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“I’m asleep by ten, Rhys.” I tried to resist the smile his playful plea encouraged. “I’m too old for this.” Adjusting the strap of my purse across my chest, I thought of mom’s book and laughed at the ridiculous twenty-four hours I’d experienced.
“You may be entering the stages of geriatrics, dear Mia, but that beautiful smile is timeless. Come on,” he stood, extending his palm toward me, “and have just one glass, or pint, or even a spot of tea. Just around the corner.”
Glancing at Sadie and Matthew, wondering who would choke on the other’s tongue first, I tried to accept her happiness. She wasn’t just my little sister anymore, and I think that was the scariest part. She was someone else’s something, someone’s mom, someone’s fiancé. Those concepts were still boggling to me, but I figured letting Rhys buy a drink before heading to Heathrow would only clear my head, so I walked with him in the opposite direction of Sadie and Matthew.
Passing the small playground, the squealing sounds of children caught my attention. “Is he going to be a good dad?”
“He’s a human being, Mia,” Rhys replied. “He’s got holes stuffed with flaws, but an incredibly loyal heart to make up for it. Our dad is a great example, and he adores Dee—,” he rolled his eyes, “Sadie.”
Listening to Rhys, I watched children playing in the park, their parents laugh and join them, and it left the gaping hole in my heart feeling wide and raw. Caleb and I tried to have a baby. Sadie can’t even remember her social security number, and she gets pregnant. By her rich and famous international boyfriend.
Rhys ushered me along the path, leading us toward the Thames. In its misty, gray beauty, I wanted to board the boats bouncing in its gentle current and go anywhere but home or London.
