Her dad had been happy to stay with Simone for the weekend, and they had a list of plans that would keep them busy. Over the last year, Ray had been sharing his love of cooking with Simone, teaching her the basics and gradually introducing new concepts. In his retirement, he’d taken some cooking classes, and Simone loved spending time with him in the kitchen.

This weekend, they were planning to make pasta from scratch, and they were trying out the new bread maker Emma and Simone had gotten him for Christmas. The two of them shared a very special bond, and it was one that Emma couldn’t and wouldn’t break by moving her daughter away from her dad. She owed Linc Abbott a phone call and would take care of that after she got Grayson through today’s procedure.

The ninety-minute flight seemed to take forever, and by the time the wheels touched down in Burlington, Emma was more than ready to get off the plane. She grabbed a cab and arrived at the University of Vermont Cancer Center just after ten. If he’d gone in at eight as planned, he ought to be in recovery soon.

Upon entering the surgical waiting room, she stopped short at the sight of Hannah Coleman, who looked up from her magazine, seeming equally surprised to see Emma. Dragging her suitcase behind her, Emma took the seat next to Hannah’s. “Have you heard anything?”

“Not yet. Any time now.” After a long pause, Hannah said, “It’s good of you to come.”

“I love him,” Emma said without taking even a second to contemplate whether she should say that to his mother. It was the truth. Why not say so?

“He’s one of the best men I know.”

“I agree. What he’s doing today is further proof of that.”

“I… I’m sorry if I’ve given you the impression that I don’t like you. That’s not true. I have… at times… projected my past experiences on to people who don’t deserve it.”

“I understand completely. I’ve done the same at times by suspecting that all men are like the bad one I had the misfortune of knowing when I was younger. Gray is the first man I’ve dated since my daughter’s father.” Emma watched as her meaning registered with Hannah.

“We have more in common than I thought,” Hannah said.

“Yes, we do, including our love for Grayson. Like you, I want the best for him, and if we can figure out the logistics, I want to try to make him happy.”

“You do make him happy. I’ve never seen him so gone over any woman the way he is with you.”

Emma smiled at her. “The feeling is entirely mutual.”