“You don’t have to explain.”

“Shit. I’ve screwed the pooch here, haven’t I?”

“No. You can have dinner with anyone you like. This is America. Life, liberty and dinner with your crazy ex-wife.”

“I haven’t seen Frankie in months.”

“Jack, it’s fine.” She summoned a smile. “But you’ll miss me.”

He bent down and kissed her on the mouth. “You got that right.”

Emmaline dropped the kids back at the church and then headed for home. Looked as though she’d have to cook tonight, alas. She unlocked her front door and went inside.

There were four suitcases in the living room, and sitting on the couch with Sarge on her lap was her sister.

“Angela!”

At the sound of her voice, Sarge leaped off Angela, grabbed Squeaky Chicken and began twirling in his love circles, whining around his toy.

“Oh, Emmaline, it’s so good to see you! I’m so sorry I didn’t call first!” Angela unfolded herself like an elegant flower and hugged Em tight, causing further joy from Sarge, who leaped against their legs, trying to get in on the action.

“It’s great to see you,” Em said. “What a surprise!”

Angela made a rueful face. “You’ll have to forgive me,” she said. “It was impulsive, I know.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yes, yes, it’s fine. It’s just...well, I’m a bit at odds. Can I stay with you for a little while?”

“Sure,” Em said. “It’s your house, too. Nana left it to both of us. But what’s going on?”

“I’m filling in for a colleague at Cornell,” she said. “It was rather sudden, but frankly, the timing was perfect. You see, I just ended a relationship.”

“You did? I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“Yes. I wanted to tell you at the wedding, but it didn’t seem the right time. It’s been ending for a while, actually, but now it’s official. And Mama and Papa...They’ve been circling. You know how it is when they sense you’re troubled.”

“Like vultures?”

Ange smiled. “I knew you’d understand perfectly.”

“You can stay here as long as you like,” Emmaline said, meaning it. “We’ll finally live together.”

Angela’s eyes filled with tears. “And how lovely that will be. Also, Emmaline, I’ll need your help telling Mama and Papa some news.”

“What news is that?” Was she pregnant? They’d be thrilled. Hell, Em was thrilled at the very thought.

Her sister took a deep breath. “I’m g*y.”

Em’s mouth fell open. “I, uh...wow. I didn’t know that.” She paused. “Will they be crushed that it’s you and not me?” she asked, and much to her relief, Angela burst out laughing and hugged her. “Just promise me you’ll have biological babies someday,” Em added. “We don’t want your gene pool to go to waste.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ONE OF THE things Jack remembered most about Hadley was she couldn’t cook to save her life. From two flights below, he could smell smoke.

“It don’t smell so good in here,” Frankie said when she opened the door, using her good-ole-boy accent. “I may be staying with you tonight, Jack, ’cuz it may be that something crawled in that there oven and took its life. Or it could be Big Sister’s version of pot roast. Best if we don’t try to find out.”

“Hey, Frankie,” Jack said, giving her a hug. “Good to see you.”

“You, too, big fella! We’re going to O’Rourke’s, if you don’t mind. Hadley was trying to impress you by cooking, but I remember the burgers at O’Rourke’s with a deep and abiding fondness, so I’m not at all sorry with this turn of events.” She thudded down the hallway to get her coat.

Jack took a couple of steps into the apartment. There was a nearly empty bottle of Blue Heron Chardonnay on the counter. The wedding photo beamed out at him.

“Oh, Jack, I’m so embarrassed,” Hadley said, coming out of the kitchen and untying her apron. “I wanted us to have a nice family dinner, and I just do not know what happened.”

There were tears in her eyes. One thing Hadley hated most of all was to look foolish in front of her sisters, those high-achieving, high-IQ women, and he felt a pang of sympathy for her.

“Well, it was really nice of you to try,” he said.

She gave him a faint smile. “Thanks,” she whispered. “Guess you know I was always something of a pretender to the throne when it came to cooking.”

“Don’t worry about it. Come on, ladies—off we go. Frankie, is that a new tattoo I see on your wrist?”

“Sure is, Jack.” She pulled up her sleeve. “‘Conscientiously and with dignity.’ Part of the vet’s oath.”

“I wish you wouldn’t keep getting tattoos,” Hadley said. “It’s so un—”

“Unladylike? Oh, my Lord, don’t you say that. You sound like Blanche Freakin’ DuBois.”

“Well, for someone who supposedly loves animals so much, you sure didn’t show me much sympathy about Princess Anastasia, did you?” Hadley snapped.

“I sent a card. I called. Was I supposed to declare a national day of mourning? The cat was older than Methuselah, Hadley. And don’t forget how she bit me on my ninth birthday. Still have the scar.”

The sisters bickered and picked at each other with surprising fervor on the short walk across the green, making Jack slightly more grateful for his own sisters (not that they were perfect, God knew, especially with the number of texts and bits of romantic advice they’d been offering lately). But if ever there were two women with less in common, it was Frankie and Hadley.

O’Rourke’s was mobbed. Right. It was Mardi Gras. Colleen wore a low-cut maternity dress, her belly more noticeable these days. That wasn’t the only thing—the girls were on fine display, as usual, enhanced by pregnancy. Jack always thought pregnant women were beautiful, and Colleen had a lot going for her to begin with. Lucas was behind the bar, helping out. Colleen waved, then did a double take. “Oh, hey! Frankie, right?”

“You have a great memory,” Frankie said. “Is that a love bump I see?”

“It most certainly is.” Colleen put her hand on her stomach and beamed. “This Spanish pirate is my husband, Lucas Campbell.”

“I’m actually a contractor,” Lucas said, shaking Frankie’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Hey, Jack. Hadley.”

“I liked pirate better,” Frankie said. “I’m Jack’s ex-sister-in-law.”

“I don’t think Jack considers you an ex-anything,” Hadley chirped.

“Let’s see.” Coll scanned the restaurant, then smiled knowingly. “You want to join Emmaline and her sister? They just sat down, and I bet they won’t mind. Otherwise, it’ll be about forty-five minutes.”

“Oh, no, that’s fine. We’ll wait for a table,” Hadley said.

“Sure, we’ll join them,” Jack said a bit too aggressively. “Sounds perfect.”