promised the kids a visit to the pool today and she’d reserved a cabana last night to be sure they had shade.

She started the coffee, knowing Liliana would want some as soon as she woke up. The smell of the grounds and the sound of the scoop moving through them filled her with the contentment of routine. She added water and pressed the button.

The scent of the brewing coffee might be enough to wake Liliana, but so far, there was no movement. Essie got the creamer out while she waited for the machine to finish with its low gurgle.

She poured a mug and carried it toward the front of the house, drawn by the faint light coming through the sheers across the sliding glass doors. That was when Essie saw her.