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“Me, too.” I swallow down tears.
A strange wave of emotion skitters over my skin. It’s not Clara’s presence; that’s another feeling entirely. But I’m reminded of how I felt when I was with her.
Maybe that’s what friendship feels like.
Maybe this is how it feels to move on.
110
PAIGE
“Is there anything else I can do for you before I head over to the office, Miss Paige?”
Rose stacks together all of the paperwork I just spent the last hour combing through. I’ve had a lot to catch up on after being away for a couple weeks, and Rose has been a lifesaver.
Once I managed to put aside my misplaced jealousy, I came to really like her. She is hardworking and efficient. Like me, it’s clear that she enjoys being busy. It’s hard not to root for her. Plus, the more often I see her, the less and less I think she looks like me.
“No, I think that’s it.” I flip through the files on my desk. “Oh wait—I did want to take a look at the tax return for last year. Is that here?”
“Oh, shoot. I had it on my desk at the office, but I forgot to grab them yesterday. I can swing back by here in the evening and drop the forms off.”
I wave her away. “You don’t need to do that. Just bring them in tomorrow.”
“It’s really not a problem, I promise. I’ll just stop by and drop them off for you. I don’t mind, truly. It’s the least I can do after you loaned me your car,” she says with a shy smile.
“It’s the leastIcould do. I just wanted to make sure it was being used. Misha’s garage is chock full and half of them barely get touched. It’s criminal.”
Rose chuckles as she puts the paperwork in a binder and pops it into her faux leather satchel.
“Nice nails,” I say with a grin.
She laughs and waggles them, each flashing with a different color. “I have a five-year-old. She likes going crazy with the colors.”
“You have a little girl? How did I not know that? I can’t believe this hasn’t come up before!”
“Molly,” Rose tells me, beaming. “She’s amazing. Smart as a whip, too. But I guess all parents think that about their kids.”
“Which is as it should be.” I pat my stomach. “Any new mama advice for me?”
Rose considers that for a moment. “Hmm… breastfeeding is a nightmare, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself; there’s nothing wrong with formula. Sleep when the baby sleeps. Take a lot of photos, even when you don’t feel like it. And don’t let anyone make you feel bad about the decisions you make as a mother.”
I whistle softly. “You were ready for that question.”
She laughs. “It’s the advice I wish I’d been given when I had Molly. I was a single mom right from the get-go. Somehow, that made people feel like they could tell me how to parent.”
Misha and I haven’t discussed what our relationship will look like once the twins arrive. He says he wants to be involved, but a lot of men have fed pregnant women that line over the centuries. Who knows, I might be in Rose’s shoes when the time comes.
“Sounds hellish.”
She shrugs. “I have great parents myself. They told those nosy relations of mine to shove it.”
“I’m glad you had a great support system.”
“Almost as great as yours,” she fires back.
I know she’s talking about Cyrille, Nessa, and Nikita, because Misha and I haven’t really had much facetime lately. He’s been giving me the space I asked for.
It sucks how much I hate it.
