and the snow-covered landscape and trees beyond the deck to the lake.
“Reagan?” Serenity prompted.
Pulling her gaze away from the view, she finished crossing the living room to reach the kitchen. She was wearing sweats, her face was freshly scrubbed, and she’d taken the time to put some product in her hair, but she wasn’t wearing any makeup. “What?”
“Did you sleep okay?”
“Yeah.” The dark circles under her eyes contradicted her, but Serenity chose not to mention it.
“Would you like some breakfast?” Lorelei asked. “I made oatmeal.”
Reagan seemed vaguely surprised that Lorelei would be the one to offer her something to eat. “No, thanks. I’m just going to have a cup of coffee.”
“Any word from Drew?” Serenity asked.
After a slight hesitation, Reagan poured herself some coffee and carried her mug to the table. “He tried to call again last night.”
Serenity slid the cream and sugar in her direction. “Did you take it?”
When Reagan didn’t answer right away, Serenity sensed Lorelei going rigid at the sink behind them and wondered if Reagan was aware of the tension in her, too.
“What’d he say?” she asked, assuming the answer was yes or Reagan would’ve said no.
“I didn’t give him the chance to say anything. I answered, but then I panicked and hung up.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m afraid,” Reagan admitted.
Serenity scooted her chair closer to the table. “That he’s going to stick with his wife?”
After testing her coffee, Reagan glanced over. “No, that he’ll offer to leave her. I don’t want to be responsible for breaking up the family.”
Serenity let her breath seep slowly out. She liked Reagan, in spite of what she’d done. Reagan had made a big mistake, but she obviously regretted getting involved with Drew and wasn’t using their attraction to her advantage—wasn’t out to steal Drew from his wife or get a leg up at the agency, even though her career was clearly very important to her. “What are you going to do?”
“I told you. I have to quit. I can’t be trusted around him.” She rubbed her temples. “Do you have any painkillers? I have a terrible headache.”
Serenity got up to get some for her.
“I’ll look for another job online while we’re here.” She swallowed the two tablets Serenity handed her. “I doubt I’ll be able to get anything that pays what I’m making now. Along with a pay cut, I’ll have to start over and work my way back up. But...”
“But...” Serenity echoed, sitting down again.
“Those are the consequences of my actions, right? If I cut it off with Drew and leave Edison & Curry, at least I’ll be able to look myself in the face again.”
Lorelei put a bowl of oatmeal in front of her. “Just in case you can take a few bites,” she said softly.
8
serenity
AFTER BREAKFAST, REAGAN went to her room to answer a few work emails. She said too many people—both coworkers and clients—were waiting for something from her, and she had to take care of those responsibilities.
Serenity felt bad for her. Reagan had said that ever since she’d slunk away from the office a week ago, disheveled and ashamed, she’d been too upset to interact with anyone connected with the agency. She was afraid her coworkers would somehow guess, and she was embarrassed as well as humiliated. But Serenity had encouraged her to keep her head up and finish strong. All Reagan could do at this point was show her contrition by taking steps to get out of Drew’s life.
After Reagan went upstairs, Serenity helped Lorelei clean the kitchen and then Lorelei sent Lucy to put on her boots and coat. Lucy wanted to go outside to play in the snow. Later, when she was having a nap and Reagan was finished taking care of her business, they’d sit down together and begin to hash out possible scenarios for how they could be related.
They were all supposed to bring pictures of their parents and other close relatives, as well as anything else that might be pertinent—although Serenity didn’t expect Lorelei to have anything.