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I hesitate. “This is a bit embarrassing to ask, but have you got condoms? I didn’t bring any with me. Never dreamed I’d need them.”
Will laughs. “Yes, I can help you out there. I stocked up since Skye will be off birth control pills while she’s nursing the baby.”
“Thanks. How do you two do it?” I ask.
“Do what?”
“You guys make it look so easy—you’re happily married, with two adorable kids. You juggle careers, parents, and homes on two continents. You have it all.”
“It’s not always easy,” he admits. “We have our challenges, but we work through them.”
I laugh. “You mean, you shut up and do whatever Skye says.”
Will grins. “Well, maybe there’s a bit of that, but I don’t mind. I just want her to be happy.”
After a long, drawn-out silence, I finally say, “I don’t want to lose her, Will. Did she tell you why she left me?”
He shrugs guiltily. “Not directly, but she told Skye, and Skye told me.”
I let out a frustrated growl. “If the old man were still alive—well, I can’t say what I’d do. It’s not gentlemanly.”
Will nods. “I understand, believe me. Stay the course, Connor. Kennedy still loves you. I can tell. You know, this isn’t the first time Kennedy has experienced discrimination. Did she tell you about the college boyfriend who broke up with her over his parents’ objections? She has her pride, you know. I imagine this thing with your grandfather was a triggering event for her.”
I freeze. “What in the bloody hell are you talking about?”
“Shit. I thought you knew.”
“No. What boyfriend?” I down the rest of my liquor and head to the bar for a refill.
“When she was at Columbia University, years ago.”
“Why am I just now hearing about this?”
“I’m sure it’s a painful subject for Kennedy. And then for it to happen all over again, with your grandfather—it was just too much.”
I frown, thinking about what she must have gone through, and how she faced it alone. “Damn it, Will. She told me about her concerns, and I brushed them off. I really let her down.”
Will scoffs. “You can’t beat yourself up about it. You didn’t know.”
“But still, I should have been there for her. She suffered through this alone, and I can never go back and fix that.”
* * *
After Will runs upstairs to retrieve some condoms for me, he and I return to the lounge. Skye and the baby are relaxing on the settee. Kennedy’s nowhere to be found.
Will kisses his wife’s forehead before he steals Nicky from her.
She gives him a sleepy smile. “Oh, hi, honey.” She yawns.
“Is Penny in bed?” he asks.
Skye nods. “Are you done with your male bonding?”
“We are.” Will kisses the baby’s forehead. “Now I get to bond with this little guy.”
“Where’s Kennedy?” I ask. She’s nowhere in sight.
Skye sits up. “She was tired, so she went back to the cottage.”
