The men drank inside while Francesca Ward took the kids out to the yard for fireworks.

Laura Larkin went too. She and Howard Naughton had a son now.

It was lively. But there was still a gap — one person missing from the picture.

Laura glanced sideways at Francesca and lowered her voice. "How are things going with Jeremy and Scarlett Summers?"

Francesca's gaze drifted to Adrian and Genevieve Hadley. "It's complicated," she said quietly. "Setting aside Scarlett ...