Free Kitchen Promises (Riverside Trilogy, #3) (The Riverside Trilogy) by Brooke Cumberland

to open his mouth. We watched in silence as Molly grabbed a bowl of cereal, an apple, and her mug of coffee. She sat quietly at the breakfast bar, eating in silence.
    “Well, I have to go to the office for just a couple hours, but then I’ll be right back.” I kissed the top of her head.
    “You can stay at work, you know. I know you have to work.”
    I had been sneaking out of work almost every day, making sure to get home before Molly snapped for good.
    “It’s fine, I don’t have much to do.” I squeezed her arm lightly before exiting the kitchen. I snuck in a quick wink toward Michael, telling him good luck .
    Once I got to the office, I scrambled to get last minute details together. My party coordinator was rushing to get everything moved to the penthouse, decorations, and all.
    I ordered some of Molly’s favorite food for the party, hoping she’d see all the effort that went into planning it for her. I knew she could definitely use this. I’d keep a close eye on her, not letting her overdo it. Her doctor agreed to it, knowing she’d be at home, but she wasn’t allowed to stand up for too long at once.
    “Carla, I’m leaving for the rest of the week.” It was Wednesday, and typically, I had at least two days left of work, but I could handle the rest from home. I just wanted to be close to Molly.
    “Okay, I’ll see you Saturday! Good luck with everything!” She smiled. Carla had been my little helper with this whole thing, so I knew she’d want to see the finished product. I invited her and her husband along with a few other colleagues from work.
    As I was walking out of the elevator to the lower level, I bumped into Dan. He was dressed in a suit and held a briefcase in one hand.
    “Hey, man. Sorry about that.” I patted his shoulder, greeting him.
    “Hey, no worries. I should be the one apologizing for bumping into you. I mean, you kind of own the place.” He chuckled. There was something off about him today compared to before. Normally he was easy going, but for some reason he seemed tense.
    I laughed along with him, but it came out more as a nervous laugh. I wasn’t sure what he was doing here in the first place, but it wasn’t uncommon for business meetings to take pace in the Riverside.
    “Sorry I can’t stay, I’m just running home actually,” I said apologetically.
    We said goodbye, and as I walked away, I briefly glanced over my shoulder. I watched as Dan got on the elevator, riding up to the 38 th floor. Where the hell is he going?
    I didn’t have time to think about it as I arrived back home. Molly was in bed, resting. Her belly was growing more and more each day, making it uncomfortable for her to sleep. She shoved several pillows around her body, trying to take the pressure off.
    I had a few more hours before Stella and Liam would get home from school. I made sure to have dinner ready by five, so Molly wouldn’t feel the need to get up and cook. I knew it was something she was missing, but I wasn’t going to risk anything when it came to her health and keeping our babies inside as long as possible.
    I slipped into the closet, changing out of my suit for the night. I dug around the closet, looking for something else to wear when I found something odd.
    It was a box.
    It was a picture box, decorated in sweet little hearts and musical notes. To be respectful of Molly’s privacy, I decided not to open it. As much as I was dying to look, I gently placed it back down.
    As I dressed, my eyes kept looking back to the box. I hadn’t noticed it before, making me wonder if it was something new.
    I decided to brush it off, not wanting to upset her by snooping into her things. I figured if she wanted me to know about it, she’d tell me.
    I tiptoed back downstairs, not wanting to wake her just yet. I still had a few phone calls I wanted to make before the kids got home. Making sure everything was perfect for Saturday was starting to make me anxious. I never get anxious before a big event,