Breathe With Me(53)

“Hi, baby,” Nat says and smiles at her daughter.

“What are you packing for this weekend in Vegas?” Sam asks us.

“Are we doing formal stuff?” I ask and brush my fingers through Liv’s fine brown hair.

“Maybe. I don’t really know what the plan is,” Nat says with a shrug. “I’ll probably bring a cocktail dress and heels, just in case. I’m definitely taking my bathing suit so we can lounge by the pool.”

“I hate you for just having a baby a few months ago and you already have your pre-baby body back.” Sam glares at Natalie.

“I’m telling you,” Nat says with a grin. “It’s the yoga.”

“You do yoga?” I ask eagerly. “I’ve been trying to find a class since I moved back.”

“I teach a class,” Nat says. “You should come.”

“Awesome.”

“Well, I’m not taking yoga,” Sam says.

“You don’t need it,” Leo calls from the kitchen. Sam blows him a kiss.

“Okay, so something nice and a bathing suit,” I say and mentally thumb through my closet. “I guess I’ll take some jeans and tops too.”

“Yeah, bring a little of everything,” Sam says with a nod.

“How are you doing, Meredith?” Lucy covers my hand with her own and offers me a kind smile. She was always so nice to me, and the feel of her hand on mine reminds me of my mom and I’m caught in the grip of grief so quickly, I didn’t see it coming. My chest aches with a longing I’ve become used to feeling, but I keep the tears at bay and offer Lucy a smile.

“I’m doing well. The studio is doing great.”

“It’s such a joy to be able the spend time with you again,” Lucy says and pats my hand before turning her attention to Liv, who’s trying to squirm out of my lap so she can climb into Lucy’s.

Before I can respond, I see the screen on Mark’s phone light up at my elbow. I glance down to see a message from someone named Tami.

It’s been a while, sexy. Tonight work for you?

Seriously? He has women still calling him for booty calls?

I want to confront Mark right now, but now is not the time. We’re with his family, for crying out loud.

It’ll have to wait for later. We need to have that talk anyway.

Sam catches my eye and offers me a supportive smile. She obviously saw the text too. I just shrug, smile bravely and do my best not to stab Mark in the arm with the knife he’s currently using to chop the salad.

Just as I lift my glass to take a sip of my wine, Mark’s screen lights up again, but this time it’s from someone named Marcy, and it’s a photo.

Of her motherfucking tits.

Are you fucking kidding me?

“Man whore,” Sam mumbles and shakes her head. I don’t think I could confront him right now without killing him if I tried.

My skin suddenly feels clammy and I’m seeing red.

“I want to show you girls my garden.”

“I could use some fresh air,” I respond immediately. Maybe I’ll be able to breathe through the fury so I can talk with Mark calmly. But just then, the screen comes to life again, the way they do when you haven’t checked the last message that came in, reminding you it’s there, and I get a second look at Marcy’s double-D’s.

Lucy announces that we’re going outside just as Mark catches my eye. His brows rise in surprise when he sees my face, but I turn away, unable to look him in the eye. Luke agrees to listen for the baby as we shuffle outside.

“I planted some new rose bushes,” Lucy begins as she leads us to the back corner of the large yard. I smile and nod and follow along, but don’t really hear what she’s talking about as she gives us the grand tour on the pretty light-lined paths that meander through the yard.

“It doesn’t mean anything, you know,” Sam says quietly beside me. She and I slow down, falling behind Lucy and Nat, who continue to happily chat about Lucy’s plants. Nat is carrying Livie, who happily points to butterflies and birds flying nearby.

“Doesn’t it?”

“No.” She shakes her head and loops her arm through mine. “You have to know he wasn’t celibate for ten years.”

I toss my head back and laugh. “Of course not. Have you seen him?”

“I have. He’s not gross.”

“No, he’s not.” I sigh and shove my hair behind my ears. “We need to talk.”

“I think I might bust Leo’s balls if it were me. But then, I’m not a terribly jealous person, I would just want to mess with him a bit.”

“I’m not typically jealous either, but seriously? That chick sent him a picture of her boobs.”