“No. I like it black.” She poured my coffee, and I took a sip. I smiled. I needed the hot brew more than I knew. I held up the mug, inspecting it. “You took her to LEGOLAND? She must have loved that.”
Emily shook her head. “Oh, no. We’ve never been there. She’s wanted to go since she’s heard of it, but it’s not the kind of place I can see us going to, and Mama, well, she wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like that.” She picked up her own mug, rather nondescript compared to mine, and took a sip. “She’d find it tacky.”
I resisted the urge to offer to take them to LEGOLAND. Compared to taking Emily to Japan, it’d be trivial, but we were supposed to be friends, not a couple, and whisking her and Juniper off on a family trip suggested something far more than friendship.
“Well, Juniper’s young. I’m sure you’ll have a chance to go sooner than later.”
“I hope so,” Emily said. She averted her gaze for a second. “You didn’t go to work today?”
“I read some emails at home, but I just finished a major business deal. I’m allowed a day off, I think, and well, it’s my company. And you? Did you already have the day off?”
“No, but I’m concentrating on Juniper today,” she said softly. “Going to work from home for the rest of the week, assuming I don’t get sick.”
I glanced out of the kitchen into the living room where Juniper was still petting and hugging the barking dogs, her face alight with pure joy.
“I know you said you wanted to wait,” I said after taking another sip of my coffee, “but pets are a good way for children to learn responsibility.”
Emily nodded a few times. “I guess it’s something to think about.” She looked down for a moment. “Maybe I’ve let Lionel continue to mess things up for me, even years later.”
I opened my mouth and then shut it. I wanted to tell her how beautiful and special she was, how much I wanted more, but I couldn’t. Emily had made her feelings clear, and I was going to respect them. I suspected if she could get through her feelings concerning her ex-husband, she’d be more than willing to give a new long-term relationship a try.
We fell into a comfortable silence, both sipping our coffee and watching Juniper play with the dogs. She was having a good time, but that didn’t stop her trying to hack up half her lungs every few minutes.
“Looks like she needs some rest,” I said, rising.
Emily nodded.
I headed into the living room and smiled down at Juniper. “I need to get these guys home, Juniper.”
She stuck out her bottom lip. “No fair. I wanna keep playing with the dogs.”
I scratched Joe on the head. His tag thumped so hard it sounded like someone was punching the floor. “Well, maybe when you get better.”
“Promise me I can play with them whenever I want.”
I hesitated to respond. That was a big promise, and one that tied me to the family probably more than Emily was comfortable with.
Glancing over at Emily, I noticed she was looking at Juniper and not me.
“I promise,” I said.
Juniper grinned and lay back down.
I waved
and then grabbed the leashes of my boys. I spared one last glance for Emily as I headed out the front door. She watched me with a small smile on her face, a relaxed air around her.
I could only hope I’d done some small part to make her day better.
Chapter Twenty-five
EMILY
Logan bringing over the dogs on Monday did a lot to lift Juniper’s spirits. I’d hoped that would be the worst of her strep. Then Tuesday came, and things grew worse. It was harder to control her fever, and her coughing sounded awful.
Now it was Wednesday morning, and though my little sweet pea managed to get some sleep, it seemed like she was having trouble breathing. She’d also started vomiting.
I’d already called work to take rest of the week off, which thankfully, my boss had no problem with. That allowed me to devote all my time to taking care of my sick little girl.