Complete We (A Her Billionaires Novella #4) Read Free Page A

balance.
    They’d cut a bunch of expenses to tighten their budget, and cable had been one of the items to go. As long as they had Netflix, she was fine.
    “Ow tide?” Jillian asked Dylan, rolling off Laura’s lap and sinking a chubby shoe into Laura’s midsection as Laura gasped but took the kick in stride. “Ow tide?”
    “You want to go outside?” Dylan asked, holding the baby now, who started to bounce with anticipation.
    “OW TIDE!” she screeched, making Josie’s eardrum buzz like a sonic boom. Holy hell. The kid had chops.
    “I guess we’re going outside.” Mike snickered, grabbing his coffee cup. “Is that a park across the street?”
    “Yep. With a baseball field.”
    Mike’s brow furrowed. “A playground, though? With swings?”
    Josie had to think for a second. She didn’t really go over to that section, but yes—there was a playground. “Let’s go over and I’ll show you,” she said with a nod. The past few minutes had unnerved her. The sudden appearance of Laura’s uncle Frank was unsettling enough, but more than that was the paradigm shift in everything.
    Laura, Mike, and Dylan lived their life through the lens of Jillian. She was watching it in slow motion, rolled out second by second, from the layout of her apartment, to how Laura used her body, to where they talked. Parenthood hadn’t just given them a human being to raise, nurture, and love.
    It had literally changed how they viewed the entire world.
    And Josie didn’t have that.
    Yet.
    She felt like they breathed a different air, spoke the same language but did so with different meanings. Like they were living in the same physical space but in a slightly altered dimension. It felt weird. Alienating. So jarring that Josie’s brain split into a thousand little pieces of ribbon that started floating aimlessly, blown by a growing wind of discontent.
    Dylan carried Jillian as they crossed the street, while Laura managed two coffee mugs, her shirt and bra back in place after the nursing. Mike tagged along, ambling slowly, enjoying sips of coffee as they passed the famous No Parking sign where Alex had hurt himself.
    Laura giggled as she read it. “Dr. Perfect recovered from his wound?” It was a rhetorical question, because that had happened ages ago. Eight months or so, but still… She and Alex had been broken up and Darla, Trevor, and Joe had been on the porch with her, drinking coffee and talking. Alex’s apartment had been a few blocks away and—he later confessed—he had taken to going for runs around the park in hopes of catching a glimpse of her.
    On that fateful morning he’d caught a glimpse, all right. Of her touching Darla’s boyfriend’s bare chest, a heart surgery scar Darla insisted Josie check out.
    Slam! Alex had been so distracted he’d run full force into a parking sign.
    That damn sign was responsible for a wicked daring scar on his eyebrow and their reunion.
    Thank God for glimpses.
    “Ha ha, Laura, you know he is.”
    “You recovered from having him move in?”
    Josie opened her mouth to answer back with a wisecrack and found herself wordless. The correct answer was “no.”
    “Ummm…”
    Laura nodded as they reached a set of baby swings Dylan had rooted out as if powered by parent echolocation. He was lowering a squealing Jillian into the little seat.
    “Ting! Ting!” she crowed. Swing!
    Josie couldn’t help but smile. Dylan, her ever-faithful servant, did as ordered.
    It must be good to be the queen. And Queen Jillian grinned and giggled, shouting, “Mo! Mo!” with the assurance that her daddy would, indeed, give her more.
    Josie couldn’t help but tear up, suddenly.
    Laura’s reassuring hand was on her shoulder, rubbing her back lightly. “You okay?”
    Josie nodded and gulped hot coffee quickly, doing anything to break through this strange emotional state she floated in. “Yeah. Fine.”
    Eyes bouncing between her daughter and Josie, Laura looked at her friend, settling on an expression of