Love Believes (Sully Point, Book 5) by Nicole Smith

once."
    "You can stay here again tonight if you want.
We'd love to have you. We could play board games and make popcorn. It would be
fun."
    Beth smiled at her sister. Maggie was such a giving
person. It had been no surprise to Beth to find out Maggie now worked with the
local Grainger-Carter-Tremaine foundation helping people in need.
    "I'll come here if I need to, but I want to
face the apartment first. To see if I'm okay staying there tonight. I don't
want to get all weird about it, you know?"
    "Yeah, I figured that. But if you don't do
the sleepover thing tonight, let's plan on doing it soon, okay? I've missed you
while you were so far away. And so much happened in the last year. We need a
night to ourselves, so you can hear all the details."
    "You're right. We'll do it, I promise."
She took another bite of her donut and watched petite Maggie bustling around
her kitchen. She was just beginning to show, and Beth couldn't picture what
Maggie would look like when she was nine months pregnant. "Do you have
names picked out for the baby yet?"
    Maggie looked at her with a big smile. "Yes.
For a girl I thought Vesper would be nice."
    "Uh...Vesper?"
    "Yes. And for a boy, Butler."
    "Butler? But won't all the school kids
shorten that to 'Butt' or something like that?"
    Maggie looked stricken. "Oh, I hadn't thought
of that. Hmm. Maybe I'd better keep looking for a boy's name."
    "And isn't Vesper the same as evening
prayers?"
    "It also means evening star," Maggie
said, a bit defensively. She frowned. "You think it's weird?"
    "You want me to be honest?"
    "You do think it's weird!"
    "A little. But you do what you want. Just
remember, the kid is going to have to live with that name."
    Maggie sighed. "Maybe you've got a point.
I'll have to tell Eric. I hope he's not too disappointed if we don't use these.
He was so enthusiastic when I told him the names I'd picked out."
    "Good luck with that. But now, I need to get
going."
    "Call me later, okay? And let me know how
you're doing?"
    "Okay, I will. Thanks for everything,
Maggie," Beth said. She went around the counter island to give her sister
a hug. "I'll call."
    She walked out to her car, glad she'd insisted on
driving it over last night. She was going to be early for work, but she felt
the need to settle in there. When she arrived at the building and walked in,
Julia jumped up from her desk and hurried over.
    "How are you doing? Cody told me all about
it. You know you can stay with us if you need to, and just let me know if there's
anything I can do."
    "Thanks, Julia. I stayed at Maggie's last
night, but I plan to stay at the apartment tonight. I'll be fine. I mean...I am
fine. Already. I'm fine."
    Julia's blue eyes darkened with concern. "You
suffered a trauma having someone break in like that. Don't just push it away
and act like it didn't happen, okay?"
    "I hear you, but this morning I just want to
get to work and feel normal."
    Julia patted her on the shoulder. "Do you
want any coffee to take up there with you? And should we put in a coffee maker
upstairs do you think?"
    "That might be a good idea and prevent me
from spilling it on the stairs on the way up each day. But I don't need any
coffee at the moment. I'll get some later when I take a break."
    Julia nodded and Beth turned to go upstairs.
"Oh Beth, you might want to know, Mr. Christopher is already up
there," Julia said.
    Beth whirled around. "What? He is? Now?"
    "Yes. He said he wanted to get an early
start."
    "Okay, that's...fine. Whatever." She
turned and slowly walked up the stairs.
    When she entered the office, she stopped dead at
the threshold and stared at a vase full of spring flowers, a mix of all
different types sitting on her desk. And behind the desk sat Mr.
Christopher...William.
    "Hello," she said, and walked in.
    He looked up and his eyes seemed bluer than usual
as they widened in surprise. Then he smiled at her and she felt all warm
inside. "I wasn't sure you'd be here today."
    "I need to be here, to get back to