Her stomach lurched, and she a felt a cold prickle down her spine.

“What did he say?”

Danny wet his lips before he looked up at her. “We have a sentencing date.”

It felt like her throat was closing. She tried to take a breath, but it was as if her lungs were full of glue. “When?” she managed, her voice barely audible.

“May second.”

Leah stood there for a minute, trying to process what he had just said.

May second. The day before her birthday.

She crossed the room to him, and he sat up as she approached, allowing her to crawl into his lap. Danny dropped his head to her shoulder, and she curled her arms around him, trying to keep her breathing even.

She couldn’t react right now. She couldn’t fall apart. She needed to keep it together.

But what was the point of being strong? What difference would it make? If she cried or if she didn’t, if she screamed or if she remained stoic, if she bargained or denied or accepted or fought, none of it would change anything. None of it would prevent what was about to happen.

May second. Less than two months away.

They sat there in silence, their arms around each other as Leah’s thoughts ran rampant. One minute her mind was racing with what this meant for them, what it meant for him, and the next it was eerily devoid of anything whatsoever.

“What do we do now?” she whispered, her voice not sounding like her own.

She hadn’t felt so utterly helpless since her mother died.

Danny took a breath before he lifted his head, looking up at her as he took one of her curls between his fingers. “We go meet Sarah and Kyle at the bar, and we celebrate his promotion.”

“What?” Leah asked, her brow furrowed. “Danny, no.”

“We made plans, Leah.”

“Who cares?” she said desperately.

“I do!” he said, and then he closed his eyes, taking a breath as he reined himself in. “I do,” he said again, this time more calmly. “We can’t let this dictate the next two months. What are we gonna do, Leah? Sit here and mope? Wallow in it? I’m not gonna let this take any more time from me than it has to.”

Leah wet her lips and nodded. “Okay,” she said, dropping her eyes. “Okay. You’re right.”

Danny used his fingertips under her chin to lift her eyes back to his. “I don’t want this to influence everything we do now. It can’t be like that.”

She nodded again.

“I mean, I know it’s gonna be…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “We have to at least try.”

His eyes were imploring as he looked up at her, and she knew that if he needed to maintain a sense of normalcy, she would do it, no matter how difficult it was going to be. And in a way, she understood. He had no control over what was coming his way in two months, but he could control everything up until that point.

And maybe that’s how she needed to deal with it too.

“Okay,” she said softly, pressing her lips to his. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he whispered, brushing the hair away from her face.

She smiled down at him, trying to keep the sadness out of it, and he twisted one of her curls around his finger.

“It looks nice like this,” he murmured, watching the silken strand slip through his fingertips.

She brought her hand to his face, running her thumb over his cheek.

“Are you ready to go, or do you need another minute?” he asked.

“I’m ready,” she whispered.

He nodded, looking up at her. “Me and you tonight. Nothing else, okay?”

“Nothing else,” she repeated softly.

“Okay,” he said, lifting his chin and pressing his lips to hers, and she concentrated on the feel of his mouth. The way he tasted.

And nothing else.

Nothing else.

Paddy’s was a local bar that had been a favorite of Leah’s in the years right after she graduated college. There was a fun, younger crowd vibe, but without all the chaos that most college bars boasted. She hadn’t been there in a long time, but as soon as she and Danny walked through the doors, it felt like she’d never left.

Everything was the same, from the layout of the tables to the pictures on the walls to the music that was playing. It was comforting, and familiar, and exactly what she needed at that moment.

“Sarah says they’re like ten minutes away,” Leah said to Danny as she put her phone back in her purse. “Do you want to go grab us a table and I’ll get us drinks?”

“Yeah.”

“See the jukebox back there?” Leah said, and Danny lifted his chin, looking over the crowd. “There’s a little nook on the other side of it. The tables back there are usually open.”

“Alright,” he said, leaning down to kiss her temple before he turned and walked through the crowd.

Leah made her way to the bar, resting her elbows on top of it as she glanced around the familiar space.

“What can I get you, hon?”

She looked up just in time to see the bartender’s face light up with recognition.

“Leah! Sweetheart! How are ya?”

“I’m good, Sammy. You?”

“Oh you know, same old, same old,” he said, leaning on the bar in front of her. “God, it’s been a while. You look good, kiddo!”

Leah smiled. Sammy was the sweetest old man she’d ever met; he had been the bartender at Paddy’s for as long as she’d been going there, and he seemed to remember every face, every name, every story that crossed his path.

“Thank you. You’re looking pretty good yourself.”

“Bah,” he said, standing up and waving his hand at her. “Quit makin’ an old man blush.”

Leah laughed, and he smiled. “So what can I get ya?”

“Can I get a pitcher? Whatever you have on special is fine.”

“You got it, sweetheart.”

Just as Sammy turned away from her, Leah felt two arms wrap around her waist, and she leaned back into his embrace.

“No open tables?” she asked, turning her head to look up at him.

And then her heart stopped.

“Hey beautiful,” he said, rubbing his thumbs over her stomach through the fabric of her shirt.

After a stunned second she turned in his arms, using her hand on his chest to push him away. He took a step back, relinquishing his hold on her, but he smiled.

“You look incredible,” he said, and she shook her head.

“Scott, don’t—”

“We need to talk,” he said, his face growing serious.

“I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“Fine. Don’t talk then. Just listen.”

“I don’t want to do this now,” she said, stepping to the side in an attempt to walk around him, but he picked up on it immediately, stepping forward and putting his hands on the bar on either side of her.

“You won’t do it anywhere else,” he said smoothly. “I’ve tried.”

She looked down at his arms, caging her in, and then she lifted her eyes to his, her expression steely.

“Just let me say this. She meant nothing to me, Leah,” he said, and she scoffed before rolling her eyes. “I mean, we worked together, and she was constantly flirting with me, and I just…I was under a lot of stress, and she was always there, right in front of me. I mean, shit, a man can only take so much temptation. I had to get it out of my system. But it didn’t mean anything. She didn’t mean anything.”

As Scott spoke, she stared over his shoulder, her expression disinterested as she searched the bar for any sign of her sister and Kyle.

“I know you’re mad because I didn’t come out after you, but I knew you needed some time to calm down—”

Leah whipped her head toward him, her expression incredulous as a tiny laugh escaped her lips. “So, what? You figured you’d just finish fucking her while I cooled off?” She laughed outright then, shaking her head. “You know, for all the time you’ve had to plan this speech, you’d think it would be a little less pathetic.” She pushed his arm off the bar and took a step past him.

Scott stepped back and to the side in one swift movement, blocking her path. “I know you’re still upset—”