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My eyes fall toward the plate, willing the churn in the pit of my stomach to cease. It has to be hunger. The last time I ate was just before sunrise, trying to get something in before Bentley woke up.
“I’m famished too,” I say, changing the subject. “Why don’t we eat? Besides, if you want to spend the rest of the afternoon shopping, we need stamina.”
On cue, the waiter arrives and requests to take our order. When it comes to dining out, Kate always orders and never fails us with her choices. Whereas I’m known to choose the safest meals because it’s always easier than taking a risk on something unknown.
We spend our lunch talking about people we know, including my cousins back home. Our conversation shifts to celebrity gossip, a bit of politics, then to Bentley. We eat our delicious meals, not leaving a single morsel on the plate until Sienna lets out a yawn which onsets a whole stream of them.
Jetlag is one of the worst feelings, and Sienna’s face says it all—she’s crashing a mile a minute.
“Oh, baby girl, you look like death.” Kate frowns, rubbing her back. “Why don’t you head back to the flat? Dad is in a meeting ‘til late, so he won’t interrupt you.”
“Okay,” is all Sienna can muster up.
Sienna grabs the keys off Kate, then waves goodbye without even the energy to say the words aloud. With our meals finished, Kate suggests heading over to a café that serves amazing coffee.
As soon we step into the quaint little place, the aroma is like heaven on earth. I’ve always had a fondness for caffeine, but nothing compares to European coffee.
“God, I miss this coffee. The stuff in the States tastes like ass compared to this,” Kate complains while blowing the steam away from her cup.
“I don’t want to ask how you know what ass tastes like, but I’ll assume it has everything to do with Eric.”
“Of course, if anyone knows, it’s him, right?”
We both laugh softly, then drink our coffees in relaxation.
“I miss this place so much. London will never leave you,” she says wistfully.
“But you’ve moved so much, right? Manchester, London, Manhattan…”
“Always for work and, of course, to be with Noah.”
“Moving across the world for Dad couldn’t have been easy.”
Kate smiles with ease. “Believe it or not, it was easy. I had no commitment and a fantastic boss. Noah, on the other hand, had two children who needed him in LA. I was willing to sacrifice myself over you and Nash losing time with Noah. Children need parents, and although Noah and Morgan were struggling to co-parent at the time, I’d never have asked Noah to pick me over his children.”
“True love.” I grin, admiring her selfless act to give Nash and me a good upbringing. “Dad is crazy in love with you, and it’s always shown.”
Laughter escapes Kate. “It helps that I feel the same way about him, even though he can be a stubborn man sometimes.”
My fingers trace the edge of the cup, not wanting to bring up my strained relationship with Dad but suspect Kate will bring it up anyhow.
“Jess,” Kate calls softly, a nickname she sometimes called me as did the rest of my family. “It’s just us girls now. Tell me how you’re really doing?”
My stare shifts toward a couple at the table beside us. The man and woman are laughing, but judging by how they’re sitting spaced apart, the relationship is purely platonic. She appears to be teasing him over the cake on his plate, in which his response comes out cheeky and lighthearted.
“I’m fine.” I clear my throat, turning my attention back to Kate. “I mean, it gets lonely with Benedict constantly traveling, but Bentley keeps me busy.”
“And when Benedict is home, how are things between the two of you?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I guess the honeymoon is over, right?”
Kate watches me intently, but her expression is soft without judgment.
“Honeymoons don’t last forever, but the spark does, Jessa. Never forget that.”
Right, the spark. I’m lucky if Benedict will even look at me the way he did before I became a mother to his child. The only intimate time we have together is in the bedroom, and even then, he takes what he wants and claims to be too tired to spend more than five minutes inside me.
I’m ashamed even to admit I constantly resort to taking matters into my own hands, going as far as to discreetly purchase a little pink vibrator that’s supposed to get you off in less than a minute. I don’t know whether the sales pitch stuck with me or I’m that sexually charged. Either way, a five-star review from me.
