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“My brother driving you crazy?”
I popped my head up. Andrew strolled across the kitchen, Ella in his arms. He kissed Trish’s temple.
“Hey.” She touched his cheek, then ran a hand over her daughter’s baby soft hair.
A pang of longing nearly crippled me, even as happiness for my friend spread. She deserved this kind of love, especially after everything she’d been through.
“So, my brother? Is he behaving?”
“Does he know how?”
“Nope.” He pointed toward the fridge. “Tea?”
“I’m good.” I held up my half empty glass.
“You need anything, Bright Side?”
“I’m good too.” She popped a couple of the baking dishes in the oven. “How’s your dad?”
Andrew sighed. “Stressed about the tiff between Marlow and Holt.”
“Tiff?” I asked incredulously. That seemed far too mild to describe what was happening.
“His words, not mine.” He reached for a glass from the cabinet and poured himself some iced tea.
“He’s going to see her.” I held out my arms, and Andrew placed Ella in them.
“He is?”
I nodded. “I offered to go with him, but he wanted to do it on his own. Since I haven’t heard from him, I don’t know how it went.”
“I wonder if that’s why she didn’t need Dad to keep Blake today.”
The doorbell rang, and we all looked at one another.
“Are you expecting company?” Trish tensed.
“No. It’s probably Patrick.” Andrew disappeared from the kitchen.
“I know it’s crazy, but every time someone shows up unannounced, I always think the worst.”
“He’s not coming back. Ever again,” I promised her. “Patrick is going to make sure of it.”
She’d been through hell with her ex-husband. The fear didn’t just disappear, even though she and Ella were safe.
“Slow down.”
Trish and I looked toward the doorway at the sound of Andrew’s voice.
“I don’t know what to do. How am I supposed to tell Dad? How could she do this to us?”
I stiffened at Holt’s panicked tone.
“Take a breath, man.”
“I can’t—” He froze when he saw me. “Easy?”
I bolted from the chair and stopped short of throwing my arms around him. “It didn’t go well.”
