"I almost talked her out of coming, but I figured there's no point. She loves you. She's not thinking straight." Ethan's eyes get brighter. He's baiting me.
And he's right.
"I know." I stare at the screen, at Lacey's text.
Lacey: I want to be there. Let me know the time and place, please.
It makes me warm all over.
I scroll up past our text history and get lost in our old conversations. I miss her. I need her. I love her.
How can it be so fucking obvious now when it didn't make any fucking sense before?
I don't care.
I only care that I need to fix this.
I have an idea.
It's going to take me from now until noon the day after tomorrow to get everything in place. But it's perfect.
I set my cell on the counter and look back to Ethan. "You still know the artist who did your chest-piece?"
"My miserable ode to Violet way back when?"
"Yeah."
"Of course." Ethan pulls his t-shirt down his chest to show off his tattoo—a winged broken heart. He got it when Violet left, though he never could admit it was because she took his heart with him. When they got back together, he added her name to the design. "Why?"
"You want to do me a favor?"
"Depends on the favor."
"Fuck off. You do."
Ethan smiles. "I do."
I motion to the cell. "Well…"
He plays dumb. "Well?"
"Call the guy."
"You need to admit it first."
"Admit what?"
"That you love her."
"Okay, I—"
He cuts me off. "To everyone."
"You're deranged."
"Thank you." He smiles and turns to the couches. "Everyone, Mal has an announcement."
"You finally going solo?" Joel bounces to his feet. "Tired of us holding you back?"