Chapter 17

Sunlight slipped through the curtains and flickered across Reese’s eyelids, pulling her from a hazy, hangover-tinted sleep.
Even after last night’s fiasco at the Maple Street Diner, her mood-and Millie’s— hadn’t soured one bit. They’d just switched restaurants, devoured dinner, then found themselves at a quiet bar. Laughter and easy conversation carried them all the way to three in the morning.
Reese couldn’t remember the last time she’d let herself have this much fun. No alarms, no rushing to make breakfast for Sebastian-just waking up when her body told her it was time.
She reached for her phone on the nightstand and saw a handful of missed calls. She hit redial.
Robbie answered, sounding seriously annoyed. “Mom, why are you only picking up now?”
He didn’t even wait for her reply. “You don’t have to come to my birthday party if you don’t want to, but you still have to make me a cake. I want mango cake!”
“I already told you just ask the housekeeper to do it,” Reese replied, her voice scratchy from sleep. She was worried the housekeeper might actually listen to Robbie and make a mango cake. “And you’re allergic to mangoes, remember?” Robbie’s voice shot up an octave. “That’s not true! You’ve made it for me before! You just don’t want to do it and you’re making excuses!”
His whining made Reese’s head throb. Just like that, her good mood was gone.
Honestly, Robbie was beyond spoiled.
She didn’t even bother arguing. She hung up.
The busy tone on the other end made Robbie fume. Mom was so unfair. He rolled his eyes, then dialed another number.
As soon as the call connected, his tone turned sweet. “Auntie, am I interrupting you?”
“My birthday party’s next week. Can you come? Maybe we could make a mango cake together?”
When he heard a warm yes, Robbie finally broke into a big, satisfied grin. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs
Reese got up, washed her face, and made a quick breakfast before heading to the city library.
Yesterday, Dominic had handed her a long list of books to read, telling her to get through them while she could and get ready for the next project.
She was just about to walk into the library when her phone rang.
“Reese, did you make the ‘Star Trail’ system?”
‘Star Trail’ was the management system she’d built for Millie.
Reese paused, a little surprised to get this call from Dominic. “Yes, Professor, that was me.”
“Hmph. At least you haven’t totally wasted your time these last few years,” Dominic grumbled, but there was a hint of pride in his voice.
“The company that bought your system wants you to help them build a new one. Interested?”
Reese hesitated. “Professor, are you trying to get rid of me?”
Dominic sounded annoyed. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not thinking of quitting, are you?”
“So… what do you mean?” Reese asked, careful.
“It’s just a temporary transfer. Help them with the project, then you can come back to the institute.”
Knowing she never planned to leave for good, Dominic’s voice softened. “It’s BlackOak, Reese. This is a big opportunity. Plenty of people would love this chance. So are you going or not?”
Reese grinned. “I’ll go. Thank you for this chance, Professor.”
She hung up, walked into the library, grabbed a few books on Al, and got lost in them.
Time flew. Before she realized it, afternoon had crept up, and her phone rang again.
Reese shot an apologetic smile to the people around her, slipped into a quiet corner, and picked up.
Sebastian’s voice was cool and clipped. “Reese, come home. I need to talk to you.”
Reese blinked, surprised. Sebastian rarely called her himself. Maybe he’d finally seen the divorce papers she’d sent through Brady and wanted to talk about it?
She closed her book, drove over to the house they used to share, and walked in.
Right away, she spotted Sofia standing at the coffee table in the living room, beating eggs. Robbie was sitting on the floor, carefully slicing strawberries.
As soon as they heard the door, both of them stopped what they were doing and looked up at her.
Sofia’s lips curled in the faintest smile as she glanced down and turned the mixer back on.
Robbie caught the brief flicker of surprise on Reese’s face and his eyes lit up with smug satisfaction.