Page 63 of The Sweet Life

“I don’t really know your daughters. Other than Willow, I mean. I just met them when you brought them for dinner over the Christmas holidays.” They seemed like nice girls butdefinitely daddy’s girls now that she thought about it. Flynn clearly doted on them, and unlike their brother, they hadn’t been happy sharing his attention with their newfound sister. But Willow, being Willow, had won them over, and now they adored their big sister as much as August did.

“You mean when I brought them to the restaurant because we’d missed the party, and I’d wanted to see you, even if you were at work.”

She moved closer, placing a hand on his chest. “You ate a lot at La Dolce Vita over the holidays. I thought you just hated cooking and loved our food.”

“It was a little of that and a whole lot of wanting to see you.” He took his hands out of his pockets and placed them on her hips. “I wanted to see you yesterday too. I called late afternoon, but you weren’t picking up. I came by to check on you. I even risked the wrath of Carmen and ventured into the restaurant looking for you. She was upset. Something about you not appearing on today’s Instagram Live segment?”

She told him why she’d been going to bail today and how she felt about Cami being part of their new venture. He stayed quiet and listened, his thumbs stroking her sides in a relaxing up-and-down motion.

She couldn’t tell if he thought she was right or wrong, but she’d learned over the last couple of weeks that, while Flynn validated her feelings, he didn’t give her advice or try to fix things for her.

“I’ve decided to go despite my feelings about Cami.”

“I’m sure that will make Carmen happy.”

“I’m glad one of us will be.” She sighed, slipping her arms around his waist. “I was at the lavender farm when you stoppedby. I’d turned off my phone so I wouldn’t have to listen to another member of my family tell me I’m selfish or I’m jealous or I’m vindictive or just a plain rotten human being.”

She felt the rumble of his laughter against her cheek, his right hand moving to her neck, kneading the tension from her muscles.

“Anyway, I painted, or J.R. painted, a mural of Alice in the lavender fields with her cat Max for Sage and Jake. Alice was cremated yesterday, and I knew how difficult it would be for Sage and Jake to say goodbye.”

He leaned back. “Wow, your family’s right. You’re the worst.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sure Sage and Jake loved it.”

“I hope so. I haven’t heard from Sage. I left one of my lanterns there so they’d see the mural, but maybe they didn’t notice. It’s not like they’d know I’m J.R. anyway.” Her phone rang with Sage’s ringtone. “Speak of the devil.” She smiled and moved away from Flynn to answer. “Hey, honey. How are you? Are you and Jake okay?”

“Um, yeah, it’s…” Sage trailed off, obviously listening to whatever Jake was saying in the background. Then her daughter murmuredRightto whatever he said before returning to Gia. “Mom, are you going to be home for a bit?”

“I’m actually heading to your zia’s shortly. We’re doing an Instagram Live today. Why don’t you meet me there? We have a big announcement. Lila is still under the weather, so your sister is taking over the filming.” She made a face. “Cami will be there too.”

“Uh, I don’t know…” Sage trailed off again, only this time she was repeating what Gia had said to Jake. Then she heardSage say to him, “Do you think I should do it then? They’re all going to be there.”

Apparently, Jake thought it was a good idea, because Sage said, “Okay. I’ll meet you at Zia Eva’s. We’ll talk then.”

“You don’t sound like yourself. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to me about whatever this is now?”

“No. This isn’t a conversation you have over the phone. I need to talk to you face-to-face.”

“Honey, are you… are you and Jake engaged?”

“No! Why would you think that?”

“Madonna santa! Are you pregnant? Am I going to be a nonna?”

“Seriously, Mom? If you’re going to be a nonna, it has nothing to do with me.”

“Willow isn’t pregnant, is she?”

Sage groaned. “How did this conversation get so out of control?” Jake said something in the background, and her daughter laughed.

“Did he just say because it involved the Rosettis?”

“Of course he didn’t,” her daughter said, but Gia could tell by the amusement in Sage’s voice that that was exactly what Jake had said.

“You tell him no more pizza from me, and I’ll see you at your zia’s.” She went to end the call.

“Mom, wait!”

“What is it?”

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