“Oh, God, you’re drunker than I thought.” Libby leaned forward, her face earnest. “Jess, listen to me. The easiest part of my week is when I’m at the clinic being Dr. Hunter. The hardest part is arsenic hour, which is really two to three hours when I’m trying to feed, bath and get the girls into bed without stringing them up or slashing my wrists.”

White hot fury exploded behind Jess’s eyes and she slammed her empty glass onto the coffee table. “Don’t do that!”

Libby jerked back, surprise and hurt on her face. “Do what?”

“That exaggerating thing all mothers do. If the job’s so frickin’ hard and awful, why did you go back for a second let alone this third kid?”

“This one’s a total surprise. To be honest, I cried when I saw the two pink lines on the stick. I didn’t tell Nick for three days.”

“Why? Problems in paradise?” It came out harsher than she’d intended.

“No, but we’re already juggling two businesses and two kids under four. This time there’ll only be fifteen months between Indi and the baby.”

“So?”

“So, it’s going to be tough. I wish it had happened next year or the year after.”

“So, the timing’s not perfect, but jeez, Lib! You’re pregnant. I’d kill to have a baby.” Dejection slumped Jess back against the couch. “Why can’t I have that?”

Libby grabbed her hand. “I’m not saying you can’t. I’m just trying to explain that even with a hands-on partner like Nick, there are times when being a mom is the toughest job you’ll ever do. Your current job’s not exactly flexible and when kids are involved, everything’s a juggle. Being home alone with a baby can be long and lonely.

“When I had Lucy, some nights I stood in the yard waiting for Nick to walk through the gate so I could handball her to him the second he got home. Then I’d go for a walk to nowhere in particular just so I could be alone with my thoughts. I found it tough and I’ve got Nick, and Mom and Dad, as well as Nick’s parents. Thank God, because we’re really going to need them next year.”

And there it was again. Lucky Libby. Although her friend had stopped short of saying, “And you don’t have any family,” the words hovered between them.

Libby rushed on. “You’re barely thirty. You’ve still got time to meet someone and have a baby. What about Will Azzopardi? He adores you.”

Jess’s brows rose. “And living in Kurnai Bay. No thank you.”

“Living in the bay in a lovely home by the water with a man you love who’s earning a decent income is nothing like living there with your mother.”

Did Libby realize she’d just described herself?