My heart skips a beat when she calls me a gem, because her tone is genuine. Gone is the absolute bitch who treated me like an outsider for so long. Today, she has gone above and beyond to make me and my family feel welcome.
“Well, where should I start?”
“From the beginning,” another woman in the group, Kendall, answers while filling my wine glass.
I glance behind me into the house to make sure Winnie is still occupied with my iPad, then launch into my life story. When I get to the part about Simon dying overseas, Reese scoots her chair closer to me and lays a hand on my knee for support. Somewhere during my story, Raven takes James out of my arms and sits close, her eyes brimming with tears. I don’t even realize I’m crying until hot tears fall onto my chest.
“Pres,” Reese says softly, handing me a napkin. “You don’t have to talk about him.”
There’s a collection of sympathetic nods from the groups, and I close my eyes to gain some composure.
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to be a sobby mess.”
“Oh my God, don’t you apologize. I’m in awe of your strength and dedication. I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through.” Ember wipes her own eyes. “Besides Charlie, we’re all an emotional group.”
“Shut up, bitch.” Charlie’s own voice breaks. “I just don’t cry at the drop of a hat like you lightweights.”
I start to giggle, and it sets off a chain reaction. Pretty soon, the solemn mood disappears, and the conversation shifts from me to Ember and Reese collaborating on bringing two of Ember’s designs to life. Reese explains to everyone about next year’s spring line and her boss’s excitement over Ember.
One thing I’m surprised to learn is Reese talked to a lawyer and set up a side business as a consultant. She’s still bitter with her boss about Simon’s funeral and thinks he’s an asshole, so she’s continuing to work for him, but stepping away as a full time employee and doing independent work. He threatened to fire her and enforce the non-compete clause, and she called his bluff. Then he saw Ember’s designs and backtracked all the negative things he said, begging her to include him with the boutique line she was gathering.
Ember put her in contact with a few local, unknown designers, and Reese now has the upper hand with her douchebag ‘old boss’.
“Why didn’t you tell me all this?” I can’t hide the hurt in my voice.
“Because you’ve been busy falling in love and dealing with your own shit.” She glances at Raven, who lowers her head in shame.
“But I’m the best friend… I share everything with you!” I slap her lightly on the arm.
“Okay, well now’s a good time to tell you, you’re the model for our first dress when it’s ready.”
“Nooooo,” I groan. “Forget I said anything.”
“Nope, you’re the best friend, remember?”
I bite my tongue and give her an evil glare. There’s a commotion behind us, and I swivel my chair in time to see Declan and the rest of the band coming at us with instruments in their arms.
“Sparkle, let’s put the kids to bed before we start.” Declan takes Elizabeth from Ember and bends to help Raven with James. They disappear into the house as Finn walks out with a tired Winnie in his arms. She has her head on his shoulder and a sleepy grin on her face.
I move to stand, but he brushes me off and lies down on one of the loungers, positioning her comfortably.
“Sweetie, we should probably go,” I say softly.
“We will, babe, in a few minutes. She wants to see this.”
Nate, Blake, and Cooper arrange the unoccupied chairs in a semi-circle, and Declan comes back out carrying a case. I immediately recognize it as my violin.
“What the hell?” I murmur.
“We want to jam,” Nate tells me, patting the seat next to him. “Heard you’re quite talented.”
“No f’ing way.” I shuffle my chair back until I hit a brick wall I know is Tripp.
“Don’t make me carry you over there.” He comes around, ready to grab me.
“Tripp, you lay a hand on her, I’ll cripple you,” Finn threatens, knifing up.
“Y’all can’t be serious. Where’d you even get my violin?” I ask nervously, all eyes on me.