Page 40 of Homecoming

“I remember how bummed you were.”

“She’s always been good to me.”

“What’s the age difference between you again?”

“Eight years. She was more like a second mom to me than a sister.”

“Is she close with Kelly?”

“Not really. Kendra was furious about what Kelly and Matt did. There’s no love lost there.”

“I hope it was worth it to Kelly to have Matt after everything she had to give up.”

“She’d never admit that it was anything other than worth it.”

“I told your dad he needs to get Keith a real lawyer before that ‘mall cop’ does more harm than good.”

“You called him a mall cop?” she asked, raising her head off his chest to smile at him.

“I did. That might be giving him too much credit.”

“Just when I think I can’t love you more than I already do…”

“That’s all I gotta do?”

She returned her head to his chest. “That’s it.”

“I’ll see what other ways I can come up with to describe him while we’re here.”

“I look forward to hearing all of them.”

“Dogcatcher?”

“That’s an insult to dogs.”

They laughed—hard.

“I’m so glad you don’t hurt over them anymore,” Dan said. “They don’t deserve it.”

“No, they don’t. I’m not proud of my vindictive streak where they’re concerned, but it is what it is.”

“While they don’t deserve your hurt, theydodeserve every bit of vindictiveness we can come up with.

“They sure do.”

Renata gotto work twenty minutes late, hoping that would be enough to annoy Myles to the point that he’d keep their interactions to a minimum that day.

No such luck.

When he heard her arrive, he came out of his office, smiling at her with a tall Americano in hand that he placed on her desk. She didn’t have to check to know it’d been made to her exacting specifications with oat milk and frothing.

“Thank you.”

“Everything okay? You’re never late.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It happens.”

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