Van reached over and poked me. “You said he’s separated and you’re not doing anything wrong. There’s nothing that says you can’t be attracted to someone you have things in common with. He’s not the only guy in the world, Di. I know things have been tough for you after Jeremy—”

She’s said the name I didn’t ever want to hear again.

“But he was an asshole, and you know that. If this guy is as great as you think he is, he won’t make it a big deal about you liking him—if he even puts two and two together to figure out that you do—so you shouldn’t either. Maybe he won’t always be separated. Maybe he will.”

Maybe she had a point.

Van kept going. “After Aiden and Sammy, you and Oscar are what I love the most in the world. I want you to be happy, D. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know, buried deep beneath that little bitch shell—”

I had to put my hand over my mouth again to crack up.

“—you stubborn, pain in the ass. If you ever want to date a football player—”

“Nope.” I couldn’t handle all the women throwing themselves at a football player. Vanessa’s husband was an exception. He didn’t like anyone but her. The only reason he put up with me in tiny increments was because that’s how strongly he cared for her.

“Fine then. One day you’ll find some poor idiot to love you.” She smiled at me, reaching her hand across the bed, and I took it. “If you don’t, we’ll pay someone to pretend they do.”

* * *

The next week went by in the blink of an eye. I hadn’t remembered how much work babies were, but good God, it was a lot. Vanessa’s mini-defensive end in the making ate like a teenager going through a growth spurt. I stayed with the two new parents twelve days total, but accepted that I needed to get back home to the boys and a little thing called my job. On the way to San Diego, I had called all my clients and explained to them I had a family emergency—and promised a discount for their next service—so the second I got back to the salon the day my flight arrived, I rescheduled everyone. The next three weeks were going to be busy, balancing all the clients I’d had to fit in from the weeks I’d unexpectedly taken off, while also planning on taking more walk-ins than usual to make extra money.

I was going to be really busy, but I’d make it work. Plus, what could I have done differently? Not been there for Vanessa? The boys and I could live off Ramen for a while and it wouldn’t be a big deal.

* * *

“TIA!” was the shout heard from around the field as this boob-level kid ran full speed toward me.

My first thought was: God, I hoped he didn’t trip and fall. An emergency room visit was the last thing I could afford right then.

My second thought was: I missed the hell out of this guy. Louie and I had talked on the phone every single day, but it was different than seeing him in person.

My third and final thought was: I felt stupid for having started to dread coming to baseball practice. For the earlier part of the day, after I’d agreed with the Larsens to meet them at the ballpark to pick up the boys, I’d started thinking all over again about how I didn’t want to see the other parents on the Tornado. How I didn’t want to see Dallas.

And I was worried if I saw Christy, I might do something everyone would regret.

But now, as Louie raced toward me and took a running leap with this smile the size of the sun on his adorable face, I hated myself for worrying about those people when I had someone so perfect waiting, happy to see me. It was people like Louie and Josh, like the Larsens—my family—who really mattered in life. Everyone else’s opinions and perception shouldn’t even begin to factor in my day.

And as I caught Louie with an “oomph” that knocked half the wind out of me, I accepted that I’d go through everything with Christy all over again if I had a homecoming like this from my boy.

“I missed you, Buttercup,” Louie practically screamed into my ear as his arms went around my neck and he hugged the little bit of breath I had left right out of me. “I missed you. I missed you. I missed you.”

“I missed you too, poo-poo face,” I said kissing his cheeks. “Oh my God, what have you been doing? Are you planning on hibernating for winter? You weigh like ten pounds more than you did before I left.”

Just like when he was a baby, Louie reeled back, smacked his hands—which I was 99 percent sure were dirty—on my cheeks, and jiggled them as he leaned close enough to touch the tip of his nose to mine. “Grandma gave me a lot of pizza and chicken nuggets.”

I laughed. “I can smell it on your breath.”

His giggle went straight into my heart. “Did you bring me anything?”

“Vanny sent you some toys and clothes.”

“Can I have them?”

“When we get home. They’re in my suitcase, greedy.”

He sighed and let his head drop, his entire body arching backward with the movement, making my arms strain with his weight. “Okay.”

“Uh-huh. Let’s go see Grandma and Grandpa,” I told him, already walking with him in my arms.

Louie started to wiggle and I let him slide to the ground, where he took my hand and led me in the direction of his grandparents.

“Were you waiting for me?” I asked, wondering how he’d seen me when I still had no idea where the Larsens were sitting.

“Yeah. Grandma told me you were on the way, so I was sitting there for you.”