Our Finest Hour (The Time #1)(76)

His hand snakes around my midsection. He buries his face in my hair and inhales.

“That’s the smell I need to wake-up. My Aubrey alarm.” He groans happily and places a kiss on the back of my neck. “How much longer are you going to wash those strawberries?”

My hips press into him, and he grips my side with the hand wound around my waist.

My eyes close, enjoying the tease, when Isaac stills.

“Daddy, can we go to the park today?”

My eyes pop open. Claire’s standing at the entrance to the hallway, rubbing one eye with a fist.

Isaac’s jumps away from me. We’re on the far side of the island, and it’s too tall for Claire to see anything. But still. We haven’t sat down and told her that her mommy and daddy are together now. Then again, we haven't discussed it, so there wouldn’t be much to tell her yet.

From the outside, we look like we’re together. But on the inside… The official placement of that label feels monumental. As of right now, we’re co-parents. If we call ourselves more, and it doesn’t work out, Claire is officially from a broken home. The opposite of everything I want for her.

Isaac’s talking to Claire. He’s in front of her, bent down so he’s on her level. She’s smiling.

She runs to me. I bend down, scoop her up. She’s so cute in her nightgown with the mermaid print.

“Daddy said we could go to the park. And then grandma will be here to spend the night with me.”

My face is smiling at Claire, but my heart feels a twinge of sadness. I should be grateful she even has one grandma, because six months ago she had zero. But after seeing my mother, it’s hard.

I’ve spent a month pretending she doesn’t exist, then imagining what she looked like in The Lost Place eighteen years ago, then hating her, then reminding myself to forget her the way she forgot me.

There’s no point in dwelling over what or who I’ve found. Knowing where she is hasn’t changed anything. She’s still as gone as she ever was.

But there’s someone new, and he’s here. He’s present, in every way. And tonight, he’s taking me to a benefit gala. Which is why I need to spend the day shopping and getting a manicure and not at the park.

“You both have fun.” I smile at the happy picture they make. They’re holding hands. Fatherhood looks good on Isaac.

“Mommy’s going shopping,” Isaac says to Claire.

She sticks out her tongue. Shopping and running errands is far down on the list of things Claire likes to do. Like me, she’d rather be at the park.

It’s almost midday by the time I make it to the mall. I try on a dozen things before I decide on a simple floor-length champagne colored dress. And only after I send Britt pictures of me in it do I actually take it to the register.

The last time I got this dressed up was senior prom. Though I couldn’t care less about the dress, I can’t wait to see Isaac in a tux. Doctor Isaac looks handsome in scrubs, sexy in jeans, but something tells me that in a suit… he might look good enough to eat. Which is why I’m packing a surprise.

I laugh to myself, tapping my fingers on my steering wheel as I head to my nail appointment. There’s no way he’ll ever expect me to—

What was that?

My car lurches, and my teeth chatter. The front driver’s side is lower than the rest of the car. I brake even more and pull off the road. The guy behind me looks pissed, and I don't even have time to say hello with one finger.

I park and climb out.

Flat tire. Ugh.

At least Claire’s at the park. It’s way too hot to have her sitting on the side of the road with me.

I lean back into my car, turning on the hazards and setting the parking brake.

In the trunk, underneath an emergency backpack and a bag of sand toys, I find my jack, lug wrench, and spare tire.

So much for my manicure.

By the time I’m finished changing the tire, my body is slick with sweat. My hairline is soaked, long rivulets run from between my breasts to my belly button.

My arm muscles yell at me the first time I turn the wheel. I’m tired, hot, and in desperate need of a shower. But at least I have a car with four working wheels.



“Aubrey, what happened?” Isaac rushes to me.

I’ve stepped only four feet inside the apartment, but I’m sure my face is bright red. Not to mention the grease on my white shirt. And under my fingernails. The very opposite of the manicure I was supposed to have.

Claire puts down the necklace she’s beading and follows Isaac over.

“Mommy, you’re dirty.”

I bend down, but I don’t touch her. “I know, baby. Mommy had some car trouble.”

“Car trouble? Did you break down?” Isaac’s voice is still alarmed.

I stand and shake my head. “No.” I brush away a strand of hair that has fallen into my eyes and wonder if I’ve left a streak of grease across that side of my face. “Just a flat tire.” The rogue hair is back, and this time I use my shoulder to push it aside.

“Why didn’t you call?” His eyebrows draw together. He looks angry. And confused.

Claire goes back to her necklace making.

“I need to wash my hands.” I hold them up, even though he’s probably already noticed the black on them, and walk all the way back to my bedroom. I march into the connected bathroom and turn on the hot water.