2011: It's been ten years since the sky literally came crashing down around Yael Malkah and upended her world. Now she's returned to New York to visit her ailing grandmother. With no other family, it's up to her to take care of the family business...
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Feeling nosy, Haustin ambled through Yael's massive apartment. The place felt empty to begin with, but it reminded him of a tomb without her there. Or maybe it was the sparse, open space he didn't like. The hardwood floors warmed it some, but he preferred older homes, the kind with personality. Not to mention, she didn't have any personal touches; no pictures or trinkets women were so fond of.
After lifting weights in the home gym, he showered and changed before snagging a few slices of banana bread from the kitchen. Jesus, Yael knew how to bake. He wished she'd do something with her talent instead of working for Malkah Enterprises. The place wasn't right for her. Her anxiety was only increasing. Whenever they spent time together, she shared another story about something that happened at work, a random detail that had her on edge.
Being apart from Yael screwed with his mind, and he found himself wondering where she was, what she was doing, when he'd see her again. All because of how good he felt around her and how his cravings for pharmaceuticals lessened. He knew it bordered on an unhealthy dependence, but without her, the bleak reality of life tempted him to self-medicate once more. So, instead of dwelling, he ignored the fine line he walked with her and how dangerous it was, for him and for her. Problem was, the better he felt, the more his past plagued him.
A memory surfaced, not of Yael, but of Lindsey and their first Thanksgiving as a married couple. Despite their high hopes, neither of them had known how to cook a turkey, and the attempt had ended in a smoke-filled kitchen and a charbroiled bird. The smell had lingered for weeks afterward. Lindsey's face danced before him, laughing, and his gut clenched so violently he had to grab onto the counter. They'd had so much love and promise back then, such innocence. He stumbled out of Yael's, unsteady and trailed by regret.
The feelings stayed with him the entire way to Lindsey's, mixing with his indecision over how to break the news about Yael. He'd avoided it all week, and now he had no choice, which turned it into a dick move on his part. She let him in the house, her hopeful smile making his insides to grind together.
"The kids are excited to spend the day with you," she said.
"Luna? Excited?"
Lindsey laughed. "As much as she can be." She lowered her voice. "Her bark is worse than her bite."
Haustin cleared his throat. "Look, Linds, there's something I have to tell you. I, uh, won't be the only one there today."
"What do you mean?" The twinkle in her pretty hazel eyes never dimmed.
Seconds ticked by as he grasped desperately for words. Finally, he just blurted, "I met someone, a woman. She'll be there."
"What?" The outburst came from Luna, who'd chosen that exact moment to walk into the living room with her brother. She glanced back and forth between him and Lindsey, her mouth agape. "Seriously? No. Nuh-uh. No way. I don't want to meet Dad's new girlfriend," she declared before stomping to her room with red cheeks and hunched shoulders. Lindsey threw him a veiled look and followed, leaving him in silence with Miles.
