Margaret nodded her hello, but didn’t say anything because Bridget seethed beside her with her arms crossed over her chest.

Rob lowered his voice. “Looks like Bridget forgot to bring a chair for you.” Rob shook his head. “If it helps, I get even worse treatment.”

“I’m fine on the blanket,” she whispered back.

“It’s a slice here and there and before you know it, you’re bleeding to death. And she wonders why our marriage fell apart.”

“I heard you’re seeing someone new.”

“It’s nice to be with someone who sees me.” Rob’s gaze got lost out at sea.

Sarah understood all too well. In the end, Sean only looked at her as a means to an end. Not a real person. Not someone he used to love. If he even ever did.

“How’s the construction business?” she asked so Bridget could hear and stop staring daggers at them for whispering together.

“Great. I just got a huge contract to take over the new Oak Park custom home development.”

Bridget sat forward in her chair. “You said you didn’t get the project.” She got a suspicious look in her eyes. “Or maybe you just held off taking it until the divorce was final because you didn’t want that kind of big payday included in our settlement.”

Rob rolled his eyes. “Another construction company got the contract when I initially bid on it, but they had some issues come up and lost the deal, so the developer recently gave it to me. But please, make this into something it isn’t. I’ve missed that so much.” Sarcasm dripped from his lips.

Bridget fell back in her seat. “I haven’t missed the way you lie so easily.”

Rob shook his head and stared up at the sky.

Sarah didn’t want to take a side, so she just went with being nice. “Congratulations on the contract.”

“Thanks.”

Jack ran up to them. “Can we go horseback riding at Luke’s when we get home? Sophia wants to come.”

Sarah sighed. “Honey, I told you Luke has to invite us. We can’t just show up at his place. And Sophia’s daddy is picking her up in a couple hours to take her home with him.” Not that she wanted to play another round of contradiction, with Luke being nice only so he could compare what he saw right in front of him with whatever he dug up next. “Can you say hi to Uncle Rob, please?”

“Hi Uncle Rob.”

Rob smiled. “Hey buddy. I heard you’ve been hanging out with Luke.” He turned his gaze on her. “Lucky guy.”

She blushed, despite the fact she and Luke weren’t a thing. Though for a moment she’d thought . . . But it wasn’t. She hadn’t seen or heard from him after the scene in the stables.

Like all her other interactions with him, he left her wondering where she stood. He didn’t hide his attraction to her. He’d kissed her. But then he questioned things that had nothing to do with who she was now. Did he really want to use her past against her? Or did he see that what happened to her as a child and her marriage to Sean made her who she was today?