Correction: a smart, overworked, stubborn woman. “I think so.” Especially when sitting on a porch with the setting sun wrapping them in shadows, surrounded by Darcy’s laugh and her fierce concern and—yeah—that damned pink top that dipped a little lower than she probably realized.
Taylor was a very distant memory when he was with Darcy.
“I think I’m ready,” he said. “But there’s only one way to find out for sure.”
“You blacksmiths. Always shoving things into fires.”
“I’m not planning any long heartfelt talks with either Carter or Taylor, if that’s what you mean. I’ll settle for being in the same room without going bat-shit crazy.”
“I’ll pack some of my mom’s happy pills, just in case.”
It took him a second to process her meaning.
“You’re coming with me?”
“Only because I think you’ll need the moral support.” There was a slightly evil cast to her grin that made him feel as though his beer wasn’t sitting well. “And I always thought Carter was a snot-nosed brat who acted like he was better than the rest of you, so I’m going to love being able to mock him silently anytime I see him.”
“Darce—”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll behave. The last thing I want is to make things worse for you.”
“Damn. I was going to tell you that you didn’t have to keep it silent.” He shrugged. “Listen, this is nothing compared to you and Cady, but so you know—the whole reason Xander came back in the first place was because he wanted Lulu.”
“He what?”
“Yep. Something about seeing himself in his new life, walking the straight and narrow with his faithful canine companion at his side.”
“You’re kidding.” For a second the indignant light in her face faded to something more like worry and fear and something else, something that made him want to gather her close and stroke her hair and promise her that everything would be okay.
Lucky for him, the moment passed as quickly as it had appeared.
* * *
NO MATTER HOW much she longed to sleep in the next morning, Darcy pushed her reluctant self out of bed while the sun was just beginning to brighten the sky. If she was going to have herself and Cady ready for a ten-o’clock departure, she needed to take full advantage of the golden hour before her girlie started moving.
She threw laundry into the dryer, fired up her laptop and tossed jars and pouches of baby food into a bag, all while waiting for the coffee to brew. As soon as it was ready she filled her mug and carried it to the porch for what was usually the best fifteen minutes of her morning.
Too bad she had to spend it calling her mother today.
Sylvie was in London this week, meaning it was already late morning for her, meaning there was a decent chance she would be awake. No guarantee, but the odds were high. Darcy couldn’t count how many times in the past year she had given thanks that her own sleep cycle had come from her father instead of her mother.
“Darcy?”
Yep. Mom might technically be awake, but alert and functional were still hours away. If luck was really on Darcy’s side, she could get through this conversation before Sylvie woke up enough to become annoyed.
“’Morning, Mom. How’re you and the queen this fine day?”
“Don’t be an ass, Darcy. You know very well she’s touring Japan this month. Why on earth are you calling at such a teeth-numbing hour?”
“A couple of things. The copy edits for the new book came in yesterday. I’ll have those turned around within the week, and then I’ll send them to you for final approval. If you need me over the next few days, I might be a bit slow in getting back to you because Cady and I are going to Comeback Cove. And I finalized your Sydney itinerary and will send that to you in a few minutes.”
“That all sounds— Wait. You’re going where?”
So much for that great strategy.
“Comeback Cove.”
“For the love of God, why?”
Because my friend needs me. Because I need some breathing room between me and the Amazing Reappearing Biological Daddy. Because the family I idolized when I was a kid has been broken, and I want to help fix it.
Of all the reasons for this trip, there was only one Darcy would even think of sharing with her mother. “Ian was driving up anyway, and Nonny hasn’t seen Cady since right after she was born, so it seemed like good timing.”
“Assuming there’s ever a good time to be bored silly.”
Darcy often wondered what on earth her parents had seen in each other. Sylvie was a mercurial, nightlife-loving actress, while Paul had been a quiet, small-town homebody. Sylvie was all about the next excitement. Paul had been all about the moment. Sylvie loved Darcy in a bemused sort of way, as if she were never quite sure where this child had come from and what she was supposed to do with her. Paul had been a hands-on, deeply invested father.
But Paul was dead. Sylvie was not only alive, but provided a major chunk of Darcy’s hard-earned income. So on many levels it behooved Darcy to keep her mother placated.
“You know how it goes. Sometimes you have to make these sacrifices for the sake of family.”
“I suppose. It was so much easier when your father was alive and I could let him deal with those issues.”
Darcy had been called many things in her life, but she was pretty sure she had never before been an issue.
“Fine, then. Go do what you must. When will you be— Oh. Hold on a second.”
There came the rustling sort of crackle that made Darcy suspect the phone had been relegated to the side of the bed, followed by a lazy “Good morning, Matteo,” and something that sounded way too much like a long and welcoming kiss. Oh, goody. There was nothing as delightful as trying to conduct a conversation with Sylvie when her latest boy toy was in the room. All it took was one studly thing to make an appearance and Sylvie Drummond—sometimes known as the most driven woman on two continents—turned into a rather embarrassing pile of goo.
“Mom? Hello?”
“Oh. Darcy.” The throaty quality to Sylvie’s voice made Darcy want to shove her fingers in her ears and sing la la la, not paying attention. “I thought you had hung up.”
Yep. Testosterone walked in, five hundred brain cells marched out.
“Sorry. I need to confirm some dates with you. Before you get too busy,” she couldn’t help but add.
“Of course. Fire away.”
Darcy rattled off the requests, knowing full well from the faraway mmm-hmms on the other end that her mother’s focus was elsewhere. Sure enough, as soon as she paused, Sylvie pounced.
“You know, dear, why don’t you email all that to me? I’ll go over it later.”
Later, as in sometime when Matteo wasn’t around.
It had been this way for almost as long as Darcy could remember. It seemed like mere weeks between the time Paul died and the parade of new friends/uncles/possible new daddies had begun. As an adult, Darcy could look back and see that, yes, Sylvie had gone quite a while without adult companionship, and, yes, it was rather pathetic that she became so dependent on them so quickly. Most of the time Darcy rolled her eyes and gave thanks that she was no longer young enough to have to tag along when Sylvie decided to follow her latest love. Seeing the world