“You’re sorry? Brooke, what were you thinking? Were you thinking I would not call you, and after calling and calling, I wouldn’t have come here to see you? To check if you are okay? Did you tell me where you were going so I could come here and find your body?” Her words end in a garbled sob.

“Sonia, no! No. No, that was not my intent. I had a care facility set up. They were supposed to check up on me periodically until…the end. Then they were supposed to call Landon and you. I never… I just didn’t know how to tell you,” I explained.

“Don’t give me that shit excuse, Brooke. If you had died, not only would Landon never have forgiven me, but I would have never forgiven myself.”

“Come here, Sonia,” I croak out, tears pouring down my cheek matching hers.

She crawls onto the bed beside me, and I wrap my arm around her, careful not to jostle Cahal. “I love you, Sonia. Not only are you my best friend, but you are my only friend. I could not tell you I was dying. I couldn’t bear to see the pain you would try to hide for me.” I swallow down a sob. “Can you please forgive me?” I beg.

I could feel Sonia’s head nodding against my shoulder. “Of course, I will. I mean who else will listen to me complain about Jared?” she jokes.

Before I can respond, Cahal lets out a giant fart that ended with a liquid squish. We both burst into raucous laughter. Cahal starts crying protesting against his soiled diaper.

“Here, I’ll change him.”

Sonia and I both jump from Landon’s voice.

“My goodness! How long have you been standing there?” Sonia says in her no-nonsense voice.

Landon shrugs. “Not long.”

Sonia rolls her eyes at his vague answer. Landon takes Cahal and lays him on a blanket on top of a table in the corner of the room.

Sonia got up from her spot next to me on the bed. “Well, I should probably head to my hotel. Check-in is in an hour, and I don’t want them to give up my room because I’m late.”

She leans down to kiss my temple. “I’ll come by tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, I’m being released early. You can visit me at the cottage, though. It’s on the beach. We can go sun tanning.” I grin getting excited about the idea.

“Absolutely. I’ll bring Jared to entertain your husband, then we can have hours of nothing but girl time.”

Cahal let out a small cry, as if protesting being left out. “Girl time with Cahal,” Sonia amends, and we both start giggling.

Sonia gives Landon and Cahal a kiss then leaves the room. Landon puts Cahal in his car seat carrier, rocking him gently to sleep.

“Lounging on the beach tomorrow, hey?” he says conversationally.