“Nah,” Alex calls over his shoulder. “I’ve got it. Thanks, though.”
I frown, a bit put out by his rejection. I can count on my hand the number of times in the past two years Alex has turned down my offer to clean up after he’s cooked, and it would involve raising one finger.
“Thea!” Mia says. “Is that your phone?”
I pat around my pockets, then the lawn chair, where I find it wedged behind my butt. Sure enough, my phone is buzzing. “Either my hearing is going,” I tell her, “or yours is getting even better than it already was.”
Mia points to her ears and says, deadpan, “I hear everything.”
“Unnerving,” I mutter. I tip my phone away from the sun’s glare and smile when I see who’s calling.
Lauren’s face fills the screen, dark sleek hair brushing her shoulders, oversized black sunglasses hiding her eyes.
“Hey, Lo!”
“Hey!” she says. “Sorry I missed you last night. Client dinner ran long, and by the time we wrapped up it was one in the morning your time.”
“That’s okay,” I tell her. “How are you?”
“Living the dream,” she says.
I tip my head. “I can’t tell if that’s a serious statement, or—”
“Is that LoLo?” Mia yells.
Lauren smiles and hollers back, “Hey, Mimi!”
Mia paddles down the pool toward me and shoves her sunglasses up onto her head.
“Hi, LoLo,” Mia says. “How ya doing?”
“Oh, I’m great,” Lauren says. “How are you?”
“I’m splendid!” Mia yells. “Tonight, we’re having a Holidays in July Day StoryTime party at The Bookshop, and I get to stay up late, and we’re going to eat cake pops Daddy and me made and read holiday books and I’m going to wear a pretty red dress and my new gold sandals.”
Lauren nods seriously. “Red dress, gold accessories, very chic.”
Mia sighs. “Yeah, but I wanted to wear my newwhitedress that Ethan got me, and I wanted Mommy to wear hers, too, but Mommy said Ethan said we have to save our pretty white dresses for our special ’casion at our beach vacation. Mommy and Daddy and Ethan and Thea and Argos and me are going to the beach!” She spins and plunges back into the water.
My stunned brain chugs sluggishly along each word.
Special occasion…
New white dresses…
Oh, God. Ethan and Jen are getting married on our vacation.
Lauren says loudly, “Thea, what thefuck!”
Mia pops up out of the pool. “Dad! LoLo said a swear! I get another cake pop!”
Something slams inside the kitchen. “Dammit, Lawrence!” Alex yells.
I clap a hand over my face.
“Anotherswear!” Mia yells gleefully. “Twocake pops!”
Lauren leans in so close I can see her pores, which, for a woman who gets regular facials and has baseline flawless skin, is anachievement. She lowers her voice to a whisper. “Thea, what the hell is going on?”