18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Clara

Bea nudged my arm. "Are you certain all this sunlight is good for us?"

"Yes."

"I'm not." She shoved her oversized sunglasses firmly up her nose. "You know I only blossom at night."

Shira huffed a little laugh. "That sounded extremely whimsical, Beatrice."

Bea wrinkled her nose. "Didn't it? That's what all this sunshine does to me. It turns me into a different person. Soon, I'll be skipping through a field of wildflowers. Can you imagine?"

I looked her over and shook my head. "No, I can't, actually."

We were at Saoirse's favorite farmers' market after having an early brunch. Nellie was happily hanging in her stroller, having a conversation with the handmade rag doll Shira had bought for her from a vendor. Shira, in her pale-blue linen dress, was on the other side of the stroller Bea had volunteered to push.

Shira blended. In my flouncy red dress, jean jacket, and white sneakers, I did too. Bea, on the other hand…well, it wasn't her blue hair that made her stick out. My friend wore a black babydoll dress, fishnets, Docs, and a black, wide-brimmed hat. Her lips were so deep red, they were almost black too. She looked like she belonged in a hipster bar in Brooklyn, not hanging out at a farmers' market with a three-year-old.

This was why I loved her. She gave no shits and did her own thing. Since becoming friends, I'd tried to absorb some of her attitude. Too much of my life I'd spent trying to be who I was supposed to be and had become unrecognizable in the process.

"I know what you need," I said.

"A dark room and a cup of coffee?" Bea deadpanned.

"No. You can have that when you go back to your lair. You need a honey stick. The honey guy has been pining over my sister-in-law for years."

"Have you seen her? I'm pining over her, and I'm pretty much straight," Bea said.

I laughed. "I know, which is why I feel terribly sorry for him and throw money at his business as often as I can to ease his aching heart."

We wandered over to the honey stall, and as soon as its owner caught sight of me, he stiffened. I'd been here with Saoirse often enough for him to know who I was. I really did feel bad for him. She'd been married for three years. He'd had ample opportunity to make something happen before that and never took it. Living with that sort of regret must have been terrible.

I greeted him with a big smile. "Hi, Joe. I promised my grumpy friend honey sticks."

For a moment, he was flustered, looking anywhere but me. Then Bea waved, drawing his attention.

"I'm the grumpy friend." Bea slid her sunglasses off and shot him a lazy grin. "What do you have to cure me?"

Joe's mouth fell open, and his cheeks blazed. "I-I-I…I'm not sure. Let me think."

He was a big, bearded farmer who handled bees for a living, but in the face of Bea, he'd turned into a blushing, stammering boy. I hadn't even seen him react this way around Saoirse.

"Oh no," Shira murmured.

"Now she's done it," I whispered.

Unlike Saoirse, who was classically beautiful and had men tripping over their feet, Bea had something about her that drove certain men out of their minds. For a year, Bea had had random yet continuous run-ins with a man she'd described as a mysterious billionaire. Since they'd never actually spoken, she didn't know his true identity, and while most people might've called it stalking, she was used to things like that happening and had shrugged it off as an annoyance.

By the time we left the stall, Bea had a bag filled with sticks and jars of honey she'd been given for free.

The four of us found a picnic table in the shade to sit down for a minute and suck on our honey sticks. I handed a strawberry-flavored stick to Nellie, dubious whether it was a good idea.

"Let Mommy hold your doll so she doesn't get sticky."

Nellie held it out toward Shira. "Shira holds it. 'Kay?"

Gently taking the doll, Shira cradled it in the crook of her arm. "Thank you. I'll take good care of her for you."

Nellie's eyes were on her honey, but she managed to answer. "I know that."

I laughed. "She believes in you, Shir."

Shira rocked the doll back and forth. "Thank goodness I think I can handle this. I'd hate to let her down."

"Did either of you ever have to carry around a baby in high school sociology?" I asked.

"Yes." Bea had replaced her sunglasses, but I sensed her eye roll. "My teacher strapped a five-pound bag of flour to a stuffed animal and made us lug that thing around for two weeks."

"How'd you do on that assignment?"

She twirled her honey stick between her fingers. "I turned in an empty flour bag."

Shira gasped. "Your baby bled out?"

"It was a slow leak," Bea quipped.

My hand flew to my mouth to hold back my giggles. "I'm picturing a trail of flour following you all over your high school."

"You wouldn't be wrong," Bea answered.

"Why didn't you patch it?" Shira asked.

"I thought it best to let nature take its course." Bea sucked on the end of her honey stick. "Good thing I'm planning to never have children."

"To be fair, I really doubt you'd let your own child slowly bleed out," I replied.

"You're right." Bea wagged her stick at me. "Too messy."

"I'm messy!" Nellie squealed, gaining our attention. For a girl who'd been left to her own devices with a honey stick, she wasn't too bad.

"Are you sticky?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm sticky." She poked at her chin, which had gotten the worst of it. "I don't like that."

Bea hopped up before I could and fished the wipes out from under the stroller. Pulling a few out, she crouched down to Nellie's level. "Look at you, Miss Antonella," she cooed. "Did you like that honey stick, darling?"

"It was yummy," my daughter said. "But too sticky."

Bea gently wiped her face before moving on to each finger. For a woman who didn't want kids of her own, she was remarkably good with mine.

"Speaking of messy…" I tipped my stick toward myself.

Shira raised a brow. "You? You are immune to mess."

Bea glanced over at me. "Is this where you give us a J-a-k-e update? I've only been waiting all morning. It's about time."

Shira's eyes widened. "Oooh, J-a-k-e. Yes, please update us and tell us why you're messy."

Wording what had happened since the last time we got together in a PG way wasn't exactly easy, and my daughter heard everything , even if she seemed like she was in her own world. After one of our brunches, she started telling everyone she met how much she liked champagne. I had Bea to thank for that one.

"The update is: he has a thirteen-year-old daughter, and she arrived after we had an unplanned sleepover," I summed up as concisely as possible. "And now he wants to take me on a d-a-t-e."

"Did you know he had a k-i-d?" Bea asked.

I shook my head. "No idea. He must have had her when he was a teenager, which is just—"

"Whoa…" Shira breathed.

"We didn't get into the details. I'm not sure I want to know." I was curious, naturally, but unless I decided to allow him deeper into my life, I wouldn't go any deeper into his. "This is a bad idea."

"Why?" Shira asked.

"I don't have time, and his life seems even more complicated than mine." I paused for effect. "The daughter has a mother who has a key to his place."

Bea's brow winged. "And you know this…how?"

I lowered my chin. "She let herself in when I was there."

Bea booped Nellie on her now clean nose and returned to the table with us. "After being chased with a bat by an angry baby mama , I don't deal with men who have k-i-d-s."

"Only you, Beatrice." I laughed. "This one didn't seem angry. But do I want to get in the middle of whatever they are? I have a lot of doubts."

"One date won't hurt though, will it?" Shira chimed in with her voice of reason. "It might be nice."

"It might end in a chase," Bea added.

I laughed harder. "You guys were supposed to help me make a decision."

Shira cleared her throat. "I thought I was being helpful."

Bea shrugged. "You didn't put that in the job description."

I rubbed between my eyes, grinning. I was no closer to a decision, but at least I was smiling.

The four of us wove through the market until Shira and Bea stopped at a booth with handmade clothes while I went to look at the silver jewelry next door. Nellie was done hanging in the stroller, so I had her on my hip to look together.

The table was filled with necklaces and bracelets. It wasn't really my style, but I spied a pretty hand-hammered pendant Saoirse would love.

I held it up for Nellie. "What do you think? Would this look pretty on Aunt Sershie?"

Her eyes rounded dramatically. "Oh yes. It's so beautiful."

"Isn't it? I think she'll love it." I rubbed my nose on hers. "Can you keep it a secret if we buy it?"

Her little mouth twisted as she mulled that over. Then she touched her finger to my chin and gave me a very thoughtful, serious look. "Maybe."

I kissed her sweet, round cheek. "Thanks for being honest, Nell-Belle. I know how hard it is to keep secrets."

I gave the necklace to the clerk to wrap up and browsed while we waited. A young girl moved in beside me, her arm extended toward a bracelet hanging from a hook.

"Excuse me? Can you reach that for me?" the girl asked.

"Sure I can." I grabbed the bracelet and turned to hand it to her. "This one, right?"

She looked up at me, and her blue eyes struck me like a blow to the solar plexus. "Yes. Thank you." She paused, her pretty eyes moving to Nellie. "Your little girl is really cute."

"Thank you. This is Nellie."

Nellie waved. "Hi."

"Hi, Nellie. I'm Sage. How old are you?"

I froze when she said her name. The moment her eyes had locked with mine, I'd known, deep down, she was Jake's daughter, but this confirmed it. Our girls chatted like friends. Nellie even had me put her down, and Sage crouched so they could be at eye level.

It was very sweet.

It freaked me the hell out.

"Did you make a new friend, Sagie?"

Whipping around, I came face to face with the beautiful blonde from Jake's foyer. Her eyes flared with recognition.

"Hi," she said. "I don't know if you remember me, but—"

A nervous laugh burst out of me. "I do. That morning was pretty memorable."

"Right." She offered me a smile. "Well, we didn't properly meet. I'm Carly."

"Clara."

"Nice to meet you, Clara." She swung her head to our daughters. "Is this one yours?"

"She is. That's Nellie."

Sage stood up, holding Nellie's hand. "Isn't she cute, Mom? She's three like Dex, but I like her better."

Carly snorted a laugh. "Sorry, kid, you have to keep your brother."

Sage poked her lip out. "But he's always got food on his face— and he jumps on me. Nellie smells like honey, and I bet she'd never even think about jumping on me."

My reactions were impossible to hide. I wasn't prepared for any of this. Sucking in a deep breath at the mention of Sage's brother caught Carly's attention. Her gaze swept over me, and the corners of her lips shifted into a frown before her expression slackened, like something had dawned on her.

"Dex isn't Jake's if that's what you were thinking," she murmured, wiggling her left hand. Sunlight glinted off the diamond on her ring finger. "Ecstatically married to a man who is very much not him. Mike and I have Cleo and Dex together. Sage is Jake's one and only."

"Okay," I pushed out. "He's very…private."

She rolled her eyes. "That's one way to put it. I'm a talker. His two-word responses have always driven me up the wall. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate how he keeps Sage away from the more public-facing aspects of his life, and he has his reasons for being kinda skittish."

"We probably shouldn't talk about him." I rubbed my lips together. "I mean, if there are things he hasn't told me, I would rather they come from him."

Nellie took that moment to hold out the hem of her ruffled dress. "Do you like my dress?"

Carly didn't miss a beat, pressing her hand to her chest. "Oh my goodness, I don't think I've ever seen a prettier dress. I'll have to find one for Sage just like that."

Nellie tipped her head back to look at Sage. "You can wear this one next time."

Sage thanked her, then blinked at her mom. "See? Dex wouldn't even share a used tissue."

"Well, Nell-Belle talks a big game, but I'm not sure you'd actually be able to pry that dress from her hands when the time came."

My girl was an angel, but she wasn't perfect and sometimes got feral over her possessions. Plus, she tended to develop amnesia when it was convenient for her. Like promising not to take her water bottle to her room—after losing a hundred of them—or telling a new friend they could borrow her dress.

Sage grinned at me for a moment, then her eyebrows popped. "Hey, I know you. You're the lady with the tall shoes from my dad's house."

My smile barely faltered. "That's me. I'm sorry I couldn't formally meet you that day." I stuck my hand out. "I'm Clara."

Her handshake was firm and confident, something I admired immensely. "Nice to formally meet you, Clara. I can't wait to tell my dad about this."

Carly put her hand on her daughter's head. "Speaking of which, it's time to take you to his house. He's probably wondering where his cheese and daughter are."

Sage wrinkled her nose. "I bet he's thinking about the cheese the most."

"I bet you're wrong," Carly singsonged. "It was great to see you and meet Nellie. She's the cutest thing."

"Thank you. I can only hope she grows up with half the confidence Sage has."

A pleased flush spread across Carly's cheeks, then she leaned in and air-kissed each side of my face. Before pulling back, she spoke softly next to my ear. "That is the best compliment ever. I like you, Clara. Give Jake hell."

Moments later, mother and daughter disappeared into the crowd, and I had no idea what to think. That meeting had gone far better than I could have dreamed, but I also had never imagined meeting either of them. Now that I had, all of this had become real . Whether that was a good or bad thing, I hadn't decided. One thing I was almost certain of, I'd be hearing from Jake sooner than later.