Noah Singleton was throwing a tantrum, and nothing his mother, Jennica, said or did could calm him.

“I wanna go to school with Violet! Why can’t I?”

He’d already asked some variation of this question a hundred times. Jennica sighed. She sometimes wondered if she needed to separate the children more often for their own good. But Keeley was like a sister, so of course, she wanted to spend time with her whenever possible.

Her son had become accustomed to having Violet and Kaleb over for nine hours a day for the past couple of months while Aaron worked and Keeley was bedridden. He’d thrown a fit the day after they returned to staying home, demanding they move into their house permanently.

Going to different schools for a couple of years would probably be beneficial. Noah was perfectly capable of getting along with other children; the problem was, he only wanted “pretty Violet.”

“You’re not old enough for kindergarten, sweetie. You’ll be at the same school in two years,” Jennica replied, trying to hide her exasperation.

She and Keeley had discussed this; they wanted their children to attend the same school so one could easily pick up the other’s children in emergencies. This was why they’d chosen the same preschool.

Because Noah was born at the end of September, he just missed the cutoff to be in kindergarten with the twins. They’d let him start preschool at two because he was turning three in a few weeks, but kindergarten had different requirements.

Tears streamed down Noah’s face. “Why did she have to be Kaleb’s sister? Why couldn’t she be mine so she could live with us?”

Jennica was taken aback. What kind of question was that? She decided to tease him. “Didn’t you say you want to marry her someday? You can’t marry your sister.”

He pouted. “But I can’t marry her until I’m big anyway. You said so. At least if she was my sister, I could see her every day.”

It was pointless to tell him he practically saw her every day. The Hales and Singletons typically met three or four times a week for playdates due to Violet and Noah’s attachment.

It was truly unusual. Violet, who rarely wanted anyone but her brother or parents, had been interested in Noah since infancy. She’d started playing with baby dolls, showing her mother how capable she was to hold him.

Jennica, of course, wasn’t going to let an eighteen-month-old, still wobbly on her feet, hold her newborn, but it was funny to watch. From the moment Noah could crawl, he followed Violet everywhere.

Because Violet and Kaleb were inseparable, Noah became close to Kaleb as well, but when he talked about visiting the Hales, he only mentioned Violet. His preference was obvious. Closeness to Kaleb was a byproduct of his closeness to his twin sister.

“You can’t just make someone your sister. She’s Aunty Keeley and Uncle Aaron’s baby, just like you’re mine,” Jennica explained. “Would it make you feel better if I called Aunty Keeley to see if we can go to their house today?”

Noah immediately brightened. “Call her! Call her right now!”

She sighed. She knew this would work. While she hated bribing him, Violet was the only surefire solution. She silently apologized to her friend for the inconvenience, knowing she was still recovering from an injury.

“Hey Keeley, could we come over for a while? Noah really wants to see his best friend.”

Keeley’s amusement was evident in her voice. “Again? Let me guess—the same school-related problem?”

Jennica chuckled. She should have known. They were always on the same wavelength.

“You guessed it. I hate to bother you, though.”

“It’s no bother,” Keeley insisted. “I’d love to see you. I just made cupcakes, and there aren’t enough people here to eat them all.”

“Ooh, cupcakes! Perfect. I’ll be over in about thirty minutes.” She needed some sugar after dealing with the tantrum.

“See you then!” Keeley said before hanging up.

Jennica looked down at her son, who was hugging her leg expectantly. “Go get your shoes on. We’re going to see them.”

His eyes lit up, and he dashed off to find his shoes. What was she going to do with this kid?

She raised the issue with Keeley while they ate cupcakes. The children had run off to play in Kaleb’s room as soon as the Singletons arrived.

“Do you think Noah and Violet would benefit from some time apart?”

Keeley shrugged. “They’ll be apart more anyway, attending different schools. Noah’s fine playing with other kids when she’s not around, isn’t he?”

“Yes…but he’s always begging to see her. Isn’t that a little unusual for an almost four-year-old to be so attached to a girl?”

“I’ve been watching them. While they talk about marriage, they don’t really understand it. They think it’s just about living with your favorite person. I don’t think he even sees her as a girl yet,” she said casually, then more seriously, “That said, I hope Violet makes other friends in kindergarten. The natural separation of being in different grades and schools will help them become less dependent on each other.”

Jennica had to agree. Giving in to the tantrum wasn’t ideal, but encouraging Noah to make other friends might prevent future incidents.

Violet and Kaleb weren’t his only friends. He took the same preschool soccer class Kaleb used to and had friends there. He had friends in their apartment building and in his preschool class.

Friends from all those places would be at his birthday party in a couple of weeks, but he’d likely ignore them for Violet. Ah, that kid!

He was too young to understand love, but Jennica suspected her son was smitten. She hoped Keeley was right about the separation helping.

The children had after-school activities, so during the school year, they’d probably only see each other on weekends. Jennica might endure a few weeks of tantrums, but once Noah adjusted to the new schedule, he should be fine. Right?