Alice stopped herself from asking why Jess needed childcare at such short notice—did it really matter? “Sure. No problem. The more the merrier.”

Libby blew her a kiss and returned to the call, firming up arrangements before hanging up. “I’ll take Lucy to school, drop the kids off here, go and sort out the practice and then drive back to Nick.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll take the kids on a playground picnic.”

“Thanks.” Libby’s fingers fiddled with a ragged bit of loose wool. “Listen, when you’re in town and people ask how Nick is, can you tell them he’s fine? The last thing he needs or wants is a fuss.”

“Sure, but what are you going to tell Mom and Dad? Last night Mom was doing her “everything will be fine” thing and stress cleaning. Still, there are advantages.”

“Besides a clean oven?”

“Absolutely. For a few hours her focus shifted far away from me and settled on Nick. I must thank him.”

“You’re exaggerating. Mom doesn’t stress about you that much anymore.”

Alice raised a brow. “Nice try, but we both know the truth. You cause her momentary concerns and I make up the other ninety-nine percent.”

Libby looked like she was about to argue, but all she said was, “Tell Mom I’ll call her this morning.”

They fell silent, gazing across the lake and enjoying the spectacle of a flock of swans rising gracefully into the tangerine sky. Alice expected Libby to stand and leave, but she sat as if moving would take more energy than she could muster. The frigid early morning air was making sorties through any clothing gaps and Alice tugged the blanket more tightly around herself.

Eventually Libby spoke. “So, how are things with Tim?”

Alice sensed dangerous territory. “Don’t you want to get home to the girls?”

“Don’t you want to tell me?”

Alice thought about the recent 1:00 a.m. FaceTime session and pressed her thighs together against the delicious tingle. “There’s not much to say.”

Libby peered at her. “I think there is. You’ve just gone bright red!”

“No, I haven’t.” Except heat was rolling through Alice like molten lava, vanquishing her chill and ratcheting up her temperature. She dropped the blanket before she broke out in a sweat.

“Yes, you have! I can’t believe you still blush like you did at sixteen when you were crushing on Tyler Hawkins.” Libby’s eyes lit up. “Did you see Tim last night?”

Alice knew the path the conversation would take if she told Libby the truth: that she and Tim were yet to meet in real life. Her twin would be outraged on her behalf but not understand that Tim made Alice laugh in ways Lawrence never had. How he gave a buzz to each day, which was something that had been missing from her life for a long time. Alice wasn’t prepared to pressure Tim to commit to a date and risk losing all of that. It took her less than three seconds to decide to share a version of the truth.