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“Okay, who wants Lily to read them a story?”
Both of them shout, “Me!”
“No one wants a story from Dad?”
They share a worried look, and Franny caves, “You can read to us, too.”
Lily bites her tongue, but she’s clearly laughing on the inside behind them.
“Okay then, I’ll take my consolation prize, I guess,” I say it fussily, but honestly, I’m glad they’re so enamored of her already.
She reads to Franny while I read to Aiden, and then we switch. When I ask her which book to read, Franny says, “Not The Three Little Bears. Not unless you’ll do the voices Lily does.”
“She does voices?”
“Uh, huh. And she’s good at them, Dad.”
“Well, I don’t want that kind of competition.” I grabThe Cat in the Hat, and get halfway through before I hear her little snores and close the book. Tucking them in is my favorite part of the night, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Closing her door, I nearly bump into Lily in the hall. “Is he asleep?”
“Almost.”
I go in, and Aiden is mid-yawn. “How’d it go with Lily?”
“Can we keep her?”
“For a little while, remember?” I tuck the blankets in around him. “Just will Mom is in France.”
“Right. Okay. Well, I want her to stay forever.”
I kiss his forehead. “Understandably. Goodnight, slugger.”
“Goodnight, Dad.” I turn out the light, which switches on his Spiderman nightlight, and though I hope he doesn’t bring it to college, I understand if he wants to. He’s always had a thing about the dark.
Lily is still in the hallway when I close his door. She obviously has something on her mind, and I hope it’s the thing that’s been on my mind all afternoon. “Glass of wine?”
“That’d be nice.”
We go to the kitchen, which she had cleaned before she even delivered dinner to us by the pool, and I get a bottle from the fridge. “It’s nothing fancy—
“Perfect.”
I pour, we clink our glasses, and the silence sits heavy in the air. I’m not sure how to start. After a beat, I tell her, “Do you—
“I think we should talk, Cormac.”
“Agreed. But I’d prefer to be sitting for this. It’s been a long day. Couch?”
“Sure.”
I take the bottle with us into the living room, because this could be a big conversation and I want to be prepared. Setting it on the long coffee table, I tell her, “Okay. What would you like to talk about?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“I like your necklace.”
She chuckles. “Thanks, but not about that.”
“Well, the kids like you already—
