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“Izzy.”

My eyes fill before I can stop them. I nod, once.

Nina abandons the swing. Delilah protests, and Nina ignores her completely, wrapping both arms around me so tightly I can’t breathe. She smells like sunscreen and baby wipes and home.

“Does he know?” she asks into my hair.

“No.” My voice cracks. “He told me he never wanted a family. Twice. And the night I found out, I’d just watched him turn into his father. I can’t, Nina. I can’t stand in front of him and watch his face when he realizes he’s trapped.”

She pulls back and holds me by the shoulders, her eyes fierce.

“Listen to me. Mom decided for Dad. She decided he’d leave before he ever got the chance to stay, and then she spent thirty years making sure we paid for it.” Her grip tightens. “Don’t make Mom’s choice for him. Let him make his own. And if he makes the wrong one, you have me. You have Jai and Paloma and these two monsters. You will never, ever be alone.”

I laugh through the tears. Nova runs up and drops a pinecone into my hand, very seriously, and runs away again.

“See?” Nina says. “She’s already bringing it gifts.”

“Stay as long as you need. You’re the hero of the hour.” Her phone buzzes, and she glances at it, then back up at me. “Jai says dinner is almost ready.”

We round the kids up, though it takes some running on my part and some laughter on Nina’s as she watches me. We wander back to the house slowly, down tree-lined sidewalks in the calm quiet of a suburban neighborhood. I let Nina do most of the talking, though I’m only half listening. I know she doesn’t mind; the pattern is soothing for us.

It’s not until we turn the corner that I spot the sleek, sapphire-blue sedan parked near the curb in front of their house. Jai is standing on the sidewalk, talking with a tall man in a suit. My heart registers who it is before my mind does. It’s beating rapidly as it recognizes Sebastian.

“Is that—” Nina starts, then stops, her eyes growing wide as she looks at me.

Part of me wants to turn around and go back the way we came before Sebastian sees me, but Jai is already waving at us, a big, goofy grin on his face.

“Oh, my God, he’s talking to him,” Nina mutters under her breath, fixing a strained smile on her face as she waves back at her clueless husband. “What do you want me to do? I can distract him while you run upstairs.”

“He’s already seen me, Nina,” I reply. “How is that going to look when I suddenly sprint past him and into the house?”

My sister shoots me a look. “He knows what he did.”

Which is why he’s here. He’s in the same suit he wore this morning for the board meeting and the press conference, still looking perfectly pressed and perfectly put together. That is, until I get close enough to see the pain in his eyes.

“Hey,” Jai says as we approach. “Look who’s here.” He turns his back to Sebastian and mouths to the two of us, “Can you believe it?”

“What are you doing here?” I ask, trying to head off the awkward silence I know is coming.

Sebastian’s eyes search mine. “We have some unfinished business,” he says.

“My business with the King Corporation is finished. I’ve executed the contract successfully. If you have any other issues that need taking care of, you can contact the office.”

We all know the business he’s talking about has nothing to do with the office.

“Please, Isabella.” There’s no hint of arrogance in his voice, only a soft plea. “Will you just talk to me?”

We didn't have much time to talk amid the FBI investigation, the arrests, and campaigning with the board members to have Sebastian elected president and CEO, rather than being voted out entirely.

We’ve barely slept, barely eaten, and when we did speak, it was strictly about business. But even if we did have the time, I refused to talk about anything but the job. He betrayed me. He broke my trust. What was there to talk about?

But something in Sebastian’s eyes softens me, and I’m unable to walk away. Nina nudges me with her elbow and gives me a soft smile.

“Don’t end up like Mom,” she says. “Don’t turn away a good thing. Give it a chance.”

She gestures to Jai. “Come on,” she says, “I feel like eating out tonight. How does pizza sound?”

The kids think it’s a fantastic idea and start chanting a chorus of, “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!”