trotting over to the reporters on the day Joanna’s body was dragged out of the mud.
“I think she initially chose that path because she wanted to help people who were having problems in their marriages,” he tells me, the laughter in his dark eyes dying down. “But after a while, the thrill was gone, and she realized she wasn’t really making a difference.”
“I wish I had those skills,” I confess, leaning back and resting my hand on the curve of my stomach. “To learn someone’s most intimate problems and insecurities, then help them turn their life around. It must be so rewarding. I wonder if Rachael misses it?”
“Nah,” he says, waving his knife around, “don’t go feeling sorry for her. She’s the top agent in her company, and she still gets to poke her nose into our neighbors’ lives. Only downside is she’s not getting paid for it anymore.”
I chuckle at that too, and my guard begins to drop. There’s an honesty simmering beneath the surface of Travis’s intricately tattooed skin. It’s startling and…raw. I get the feeling I could ask him anything and he’d answer truthfully, unflinchingly. It makes me want to press him about Joanna.
“Wait until you see Rachael work the room at the company anniversary party,” he goes on, pushing his plate aside and refolding the napkin in his lap. “She can get anyone to talk about anything, and she loves it. By the end of the night, she’s peeled back everyone’s layers.”
“Count me in,” I say. Hopefully by then, Michael and I will have put the matter of the nursery behind us. “When is it?”
“This Saturday.”
My smile drops. Michael hasn’t mentioned it. Not once. “As in, two days from now?”
“He probably forgot to tell you,” Travis blurts, as if he’s read my mind. “He’s juggling a million things right now. With everything going on, you can’t really fault him.”
“He owns the company,” I say. “He didn’t forget.”
“Well, it’s possible. It’s not like he planned it himself.”
“Then who did? It wasn’t me. This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
He shoves a piece of broccoli into his mouth. “Joanna took care of everything last spring. It’s done.”
Of course she took care of everything. In her perfect way. Perfect Joanna, who could plan the party of the century. Flawless Joanna, with the enviable home and adorable nursery.
“Travis,” I say, feeling like this is my only chance to ask what’s really been bothering me, “what do you think happened to—”
Something flutters inside me, startling me. “Oh my God.” A smile tickles my lips. “I think I just felt—I think that was—I think the baby just moved.”
“Really?” Travis grins. “Is this the first time?”
I nod, tears welling in my eyes, as something stirs inside me again. It’s the tiniest movement, a butterfly’s wings beating against the walls of my stomach. A slight rolling sensation that happens again…and then again. It almost feels like indigestion, but I know it’s not. There—I feel it again.
“Our baby’s moving.”
“Can I feel?” Before I can respond, Travis gets up and comes around the table to rest his hand on my stomach. His touch is featherlight, and strangely comforting. “I don’t feel anything yet.”
“I don’t think you’ll be able to.” Giggling, I glance up, meeting his eyes. “This is—it’s, God, I’m so happy! I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long, wondering what it would feel like. I was starting to fear that maybe something was wrong, but it’s not.” I caress my stomach over and over again, my fingers bumping into his as tears blur my eyes. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
“Of course it is.” Travis rubs my shoulder. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t know,” I ramble, not thinking clearly, or maybe not thinking at all, “because of what happened to Joanna, the way Michael has been so detached from the pregnancy, the detectives snooping around for God knows what, and—everything.