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Claire turned in a slow circle "Very iether"

"I know It’s been great Normally after a fire like we had, we’d need to shut down or at least lay people off We’ve hiredin just a couple of iteer discounts because we’re buying a few iteer bulk"

She drew in a breath Claire nodded, but there was a slight glaze to her expression "I’ve lost you," Jesse teased "You’re so not into this"

"No, it’s great" Claire shrugged "Okay Maybe not I guess I don’t have the bakery in iven I’ve never been able to play the piano"

Jesse frequently wondered what quirk of DNA had allowed her sister to be such a brilliant pianist How did that happen? Was it deliberate or just one of those things?

Claire picked up an order forether so fast"

"You’re not alone in that" Jesse held up both hands "Sorry Pretend I didn’t say that I’ to work on my attitude"

"Still frustrated by Nicole?"

"Yes And et tothe same conversation over and over in my head She didn’t trust me She still doesn’t trust me She wants me to fail Then I tellthings out Blah, blah, blah I want to s back the way they were," Claire said softly "You want the bad stuff to have never happened"

"That, too," Jesse admitted "But there’s a fantasy that will never be fulfilled The situation exists It can’t be changed"

"She never stopped loving you," Claire told her "She missed you all the time"

Jesse tried to find coet in touch with me? You did I wasn’t that hard to find"

"Nicole is different"

"Stubborn The Queen of Stubborn"

"You share that title"

Jesse didn’t say anything because she thought Claire ruhed "She wanted to reconnect, but I don’t think she kne"

"Because she wasn’t ready to forgiveI didn’t do"

"She didn’t know that"

"I tried to tell her and she wouldn’t listen She thought she knew everything She thought I was the kind of person ould sleep with my sister’s husband"

That’s what hurt the most That Nicole had believed the worst about her

"So Nicole isn’t the only one who has to think about offering forgiveness"

Jesse opened herNicole for thinking badly of her? Was Jesse ready for that?

"I’ht," she admitted

"We all are But sometimes it’s a lonely place"

JESSE’S DAY OF self-exploration and hu to spend soround as he and Gabe discovered the thrill of the re wheels and a sturdy control that was easy to learn Gabe led as he tipped it on a turn and it autohted itself

"Excellent choice," sheafter the car down the hallway "He loves it"

"I did a lot of research online," Matt told her "This had the highest rating"

She wasn’t surprised he’d taken the time to find the toy, then buy it The Matt she knew had always been thorough and thoughtful When they’d been together, he’d taken care of her

While he played with his son, she allowed herself to think about what Paula had said a few days before How everything would have been different if Matt hadn’t found out about Nicole’s accusations the way he did If she, Jesse, had been able to tell him herself

Would they have ? She knew she would have accepted his proposal She would have been terrified of screwing up everything, but she’d loved hiine what their life would have been like, if only things had gone differently Gabe would have grown up knowing his father There ether over five years now An old ht wistfully They could have been happy

Later, Matt helped put Gabe to bed He supervised the ritual of hi his teeth, then tucked him in bed and read hi the two of the heartsick over all Gabe and Matt had missed

Because she hadn’t just cheated the man she’d loved, she’d also cheated her child

When Gabe had fallen asleep, she and Matt crept out of his room She shut the door, then led the way back into the fa at the clock