began breathing again.
Lauren handed me the apron.
“I need a minute.”
I followed her into the conservatory hallway.
She stood beside a tall window.
She wasn’t crying.
That made it worse.
“I’m okay.”
“You’re not.”
“I knew she thought it.”
I waited.
“I just didn’t think she’d say it to Sophie.”
“She wasn’t talking to Sophie.”
“I know.”
Lauren’s jaw tightened.
“She used our daughter to say it to me.”
Exactly.
I took her hand.
“We can leave.”
“It’s Sophie’s party.”
“We can throw another party.”
Lauren laughed softly.
