Page 86 of Life After

“Are you ready to help me bung him out the door if that mouth starts to run away with itself?”

Suzanne laughed and straightened her shoulders. “I’ve been waiting for a moment like this all my life.”

“Oh, I like you,” Denise said as she winked. “I like you a lot.”

They both moved towards the kitchen door, listening carefully for any signs of aggravation. But it never came. As far as Suzanne could tell, Jen, Grace, and Dan were speakingwithoutthe usual hostility. “This seems promising.”

“Oh, I’m not surprised at all,” Denise said quietly. “Before you and Jen arrived, Grace told me that if Dan had refused to come here today, she was leaving him.”

Suzanne’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Mmhmm. She’s had enough of him. Jen was away for thirteen months, and Grace hasn’t really had the chance to reconnect with her because of Dan.” Denise shook her head. “Those girls are my life, and they always have been. To know they’ve not spent much time together breaks my heart.”

That saddened Suzanne. “Me, too.”

“But you’re right. This is promising. And now I suppose I should see if mywonderfulson-in-law would like a cuppa, too.” Denise rolled her eyes and opened the kitchen door. “Dan, hi! Lovely to see you as always.”

Suzanne almost burst out laughing at the sheer sarcasm laced through Denise’s tone, but she knew better than to do that. This was a volatile situation for Jen and Dan, Grace too, so she would remain silent until spoken to.

“Hi, Mrs Fletcher. Nice to see you.”

Suzanne watched Dan from the other side of the room, the unease in the air noticeable. Dan was clearly here under duress, but maybe that was what he needed. If it had been left up to him, he would have continued to dismiss Jen at every turn.

“And you.” He eyed Suzanne. “Nice to see you.”

Suzanne stepped forward and held out a hand. “Suzanne. Since I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself the last time around.”

“Yeah, uh…” Dan wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and grimaced. He eventually took the hand offered to him by Suzanne and shook it. “I’m sorry about that. Really sorry.”

“Mm.” Suzanne drew her hand away and managed a smile. She joined Jen at her side, pressing a kiss to her lips as the atmosphere started to fall away. “You okay, baby?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Just waiting for Toby to wake up so I can spend some time with him.”

“Well, we have no plans for the rest of the day, so there’s no rush to leave. We can stay here all day if you like.”

Jen’s gorgeous hazel eyes brightened. “Really?”

“Sure. I have all kinds to talk about with your mum. We were putting the world to rights in the kitchen.”

Jen turned her back on her family and placed both palms on Suzanne’s stomach. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Suzanne smiled back at Jen, aching for this day to turn out the way she hoped it would with Jen back in touchfullywith her family.

As they stood silently, just gazing into one another’s eyes, Toby started to stir on the couch. Jen’s eyes lit up as she peeked around Suzanne, the smile she wore surely hurting her face. “He’s awake. I can’t wait to cuddle him.”

“And I bet he can’t wait for a cuddle from you.”

Chapter 31

Don’t letanything go wrong this afternoon.

Suzanne puffed out her cheeks where she stood on the decked terrace, her hands wrapped around a cup of coffee. The weather was glorious today, only requiring a patio heater later this evening as the sun began to fade. Suzanne had been keeping an eye on the weather and average temperature all morning, and it seemed summer had fully arrived. The heat was set to soar next week.

“Babe?” Jen startled her when she came out onto the terrace. “What the hell have you been doing out here?”

Jen cast her gaze on the yurts sat in place on the lawn, the neutral pastel colours matching various outdoor rugs and blankets. Lanterns sat in two of the corners, throw cushions and small tables also precisely positioned in Suzanne’s preferred spots. “Just…trying something out.” Suzanne felt terrible for lying, but it would all be worth it in the end. “Think of it as a sort of vision board type of thing.”

“But you deal with interior design, not exterior.” Jen took Suzanne’s coffee cup from her and sipped. It was something she’d started doing recently, and Suzanne had added it to her never-ending list of things she loved about her girlfriend. “Are you branching out now that you’re going back?”

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