Page 180 of Sing with Me

“Don’t judge me, Skye.”

“I’m not and I’m sorry. We’re having a conversation. You asked about Diehl, so I asked about Talia.”

“Touché.” Jared followed Skye to the next booth. “Mom said that a child needs her father. That’s such a traditionalist statement, you know.”

“Is it? A child also needs her mother, but we never say that is traditionalist, do we?”

Jared nodded. “Okay. I concede that children need their parents.”

“You could fuel up and fly to London anytime,” Skye said.

“I don’t think she wants to see me, to tell you the truth. We had a fallout while she was pregnant.”

Skye did not want—or need—to know what the fallout was. It was none of her business. “I’ll pray for you and Talia.”

“Pray? You’re one of the those religious freaks.” Jared laughed. “Sell me your shares already before you exorcise me or something.”

“You watched too much TV growing up, didn’t you?” Skye stopped at the next booth. “I’m just a Christian, Jared.”

“Then you’re super religious.”

“Not all Christians are super religious. Am I?”

“You tell me,” Jared said.

“Then I rest my case. If I have to tell you, then I’m not showing it.” Skye picked up a small paper-boat container of tamale and a plastic fork. She thought it was not spicy enough.

“A bit oily.” Jaren spat it out.

“But the beef is well-seasoned.” Except for the spiciness. Then again, not everyone liked spicy tamales.

Jared threw the trash away for both of them.

“You seem to know food,” Skye said.

Jared nodded. “Growing up, my parents liked to visit restaurants. Mom still does.”

Skye knew about Marguerite Urquhart and her frequent visits to Saffron on Jekyll, especially back when Sebastian ran the restaurant.

“We have a personal chef at home, but we also ate out a lot,” Jared said. “If I didn’t have to work in the family business, I might have been a food critic.”

“Saffron is up your alley, then.”

“Totally. If I could buy all of Talia’s shares, I would. She won’t rest the rest of hers to me.”

“How about my shares?” Skye tried not to get her hope up.

“Let me think about it and get back to you. Talia might be pleased, because she’s probably even more jealous than Diehl.”

So Diehl’s jealousy was noticeable? Skye wished she could tell Diehl right now that there was nothing for him to worry about. She had no interest in anyone else.

“Say, how do you get along with Diehl?” Jared asked.

“Why do you ask?” Even though it had only been a few weeks, Skye felt like she had known Diehl for a few years since his sister joined Treble Trio and they started to pray for one another’s families.

“Maybe I can get some tips on how to manage Talia?”

“Manage?” Skye stepped into the shade. “Maybe that’s one of your problems.”

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