My little sister had had a crush on Jared since the first day she set her big brown eyes on him. Anyone could see it, but she tried to hide it by being mean and confrontational whenever he was around. Jared would never go there, though. Juana was too young.

Too young. Hm. What right did I have to make that determination when I’d been sniffing around Darcy since I was much younger than my sister was now?

“So, where’d they buy their house?” Juana asked as we descended the stairs to our respective cars.

“They bought a place in Streeterville on N. Water Street. Low-rise, new build, which isn’t great, but it’s close to the hospital and has room enough for them to start a family.”

“Wow. Streeterville.”

I shrugged. “This’ll be my first time visiting. You know how I feel about new construction going up near the waterfront, but what can you do?”

“What can you do?” she echoed. Juana turned to me and gave me a hug. “Are you’re sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said, hugging her back.

Her hold around my neck tightened. “You know you can talk to me, right?”

For a moment, I considered telling her, but what would I say? I’m in love with my best friend’s mother. Tell me a way we can be together without ruining our relationships with her son.

Pushing her away, I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Quit worrying. I’m fine. Tell mama I love her,” I called over my shoulder before hopping into my pickup truck and pointing it toward Jared and Brandi’s place.

Traffic was slow, which gave me more time to obsess over the fact that I hadn’t heard from Darcy since I left Charleston. We never said that we would text or call, and it was probably best that we didn’t. But we still shared a calendar, and occasionally — and by occasionally, I mean daily — I checked her schedule to see what she was doing.

Today at four p.m., she had lunch with the Dalys. The Dalys were prospective clients looking for a home in Wagner Terrace. It was a hip little neighborhood with a lot of ranch-style homes a few minutes north of where Darcy lived in South Broad. She was taking them to The Butcher & The Bee, where we’d eaten lunch my first day in Charleston. Later, she had to stop by the bank and her lawyer’s office.