Vaughan wisely did not smile. She hated having to eat crow and she was going to. He’d have to deal with a payment for it, he knew.

But right then she was saying everything he could have hoped for. “It won’t be easy, no. But she wants it. Just give her a chance.”

“Why don’t the four of you come over for dinner the night of Tuesday’s gallery launch? As a first step it’s not too big, but it’s a first step.”

There was hope in his heart. Like this could actually be resolved and get better. “I’ll talk to her. Be sure it works with the schedule, but I think it’s doable. Thanks, Mom.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Just a reminder that I’m going to have to apologize. You know I hate that part.” She glared at him.

“Yeah, me too, Mom, me too.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

KELLY HAD LOVED New York City from the first. She’d been young, but not naive. By that point in her life she’d lived in three countries and several states so it hadn’t been as daunting as it might have been for someone else.

It was all color and noise. Smells of the very best on earth and their polar opposite. The subway gave her freedom and she’d taken it. Taken it to escape Rebecca’s constant scrutiny and judgment as Kelly had wandered all over.

And she’d loved this condo from the moment she and Vaughan had stepped from the elevator into the foyer. Walls of windows looked out over Central Park. A silly extravagance it had felt at the time. Certainly an extravagance given its cost. But he’d given it to her as a wedding present.

And during the divorce, he’d signed it over to her. At the time it had felt more like a repudiation of what they’d had together, but now, years later, she could see it differently.

Maddie and Kensey had learned to walk and crawl on the hardwood floors. Despite her sadness at her divorce, this home had always given her happy memories.

She waved at the doorman as they entered the lobby.

“Hello there, Hurley family!”

“Andrew, how are you tonight?” Kelly asked as she waited for him to check the box where she may have mail or packages. And she had both.

Vaughan took them.

“Andrew, this is Vaughan. He’s Maddie and Kensey’s dad. He’ll be with us this week. Vaughan, this is Andrew. He’s amazing and knows where all the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants are in the city. If you’re nice to him, he shares his wisdom.”

Andrew blushed after Vaughan shook his hand hello. “Ah now, Ms. Hurley. Stop. Always glad to have you and your girls in the house. All that pretty makes everyone a little kinder.” He winked at Kensey, who gave him a high five.

They headed up, Vaughan smiling, making her wonder just what he was up to.

Once the doors opened and they stepped into the front entry, Vaughan sucked in a breath and walked into the main living space.

“You’ve really made this place into a showcase,” he said.

“It’s a comfortable house with a spectacular view in a fantastic neighborhood. I can’t complain in any way.” She didn’t thank him, because she’d long since given him credit for it. Sure his money bought it, but after that, he wandered off and did his own thing. This was her home. Ridiculously luxurious or not.

But she liked him in it.

It had always felt as if he needed to be there. And as she put her things down and the girls headed to their room, Kelly watched Vaughan move around in the space.

“Come on up to the bedroom. I’ll give you some space in the dresser and closet.”

He took her hand and grabbed the overnight bag she’d carried upstairs. “Oh, so you’ll share with me here? I must be a pretty fantastic lay for you to share your closet space,” he said in an undertone.

“You do all right.” She winked.

They went up as she called out to Kensey and Maddie to change into pajamas.

“They make this trip often enough they have it down.” Kelly pushed open the double doors leading to the master suite. A room she often escaped to at the end of long workdays.

“Wow. This is magazine worthy.”

“I did a campaign for Sensei Ross. He included design services in my payment. This was all him and his partner.”

The room was laid out in blacks, whites and grays with the occasional pop of blues and greens.

She pointed to the closet. “There were dressers built in when we bought the place, remember? You can take the tall set of drawers. Right now it’s mainly empty.”

She kicked off her shoes and changed from her flying clothes into pajamas of her own.

The girls came in, launching themselves into her bed and she joined them, snuggling as they waited for Vaughan.

“Holy cow, we’ve been invaded!” Vaughan came to join them and the sweetness, the rightness, made tears threaten.

“I’m hungry,” Kensey said.

“I think we can probably fix that.” Kelly rolled from her bed and they all headed to the kitchen.

* * *

VAUGHAN HAD TAKEN Maddie and Kensey to Central Park and then to lunch while Kelly had handled some stuff at the store and then went off to a series of meetings.

They were due to reconnect with her in just a few minutes so he and the girls had cabbed over to her at the boutique, and that’s when he realized the little chameleon set into the bags and other store wrapping was the same one from her tattoo.

It wasn’t an entirely pleasant thing because it meant he’d underestimated her on pretty much every level. She worked damned hard to build a business that would support her and their daughters. And she did it successfully.