Lost and Found Family by Leigh Riker

married to a guy like me. No polish at all. I speak my mind, though. And she knows that. She needs that.”
    â€œI hope you’ll find that opportunity to show Frankie these invitations,” Emma persisted.
    He grinned again. “The invitations you chose. I’ll probably be spending the night in the kennel out back anyway but yes, I’ll show her.”
    Emma repacked her bag, leaving his desk as clear as it had been when she arrived. “It’s going to be a good party, Lanier.”
    â€œI expect nothing less.” He kissed her at the door. “Just don’t expect Frankie to thank you for it. Even after she has the time of her life.”

CHAPTER NINE
    A S SOON AS Emma stepped into the twins’ bedroom, she saw the obvious remnants of children’s play. Even after most of the old furniture had been removed, a pink tutu lay abandoned on the floor. A glittery crown, obviously inspired by the movie Frozen , hung from a remaining clothes peg on one wall, looking forlorn. Several dolls, including a much-loved Barbie with blond hair now in dreadlocks, had been kicked into a corner.
    Right now Emma was alone, with time to reassess her design for this room before the crew arrived. That wasn’t a good thing for her this morning.
    Last night she’d told Christian about her meeting with Lanier. “He promised to show Frankie the invitations tonight.”
    â€œCan’t wait for that reaction,” he’d said.
    Emma raised an eyebrow. “Once the invitations are ordered, I’ll need to work on the menu with the caterers we select. After Lanier softens your mother up, we can move forward.” Always forward, she thought. No time to think about the past.
    â€œAssuming Dad can get through to her,” Christian had said. “I wouldn’t make that assumption. We could wait. Fifty’s an even bigger number.”
    Maybe he was right, and maybe Frankie was, too. Last year, as if by mutual agreement, Christian and Emma had skipped any celebration of their anniversary.
    â€œBut how can we know they’ll reach fifty?” she’d said. “Look at Max Barrett. He’s already a widower and still young. We can never know what will happen between one moment and the next.” If she’d once thought there would always be another family dinner on Sunday, she knew differently now.
    Emma rubbed her stomach and sighed. Since she’d talked with Lanier yesterday, she’d felt queasy.
    Waiting for her crew, Emma spied another pair of action figures on the floor. Boys’ toys and, she suspected, a commando raid on their little sisters’ domain.
    Emma shook herself. She couldn’t afford to waste time. In a few minutes Derek and Stan would be here. In another hour she had a different client to see, a smaller job but a necessary one. For now, Melanie was on the phone downstairs but she’d come up soon to discuss the further suggestions for this room.
    She blinked at the morning light pouring through the bay window. The seat with new storage would make a perfect place to snuggle with a book. Emma liked the gingham curtains Melanie had bought—unable to wait, she supposed, for the room to be complete before she added her own touch. Putting them up this soon wouldn’t be Emma’s choice but they were washable.
    A second later her gaze landed on the half-open closet, where some colored objects had spilled across the floor. They caught the morning sun to sparkle, and the haphazard display of clear green, yellow and blue made her heart crack, but in that same instant Melanie came into the room with her usual smile.
    â€œWell, what’s the verdict? Think this disaster scene can be salvaged?”
    â€œIt’s going to be adorable,” Emma said, but her voice sounded tight. “With only a bit more tweaking.” She turned away from Melanie to point at the far wall. “The shelves will relieve a lot of the clutter that