Sarah glanced back at the car where a man stood holding a sweet, little blond toddler. A woman stepped out of the passenger door and stared at her. Trish.

“I thought it might be easier to introduce Jamie to everyone at once.”

“Trish agreed to this?”

“Like you, she wants Jamie to get to know her brothers. This way, there are a lot of us around to make it seem like a party rather than a strained introduction. At least, that’s what I hoped it would feel like for everyone.”

Trish and her fiancé arrived on the stoop with Jamie. Trish looked unsure of her welcome. “Hello, Sarah.”

“Trish.” Sarah took a breath, unable to take her eyes off the little girl who looked so much like Sean and her Nick. “Thank you for bringing her over.”

“Luke made a good point. The first meeting, no matter how hard we try, will be awkward and difficult. This way, Jamie gets to attend a party and have fun and maybe that’s a good way to start.”

Finally Sarah met Trish’s eyes and found regret and remorse, along with hope.

Trish glanced at Jamie, then her fiancé, who gave her a nod to go ahead. “I’m sorry, Sarah, for everything I did to hurt you. I look back on it and wonder how I could be so selfish and not think of you, and what you were going through. While I regret the pain I’ve caused . . .”

Sarah looked at Jamie. “You can’t regret that it happened because you got a beautiful little girl out of it.”

Trish’s gaze fell to the ground. “Yes. That’s true. She’s my whole heart. I know one day I’ll have to tell her about her father. And me. And how she came to be. My hope is that having Brett here to love her and be the father she deserves will help ease the loss for her and that she’ll understand I let my feelings get away from me and didn’t use my head.”

Sarah glanced at Luke, the man who’d be the father her children deserved. She thought of how she’d let her heart and desires for a family override her good sense in seeing Sean for who he really was until it was too late.

“Would you like to stay?” Sarah thought Luke’s idea of starting with a celebration was way better than getting caught up in the past.

Trish eyed her. “Um. Are you sure?”

“I’ve moved on from Sean.” She looked from Trish to Brett. “You’ve moved on. You and I are starting something of our own today. Luke invited the family. Jamie is family. And that makes you family, too.” Sarah stepped back and held her hand out for them to enter her home.

It was a big step. One she didn’t know she needed to take to really put the past behind her, but it seemed right.

Trish, Brett, and Jamie stepped into the house.

Trish paused and took Jamie into her arms, then turned to Sarah. “Jamie, I’d like you to meet my new friend Sarah. Sarah, this is Jamie.”