And there was still more cleaning to do. The bathrooms needed a scrub, and the living room windows could stand to be sprayed with vinegar. At least the sheets in the guest room were fresh, and she’d been careful to wash them with Dreft per Annette’s instructions: “Anything stronger than baby detergent makes me break out in hives!” followed by “You did remember to stock Benadryl, didn’t you, dear?”

Sadie had picked up the chicken tenders and croissant sandwiches earlier that afternoon, so lunch was all set. The refrigerator was wiped down and stocked with nutritious and kid-friendly snacks. And the kitchen was so clean, you could eat off its newly refinished floors.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Sadie’s stomach plunged—the smoke alarm? What the what?

Oh…God…no…

Shit. The freaking cupcakes! She’d put them in the oven nearly forty-five minutes ago! But somehow finding out she was expecting a new life made them slip her mind.

Sprinting toward the kitchen, Sadie stepped on one of Lincoln’s Duplo blocks and howled. What were his toys doing flung down the hall? He stuck his head out of his doorway, his eyes huge and scared.

She smothered a string of swear words, bent down and scooped him up.

“Shhhh. Shhhh. Don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay! Mommy just burnt something.”

She continued toward the kitchen, only to collide with a headset-wearing Ethan who impatiently gestured toward his office. His brows furrowed the way they always did when he got peeved.

“Conference call, remember,” he stage-whispered, gesturing for them to keep it down.

She noticed the can of soda on his desk beside an open bag of corn chips and a salsa jar. He had ESPN muted on the television set, and the Boston Globe flung open on the arm of his Lazy Boy.

Home office or man cave?

“Sorry.” She wove around him and into her beautiful, clean kitchen now filled with acrid smoke. She set Lincoln on the ground before rummaging around for oven mitts. “Sweetie, stand back while Mommy gets the cupcakes out, okay?”

“Kay,” Lincoln agreed.

Except when Sadie pulled the charred dessert from the oven and set them on the stovetop, she was surprised to be hit with a sudden gush of cold water.

Huh?

She whirled around, only to get sprayed right in the face.

“Lincoln! What are you doing?” she sputtered. “That went up my nose!”

“Putting fire out! Like fireman!” he said proudly, having scrambled on top of the kitchen counter and grabbed the spray nozzle from the sink. He squirted more water at both Sadie and the cupcakes, proving that contrary to this morning’s pee-pee debacle, he possessed remarkable aim.

Sadie shook her head, at a complete loss as to where she should begin with this one. Honestly, she was impressed with Lincoln’s reasoning skills, unsure whether to howl with laughter or break into hysterical tears.

“What’s going on?” Ethan appeared in the doorway, gaping between Sadie and Lincoln. “Little man, you shouldn’t be up there. You could fall and get hurt.”