But this time, Claire had told her she would. Otherwise, Finley never would have expected her. My dislike of the woman exploded into pure loathing. How the hell did you not show up to Mother’s Day tea at your daughter’s school? The same way you walk out when she’s a baby.

“Why didn’t she come?” Her little face tucked into my neck as I rubbed circles on her back.

“What can I do to help you, honey?” I didn’t know how to answer her question, so I asked one of my own.

She shook her head and pulled out of the hug, but as her eyes fell, she paused. “You have the necklace!” A smile lit up her face as she snarfled up the snot her tears had brought on. “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” I assured her. “I just haven’t seen you to say thank you yet, so thank you, Finley. It’s beautiful.”

“I picked gold,” she announced with a solemn nod. “Dad found the blue.”

“You chose perfectly. It’s the most beautiful necklace I’ve ever seen.”

She batted away the last of her tears with the back of her hand, and I dug into my handbag for a tissue, then held it up to her nose. She blew, which solved the snot problem.

“Finley, we should really call your mom, or we need to head back in there, sweetheart,” Mrs. Kozier said gently, glancing at me with an apologetic look.

“Morgan, do you want to come to tea?” Fin’s eyebrows popped up as she asked.

Oh, my heart. “If you want me to, honey, I can come in. I’ll just tell the desk that I’m running late for the meeting, okay?”

Finley nodded exuberantly, taking my hand, and her teacher sighed in obvious relief.

The doors swung open behind us.

“I’m here! Finley, baby, I’m here!” Claire exclaimed, her heels clicking down the hall in an obvious rush, flying right by the sign-in desk.

“Ma’am, you have to sign in!”

I stood and turned to face her, Finley’s hand still firmly tucked in mine. It took every ounce of class in my body, but I channeled my manners and schooled my features to hide my disgust.

“What? But…okay.” Claire stopped at the desk and signed in while I tossed Finley’s tissue in the trash can.

“Look, she’s here, honey. She came,” I reassured Fin, whose expression flitted from joy to anger and back again.

Claire’s gaze flickered between the three of us before settling on me as she reached us. “Morgan, so lovely to see you again. What exactly are you doing at my daughter’s school?”

“I have a meeting with the superintendent at eleven,” I answered, sweet as pie. “I make it a habit to arrive early to important events.”

Claire arched a single eyebrow.