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Montgomery looks to me. “It’s your birthday. You choose.”
“Okay, thanks,” I say with a smile. “How about…the Jimmy Buffet channel? I think the Margaritaville station is in the twenties.”
“You’ve got it,” Miles replies while searching for the station since traffic isn’t moving an inch.
“Margaritaville?”
“It’s upbeat and happy, especially in January when it’s so dreary and I’d rather be on an island in the sun than…”
“Than here,” Montgomery finishes for me.
“Where would you rather be?” I ask him.
“Outside,” he says simply before going back to his phone without any further explanation.
The tropical rock serenades us for the next thirty minutes, until we finally make it back to the office.
It’s nearly seven that night before I finally head out.
Montgomery was still working in his office, and I was afraid he might need something, so I stayed until he was ready to leave.
Thankfully, the rain has stopped.
Lily’s house is about twenty minutes away, out in the suburbs. It’s the kind of neighborhood with swing sets and kids on bicycles, family homes that I’m not sure I can picture having for myself.
Once I park in the driveway, I make my way along the winding path around to the front of the house. Lily’s husband, Steve, is waiting on the front porch. We’ve met before at a Christmas party. Today his brown hair is sticking up in every direction, like he’s been giving it hell.
“Hey, Steve. How are you holding up?” I ask.
“She’s getting out of bed for everything, and I can’t stop her,” he mutters.
“Aww, this must be so hard on Lily. It’ll probably take some time for her to get used to taking it easy.”
“She has to get used to it fast,” he remarks. “If anything happens to her…”
“Lily is going to be fine,” I assure him with a smile.
“Come on in, see if you can convince her to stay put.”
“I’ll try,” I promise.
“Straight on back to the bedroom.”
“Got it, thanks,” I tell him before making my way down the hallway.
Lily’s sitting up straight against the headboard in flannel pajamas, her pregnant belly partially covered with the sheets looking like she’s being held hostage and about to attempt an escape.
I knock on the open door before stepping through it. “Hi. How are you feeling?”
“Bored out of my mind. There’s nothing good on,” she complains when she reaches for the remote and turns off the television.
“I brought you a little something.” Lily is a planner like me. Knowing this, I reach into my purse and pull out the small pink leather journal with an attached pen. “You can write down all the things you think you should be doing, then have me do it at the office or your husband do it here.”
“Thanks, Kendall,” Lily replies with a smile as she takes it. “That’s so sweet of you. How are things at the office?” She pats the empty spot on the bed next to her, so I go around, kick off my shoes and stretch out beside her with my purse in my lap.
“Well, considering that I’ve been hoping for a full-time position for over a year and finally got it, I would say it was great, even if I am working for the most uptight man in the universe.”
“How’s he been so far?”