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Chapter 1
Emma
Myluggagewasneatlypacked and ready to go, waiting by the bedroom door.
But, I wasn’t.
Of course, I wanted a luxurious, long weekend getaway with my best friend that was also just so happened to be completely and totally free to me. But, I wasn’t ready to leave my baby.
Lily, my sweet little one, was sixteen months old now, and I’d never spent the night away from her before. The amount of guilt I carried over being a single mom, for giving her a dad who didn’t want to be in our lives anymore, was so immense sometimes I didn’t think I’d ever get over it.
But, Krista, my best, convinced me that spending three nights away from her wasn’t the end of the world. The rational part of my mind knew she was right, but the mom-side was hard to keep quiet at times.
Determined, I grabbed my rolling luggage and left the comfort of my bedroom to head to the living room of my small apartment. It wasn’t much, but it was a safe and cozy place for Emma and me to live on our own.
“Emma,” my mom said with a huge smile, her eyes lighting up. “You look so pretty, honey.”
I didn’t look that good. My long blond hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and I put on a pair of jeans and an oversized mauve sweater. I’d also bought a new pair of boots for the occasion. They were tan, knee high, and fabulous. We were going to the mountains, after all. But, Mom thought I looked pretty because it was the first time since, Brendan, my ex-husband left me, that I’d put on real clothing— not to mention makeup.
“Thanks, Mom.” I took Lilly from her and placed her on my hip. Lily was the sweetest baby. She was more than content being held by Mom, but when I took her, she reached for my face and pulled me into a sloppy kiss.
I didn’t deserve her. This rough world didn’t deserve her. I wanted to shield her from every one of life’s pains, but I’d already failed at that by giving her the wrong dad.
To say I took the divorce hard would’ve been an understatement. Now that I had some time, and a year without my ex, I could see that I wasn’t mourning Brendan, I was mourning the perfect life I wanted to give Lily.
“Can you believe that little Kyle Beckford has his own ski condo up in the mountains now?” Mom asked, fussing over the colorful throw pillows on the couch.
Kyle, Krista’s twin brother, was never little. I wasn’t short at 5’6’’ but Kyle always towered over me. I hadn’t seen him since we graduated college, but I guessed he’d only grown since then. Or at least filled out more.
“He’s a millionaire now,” I said, raining kisses over Lily. “I’d guess he has a few houses if he’s still the same Kyle,” I said, squeezing Lily, savoring the hint of baby smell her skin still held on to.
Mom tucked her short blond hair behind her ear. I looked so much like her, same turned up nose, same blue eyes, same down turned lips. It looked like Lily was shaping up to be our triplet. Every day she looked more like me I thanked the man upstairs for my strong genes. I didn’t know if I’d be able to stomach having her looking just like her father.
“Didn’t he have a crush on you?” Mom asked.
Before I could think better of it, I scoffed. “No. Definitely not.”
I didn’t want to point out that she was misremembering my past. I had a crush on him, but Kyle wanted nothing to do with me. I didn’t know how one twin could by my best friend, the sweetest person in the world, and the other could be Kyle.
“Well, maybe you’ll write him a nice thank you letter for letting you stay at his ski condo and then you two can reconnect,” Mom said.
I gave Lily one last squeeze and then sat her down on the couch next to Mom. If Lily was the sweetest baby, Kathy Milton was the sweetest mom. Delusional, but sweet. I didn’t want to burst her bubble by telling her I definitely wasn’t going to be writing Kyle a thank you email let alone a thank you text, but I knew she meant well.
Plus, she was going to watch Lily for the next three nights for me. Lily was sure to be spoiled rotten with my mom and dad both fawning all over her all weekend, but that was the point. She’d be well taken care of and that helped lessen my guilt.
“Yeah, Mom. Maybe,” I lied. “Okay, I can’t pick her up again. If I do, I won’t leave.”
“Emma,” my mom said in a mock-stern tone, “you better get out of here. We have plans.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I gave her a hug and a kiss and then did the same to Lily. “I love you both. Facetime anytime.”
Before the waterworks could start, I grabbed my small roller suitcase and my overnight bag, I never claimed to be a light packer, and quietly left the apartment.
I checked my phone. I had one text from Krista, and it said that she would be at my place in ten minutes. That was from about seven minutes ago. With a few minutes to spare, I did something I’d done often over the past year—check my banking app.
When I saw the number, I sighed in relief. When Branden and I got married I got pregnant very quickly and he said he didn’t want me to work. At the time I thought it was sweet, but looking back I could see it was just controlling. Before then, I worked as an executive assistant at one of the biggest companies in town, it was a lucrative position. Now, with Lily and not wanting to make my mom leave her job to watch her, I worked remotely as a virtual assistant. The jobs were good when I could get them, they just weren’t consistent.
Just then, a giant SUV with darkly tinted windows slowed to a stop in front of me on the curb. The back window rolled down and Krista poked half her body out.
