“I still have your credit card,” I said, breathlessly.
“You can give it back to me whenever it’s convenient. Get yourself something on it.”
“No. You’re getting it back tonight.”
“Then that’s fine, too. But cash the check, Brooke. Please. Promise me.”
I sighed and shook my head as my hands fell from his.
“Okay,” I said breathlessly. “I’ll get it deposited tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” he said.
I pulled out my purse and slipped the check into my wallet. Then I took out his credit card and handed it back to him. He was still reluctant to take it, but I made him anyway. I wasn’t sure why he wanted me to hold onto it, but I wasn’t going to take what wasn’t rightfully mine. He had already given me way too much. I helped him clean up from dinner and lay the kids down for bed, settling in with Sydney until she fell asleep.
Then I walked downstairs and found Kevin holding out a glass of wine for me.
“Got a few more minutes?” he asked.
“For wine? Always,” I said with a grin.
I plucked the glass from between his fingers and drew it to my lips.
“Can I confide in you about something?” Kevin asked.
My eyes fluttered up to him as I swallowed a sip of my wine.
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“Sure,” I said. “What’s up?”
“I’m pretty sure you overheard the phone conversation I had on the plane.”
“Bits and pieces,” I said, lying.
He grinned at me as he shook his head.
“That was Sarah. The children’s mother.”
“Oh,” I said. “Is everything okay?”
“No,” he said. “She wants to try and put the family back together. To reconcile for the sake of the kids.”
It felt like he had kicked me in the gut and all the air rushed out of my lungs. I had prepared myself for this, but it still didn’t make it any easier to hear. But she was Daniel and Sydney’s mother, and if she truly wanted a place in their lives, she should have it. Who was I to stand in the way of that? Kevin and I had never defined whatever it was we had been doing on the island.
“I think that’s a great idea,” I said, trying to keep my voice even.
“You do?” he asked, a look of disappointment crossing his face.
“Children need their mothers. That loving female influence is imperative to their development.”
“I don’t think she’s cut out for motherhood, though,” he said.
“Maybe she’s changed,” I offered.
“Maybe. She says she’s been in counseling and on medication for two years. But my gut tells me she still isn’t cut out for the day to day of being a parent,” he said.
I calmed my swirling mind and took another sip of my wine as I gathered my thoughts. Kevin was confiding in me, and I didn't want to sway his opinion because of my upheaval of emotions.