Her shoulders dropped and she closed her eyes. “Zane,” she said in a warning tone.
“What?”
“This isn’t fair, and you know it.”
“It’s the truth, babe. This is one of those monumental moments of life—I have to get it right or everything else is going to fall apart. You said it yourself back in the fall. I need this. The guys need it. We have to find our way back, but I don’t have the first clue how to do that without Mike. Please don’t make me do it without you too.”
Sienna stared at him, feeling her heart tug at his words. Yes, he was a bastard to do what he had done, but he was also the love of her life and the father of her children. And more than that, he was her best friend, standing before her, begging her to help him.
Before she could decide, Ivy sauntered into the room. She skidded to a stop when she saw the two of them together at the island. “Whoa. This isn’t what I was expecting to see today.”
Zane hurried over and gave her a quick peck on her forehead. “Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetie.”
Ivy gave him a wary look. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Brought flowers for my girls.”
“Wow, those are beautiful.” Ivy walked over and picked up a bouquet.
“Those were the flowers your mom had at our wedding.”
Ivy gave him an expression that said she was impressed. “Really?”
He smiled proudly. “Yup. Back when we were just a couple of crazy kids trying to make it in this world.”
Sienna snorted. “Oh, come on, you were hardly a kid. You were thirty.”
He tilted his head from side to side in a conciliatory gesture. “Well, okay, maybe, but I still didn’t know anything yet.” He took his place at the island again. “Still don’t.”
Ivy picked a few bits of cheese off the wooden cutting board and popped them in her mouth. “So? What is this?”
“Your mom is making her famous pizza.”
“Yeah, but why are you helping her?”
“Because I love hanging out with her.”
Poppy walked in at that exact moment dressed in a pair of black leggings with a shaker knit sweater that made her look very grown up. Her face lit up and she gasped when she saw Zane, which irritated the hell out of Sienna, who only got that kind of enthusiasm from the dog.
“Dad!” She ran over to him and gave him a huge hug. “Happy Valentime’s Day.”
“Valentine’s. It’s got an ‘n,’ not an ‘m,’ Poppy,” Ivy told her. “If you say Valentime’s, people will think you’re a moron.”
“Ivy, that’s not kind,” Sienna told her.
“But it’s true,” Ivy said. “I’m just trying to stop her from getting bullied out in the real world.”
“By bullying her?”
Ivy shrugged at her mom, then turned her attention back to Zane. “Seriously. What are you doing? Like, is this going to be a thing now? You’re going to come over and help out in the kitchen?”
Sienna answered for him. “No. He’s trying to convince me to come to the concert.”
“Oh, yes, Mom, you have to come!” Poppy squealed. “It’ll be so wonderful and fun and you can’t miss it, Mom. You can’t.”
Sienna quickly realized the mistake she had made. As obvious as Poppy was about wanting her mom to come to Vegas, she could see in Ivy’s eyes that her eldest child was every bit as hopeful, even though she was going to take a cooler approach.
Ivy shrugged. “It might be cool if you come. We can go shopping and hang out at the pool and stuff.”