She was right. Sarah was excellent. But she wasn’t me. She didn’t know Perry’s quirks, or his sense of humor, or that he favored blondes over brunettes and curves over skinniness. The jeans market was cutting-edge and there was no time to get her up to speed when I could do it myself and execute it perfectly. “I’ll need you to pitch it for me, Kate. Once I get you the campaign, it’s up to you and Layla to sell it. Do you understand?”

She hesitated, but both of us knew the decision had already been made. “Of course. I’m here if you need to shoot any ideas back and forth.”

“Thanks, I will.”

I hung up and took a deep breath.

I was screwed. Somehow, I needed to get back to my hotel room and work all night, and I didn’t want Allegra or Mom to know. It would cause even more tension between us, and I didn’t have time to fight or feel guilty. Best to fake a headache and get out of here as quickly as possible.

Mustering my courage, I headed back to the table. Dessert menus had been passed around and hot steam ascended from the coffee mugs. “Mom, do you want to split a tiramisu?” Allegra asked. “Nonni wants the lemon tart, so I’m going to share that with her, but I kind of want both.”

I put my fingers to my temple and gave a weary smile. “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I have to go back to the room. I’ve been fighting a headache all day, but it’s heading into migraine territory and I don’t want to ruin our day tomorrow.”

“We can skip dessert and walk back with you,” Mom said with concern.

“No, it’s a crime to miss dessert. Stay and enjoy. I just need some sleep and Advil—I’ll be fine.”

Everyone murmured their apologies, offering various solutions from a cold compress to hanging upside down to reverse blood flow to the head, but all I could focus on was my daughter’s face.

She knew. Or she suspected. A simmering anger shot from her gaze, but I’d seen her temper many times and that didn’t bother me. No, it was the hurt. As if I’d managed to trick her after she gave me a second chance.

If only I had time to make her understand. But I didn’t. I would later. Right now, I needed to get to work.

Blowing kisses at the table, I spun around quickly and walked back to the hotel. I settled in front of my laptop, put in my earbuds for some music distraction and to help stir my creativity, and began to outline bullet points for the new proposal.