Sunset on Moonlight Beach - Sheila Roberts Page 0,29

afternoon, Jenna had just returned from the store where she’d picked up wine and some chocolate-covered almonds for Aunt Edie’s weekly Friday night party, when Celeste blew in.

“Hey, there. What are you doing here?” Jenna greeted her sister as she walked through the door holding baby Edie in one arm and the diaper bag in her other hand. Nemo came in next to her, wagging his tail. Something was missing from this picture.

Jenna looked past Celeste but saw no sign of her husband. “Where’s Henry?”

Celeste’s brows dipped into an angry V. “Henry’s home. And I don’t want to see him again until Memorial Day...of 2080.”

Uh-oh.

CHAPTER FIVE

Henry was the perfect man for Celeste, solid and practical. He adored her and it had looked like they were going to have one of those marriages other people envied. So what had happened?

“What’s going on?” Jenna asked as she followed her sister into the living room. It was all she could do not to add, Please, I’ve had enough drama over the last few years. No more.

“Henry’s being a jerk, that’s what’s going on.” Celeste dumped the diaper bag on the floor, then took the baby out of her carrier. She perched on the edge of the couch and began to remove Edie’s pink fleece jacket.

“Call the cops,” advised Jolly Roger from his cage.

“Good idea,” Celeste said. “911-Jerk.”

“So you guys had a fight and you walked out?”

Good grief. What could they possibly have found to fight about? Silly question. Every couple found something.

“We had a disagreement and I left.”

“Like I said.”

“I told him I needed some sister time and he needed to think.”

Oh, boy.

Aunt Edie entered the room, drying her hands on a dish towel. “Celeste, dear, this is a nice surprise.”

Under the circumstances, nice was the wrong word.

“Where’s Henry? Is he parking the car?” Aunt Edie asked.

Nemo trotted up to her, tail wagging, and she pushed him away. Only somewhat diplomatically. Aunt Edie and Nemo had never really bonded, thanks to Nemo about scaring the feathers off poor Jolly Roger when Sabrina and Celeste first adopted him.

“Come here, Nemo,” Celeste commanded, and the dog trotted back to her and settled at her feet with a doggy groan.

Henry’s dog training had worked wonders. It looked like his husband skills hadn’t.

“Henry’s not with me. On a lot of things,” Celeste added irritably.

“Oh, dear,” Aunt Edie said, and sat on the nearest chair.

“Okay, spill,” Jenna commanded.

“He’s being completely unreasonable. I found what could be the perfect house for us on Zillow and he refused to come down and look at it. And now’s the time to buy, while prices are still affordable.”

“What’s his objection?” Jenna asked.

“He wants to wait until we have more money in savings.”

“That sounds practical,” said Aunt Edie.

“Well, it’s not,” Celeste insisted. “We can’t keep living on a houseboat, Auntie, especially when Edie starts walking. Jenna, you’ve seen what those rails are like. Once she’s mobile she’ll be able to climb right over them and fall in Lake Union.”

“Henry could adapt them,” Jenna suggested.

“And the windows open completely, including the screens. That boat was fine for just the two of us, but now that we’ve got Edie, we need to change our lifestyle. Besides not being safe for a toddler or preschooler, it’s too small. There’s barely room for all her things.”

Baby Edie had everything a baby could possibly need and a first-time mama could ever want—baby crib, stroller, changing table, toys, highchair (which she didn’t even need yet since she was too young to sit up), playpen (ditto), portable baby picnic chair (ditto again), humidifier (pink), and enough clothes to stock a baby boutique. Then there were the lotions, potions, and stacks of baby diapers. All the baby paraphernalia had taken up most of their living space, and Jenna could see how her sister would be ready to move to someplace larger. But they had time.

“We’re camping out and I’m tired of it,” Celeste continued. “I want Edie to have a nursery.”

“If you don’t have the money—” Aunt Edie began.

“We have enough for a down payment,” Celeste said. “And if we sell the houseboat we’ll have plenty. Plus we can easily qualify for a loan. Henry’s just being cheap.”

“Or cautious. You know, writing isn’t the most stable career,” Jenna pointed out. “Anything in the arts,” she added, thinking of her ex and his far from flourishing career.

Except there was really no comparing Damien and Henry. Damien was a narcissist with not enough talent to justify his narcissism. He’d had no problem spending