The Truth

Despite having made her small peach of an ass bounce like a video vixen, Harper blushes madly. “Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe I did that!”

“The magic of the dares,” I tell her. “It’s a heavy responsibility.”

Then we’re all laughing again.

The next couple of acts are pretty tame, so we shift our attention away as Harper gushes to Elle about Ace, leaving Elle totally shocked at how much my brother’s changed.

“You’re telling me that Ace Young, the king of couch potatoes everywhere and selfish asshole of the year, is now cooking you dinner and rocking your world with orgasm records? I never would’ve guessed that. Hell, I thought he was going to meld right into that couch for a while.”

“That was a long time ago,” Harper says a bit quieter. I don’t think she likes being reminded about how bad off Ace used to be. Not because she couldn’t handle him at his worst but because she loves him so deeply that to think of him being in that much pain hurts her. Even though that gash in his heart is scarred over and sealed with Harper’s love now.

“I guess so,” Elle agrees. Then with a grin of excitement, she asks Harper, “Wanna see pictures of Neve?”

Harper claps in answer, adding, “Of course!”

Elle pulls out her phone, going through five hundred pictures of Neve which seem to be mostly six or seven poses and then Elle going crazy with holding down the shutter button. So it’s basically the exact same picture dozens of times.

“You know, Tiff, if you want to talk about your . . . ahem, love life, I don’t mind,” Elle says when she puts her phone away. “I’m cool with it.” She sounds like she’s choking on her own spit to get that out, obviously not that comfortable with hearing about what Daniel and I get up to. If only she knew.

“Well . . . let’s see,” I reply, trying to decide whether I want to give Elle shit or be genuine. “We said the Big Three?”

“Oh, my God! Really?” Elle says, her eyes wide in shock. She hugs me, excited. “He said the words ‘I love you’?”

“We both said it,” I admit. “More than once. And uhm . . . well, we’re sort of soft stepping coming out at work, but we’re getting there. Mac knows because he busted us in the grass—” Oops, that’s probably something Elle doesn’t want to hear, so I rush over my own words. “And Megan and Stephanie know. Ricky and Billy, of course. And there are a few managers who know.”

Conversation shifts, and I’m glad. I want to tell Elle . . . but I have no idea how I’m going to tell her about Mini-Me when I haven’t even told Daniel.

I really need to. I mean, I am not the secret baby type of woman, and the only reason I kept the secret this long is because Daniel has been buried in paperwork about Mark and Brandon’s terminations.

“Hey, one more?” Harper says after polishing off her wine. “What do you say?”

“How about we hear you solo?” I offer. “It was your dare originally, and then you can sing one for Ace.” I switch into an intentionally off-key, shrill voice, “You are the wind beneath my wings.”

“You think I won’t do that, but you’re about to proven wrong,” Harper says, standing and shimmying up to the signup sheet.

Elle watches her, then leans over. “I’m glad.”

“For what?”

“For finding someone who can fill my shoes while I’m overseas,” Elle says. “She’s good people.”

Harper gets up on stage, and moments later, ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ gets the Harper treatment. I look at Elle, who’s trying not to laugh. “Well,” I tell her, “at least it’s not Wednesday.”

“No . . . at least it’s not Wednesday.”

Chapter 26

Daniel

I’m actually nervous as I sit down for dinner. Gathered around the table are the important people in my life, with Elle, Colton, and my absolutely adorable little granddaughter, Neve, taking up three of the chairs while Tiffany and I sit next to each other.

When I found out Elle had come home to the States, I instantly invited everyone over, though I wasn’t sure how it would go. I’ve never dated around Elle, always hiding anyone I did go out with. At first, because she was young and I didn’t want a possible parade of ever-changing women in her life. That was probably a good thing because those few relationships never lasted long.

Later, it was the opposite. I didn’t want her thinking that a single date might mean more than it did. She was on a mission to have me partnered off, and coffee with a woman was a one-way ticket to a serious relationship in Elle’s mind.

But now I am in a serious relationship. And Elle is taking it better than I could’ve ever imagined. If anything, she looks slightly smug as she sips her white wine while giving Tiffany and me little looks.