“It doesn’t matter. It’s done,” I say, and he nods, glances at my parents with disgust clearly written on his face, and then walks away.
“We’re leaving,” my father says as he helps my mom out of her chair.
“My lawyer will be in contact,” I tell his retreating back, but he doesn’t stop to respond. He and my mom both leave without giving me a second glance.
“God, I thought they’d never leave,” Pearl says, and then she looks at Gaston, Tyler, Chrissie, and Leah. “Do you want to join us for dinner and drinks?”
Chrissie and Leah look at each other, then at me.
“Please, join us,” I tell them.
“I’m going to talk to the manager and have him get someone to rearrange the tables for us,” Gaston says, then kisses Chrissie’s cheek.
“I don’t know if it’ll be that easy, Gus,” Chrissie tells him, looking around the packed restaurant.
“I know the owner,” he says, then looks at me. “Happiness isn’t based on money. It’s based on who you know.” He winks and I laugh.
“You okay, baby?” Calvin asks, blocking everyone out and wrapping his arms around my waist.
I look up into his eyes and drop my forehead to his chest. “I don’t know what that means. I don’t know how I feel about what just happened,” I admit quietly, and his hand rubs my back.
“I get that.”
“Thank you for being here,” I say, and he slides his hand up the back of my neck and uses his fingers to tip my head back.
“There is nowhere else I’d want to be but right here with you.”
“Even with what happened and everyone joining us for dinner?”
“Even with that,” he says quietly, dipping his head to brush his lips against mine.
“Aren’t they so darn cute?” I hear Pearl say, and I look around Calvin’s back just as the flash on her phone goes off. “Oh, I love that one!” she cries as I blink away stars.
“Let me see,” Chrissie says, holding out her hand to see the photo. Then she squeals, “It’s perfect!”
“Do you think they’d notice if we took off?” Calvin asks, and I tip my head back to him, grinning. His eyes roam my face; then he sighs and turns, holding on to the back of my chair until I’m seated and then helping me scoot in before he takes his own seat.
“Are you okay?” Edie asks, and I focus on her.
“Yeah,” I reply, and she studies me for a moment, then pats my hand and picks up her wineglass.
A minute later, Gaston comes back to the table with two waitresses and a man who looks like he owns the place, and he asks if we can follow him. He leads us to a back room that’s mostly empty, and before we even take our seats, the waitstaff take our drink orders, then come back with baskets filled with warm bread and fresh butter.
When our drinks arrive, Edie taps her fork against an empty glass, cutting into everyone’s conversations. “I’d like to make a toast.” She picks up her glass filled with wine, and everyone follows suit. “To unexpected love, unexpected friendships, and unexpected good times with good people.” She looks around. “Cheers.”
“Cheers,” I whisper, feeling Calvin’s hand holding mine tightly as I look around the table, filled with people who have come to mean a lot to me. What I told my father is true: I wouldn’t trade all the money in the world for what I have. I know what it’s like to have money. I know what it’s like to be able to afford anything my heart desires. But I know more than most that money won’t feed your soul like love and true friendships will. And if I’m honest with myself, I hate that my parents have never experienced true happiness before, that they will never know the difference between those who are around because they think you can give them something, and those who are around because they truly care for you. I guess I’m lucky in a way, because now I appreciate what I have a little more.
Suggestion 13
DON’T LET YOUR EGO GET IN THE WAY
CALVIN
I let myself into Anna’s place with the key she gave me two weeks ago and take off my jacket before laying it on the end of the bed. I turn toward the fridge and stop to watch Anna through the glass of her balcony door, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, a glass of wine in her hand, the moon and stars casting a glow around her. From her stillness, I know she’s lost in thought, and I’m sure it has something to do with her phone call to her lawyer today.
It’s been a month since we had dinner with her parents: a month of her coming to terms with her father’s deceit and a month of her trying to figure out what to do with the shares she owns in a company she’s adamant she doesn’t want. I’d like to say I’m okay with her having millions of dollars, but the truth is, it makes me uncomfortable. Not because she has more money than I could ever make in my lifetime but because it’s a tie to her old life that I don’t want her to have.