Page 90 of The Geography of Happiness

Judah turned at the sound of the door opening and his smile lit up the room. “There you are. I was about to send a search party.” He looked freshly showered and beautiful as always—his lithe muscular body at home wherever it landed, be it onstage in the Boston Opera House or standing in my kitchen in Painted Bay. The annoying man owned every space he entered through force of his personality alone—funny, abrasive, charming, sarcastic, bossy, and loyal to a fault.

“You seem particularly in demand these days.” Judah looked me up and down, his curiosity obviously piqued. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you smiling at your phone more than usual, and then there’s all these video calls for a man who hates video calls. Anything or anyoneI should know about?”

Oh god.

“It was Dad’sfriend,Spencer,” Hannah answered, adding air quotes for good measure. “They talk all the time.”

I jolted in place, my stomach hitting my boots.

“Oh really.” Judah did a slow turn back around to face me, his hazel eyes bright with mischief and something I couldn’t quite name.

I rolled my eyes and brushed on by him. “Ignore my so-not-funny daughter.” I directed a bug-eyed glare at Hannah who promptly lost her cheeky smile and returned to peeling the apple in her hand with focused attention.

“This is the vet, right?” Judah’s eyes narrowed. “The one who adopted Miller?”

I nodded and began stacking plates on the countertop. “I asked him to let us know how Miller was doing.”

Judah hummed, his shrewd gaze drilling into my back. “By video?”

I shrugged indifferently. “Hannah likes Miller and Gabby to see each other.”

“It’s true.” Hannah backed me up and I almost forgave her. “They bonded.”

“Uh-huh.” Judah was clearly unconvinced. “All right then, keep your secrets, you two, but I smell a rat.”

“No secrets to keep. Now make yourself useful and grab some knives and forks. When does Morgan get back?”

Judah slid from his stool and answered as he gathered the cutlery. “Tomorrow. That’s his third conference in as many months. To be honest, I’m over it. We need a break.” He shot me a sly look. “I was thinking of booking a weekend on that station of yours. Sounds just the ticket.”

For fuck’s sake.But I wasn’t biting.

“Morgan would love it,” Hannah agreed, earning another scowl from me, which was stupendously unfair.

“I’m sure he would,” I answered as casually as I could. “But I recall Gil saying they were pretty booked up until February.” Plenty of time for Spencer to be safely settled in Adelaide since there was no way in hell I wanted Judah anywhere near that station while Spencer was still around.

“Too bad.” Judah followed me around the table setting the cutlery while I laid the plates. “I suppose we’ll get there eventually. How are you feeling about the appointment tomorrow? Shitting your pants, I bet.”

“Pretty much.” I glanced to where Hannah was setting the salad on the table. “The scans will decide what happens. Nothing we can do to change it now.”

“How about you, munchkin?” Judah asked Hannah. “Are you worried?”

She screwed up her face. “Pretty much what Dad said. If I have to have surgery, then I suppose I could even be better than I am now.”

Or a lot less flexible, depending on how it went.But I kept that cheery thought to myself.

“I don’t think even the doctors really know,” she admitted. “I just don’t want it to stop me from going to Nolan.”

I let loose a heavy sigh. “Hannah, we talked about?—”

“No reason it should as long as everything goes to plan, right?” Judah interrupted, silencing me with abe-careful-what-you-saylook. “No point in jumping the gun. Nolan has students managing some pretty heavy-duty challenges, you know that from your visit. You wouldn’t be the first and I’ve heard they bend over backwards to help.”

I rolled my eyes so only Judah could see, and he returned a pointedlyyou’re-welcomeglare.

“Let’s wait and see what happens tomorrow.” I walked the middle line and Judah smiled approvingly, the little shit. “Now let’s get dinner on the table. I’m starving.”

The second Hannah left the room, Judah pulled me aside. “Don’t crush her hopes until you’re sure,” he warned.

My hackles rose and I met his determined gaze with a curt one of my own. “Come talk to me when you’ve had children, Judah. You have no idea how hard this is.”

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