by L. J. Evans
“He has the money to do that?”
It was something we had to worry about. Our whole damn family had more money than we knew what to do with. Charities and donations only went so far, and Daddy kept making platinum records on top of the money Mama pulled in at the dealership. We had trust accounts with more in them than most people had in their retirement accounts. I knew for a fact it was why Daddy had flipped out over Eliza eloping. It was because she’d done it without financial protection.
“He’s not trying to ride on my coattails,” I said quietly.
Ty nodded, but I could tell it wasn’t the last I’d hear about it.
Maleena came down the hall wearing Ty’s shirt and a pair of leggings. She grabbed Ty’s coffee cup and took a sip. “What are you all doing up so early?” she asked.
“Just visiting,” I said.
She really looked at me, eyes squinting. “Isn’t that the outfit you were in last night before you left mysteriously?”
Ty started laughing. I grabbed my coffee cup and moved down the hall.
“I think you should go for it, Ginny,” Ty hollered after me.
I just waved and headed for the shower.
♫ ♫ ♫
I pulled at the hem of my dress as I climbed off the ladder for the last time. Edie wasn’t coming until close to the party time, but I’d wanted to make sure everything she saw was perfect. She’d been looking out for us for so long it felt like this was the least we could do for her. Make sure her plan went off without a hitch.
I stood back and assessed the Happy New Year and Happy 50th signs I’d adjusted. Much better. At least their crookedness wouldn’t drive me batty all night long.
The door opened, and I sighed as Phil entered. I was not in the mood to deal with him. I didn’t want him to get his gross cigarette and over-the-top cologne scent on my dress. He looked around the room, mouth a little open in shock.
“Wow. This looks fantastic,” he said as he approached.
I moved so that one of the round tables was between us. Every time he moved, I moved a little farther around, futzing with the table settings, the flowers, and the little metallic-striped bonbon boxes Edie had ordered ages ago.
“Thanks for letting us use the space,” I told Phil.
“I think I need to hire you to plan all my events.”
“Edie did most of it. I just put it all together for her.”
“The floors look damn good,” he said, looking down, and I took the opportunity to put another table between us.
“Cole did it for me, but yeah.”
“Shit. I feel like I need to pay you somehow.” He eyed me up and down, and I regretted my tight, gold and black lace dress when, before, I’d only been excited to see Cole’s reaction to me in it.
Phil’s eyes when he got back to my face were just creepy again.
There was a knock on the door, and I headed for it, unsure who would have been knocking instead of coming straight in. When I got there, it was the DJ with some of his amps in his hands.
“Wasn’t sure if it was open,” he said. I stepped back to let him inside. “Wow,” he breathed out, stopping to look at the room, and I took a moment to do it as well. It really looked fantastic. Edie had outdone herself. The metallic of the linens and place settings was offset by the vibrant purples and lavenders from the flowers. It was gorgeous.
“Where do you want me to set up?”
I headed to the corner where the room started to slope down. “Do you think you can set up here? This way we still have room for dancing?”
“This is perfect. I’ll just go get the rest of my stuff.”
He left, and when I turned around, Phil was right there. It startled me, and I put a hand to my chest, which only drew his eyes to the soft, heart-shaped neckline. He stepped closer, and I backed up, which put me against the amps the DJ had just set down.
He went to put his arm around my shoulder, and I ducked under it, heading for the door as fast as my stilettoed feet would carry me. He was right behind me. “Ginny, I really think we should go into business together.”
I got to the door before I turned to him, putting out a hand in a stop sign. A clear signal. “Thanks, but no. I won’t be in town, anyway. I’m still in college, remember?”
I was trying to call attention to our age difference.
“It would only be a weekend gig. We could work it out,” he said, ignoring my hand and stepping into my space, leaning forward as if he were going to grab my arm, and I got ready to use a Krav Maga move that I’d never thought I’d truly have to use on someone in real life. And then, suddenly, Cole was there, stepping in between Phil and me.
“I think she’s said no.” Cole was standing tall, eclipsing Phil.
Phil looked from Cole, back to me, and then waved a hand. “Fine, fine.” He headed for the door and then looked back. “So, all this will be out of here sometime tomorrow, right? You can drop the key in the mail slot if the bar isn’t open yet.”
Then he was gone. My entire body sagged in relief before Cole turned to me. But once his eyes were on me, all my nerve endings jumped back to life, this time in a much better way.
I took in his tailored gray slacks and sage button-down that he’d dressed up with a thin tie. He looked handsome. More than handsome. He looked exactly like a Hollywood actor you’d see on the CW. Stylish. Modern. Gorgeous.
At the same time I was assessing him, Cole was eyeing my lace dress, going all the way down to my spiked heels and then all the way back up to my eyes surrounded in black liner with bits of gold glitter in my green eyeshadow. The look of awe he had on his face was ten million times better than the creepy one Phil had given doing almost the same thing.
“You’re so unbelievably beautiful,” he said, voice going down an extra notch, making my stomach flip with pleasure.
“You look pretty fantastic yourself,” I said with a smile.
He handed me a package, and it took me a minute to register it was a wrist corsage. Like we were going to prom or something. It was a bright splash of color against my neutrals, just like the flowers on the tables. I was pretty sure he’d had the florist make it to match the centerpieces. The extra effort had my heart pattering a beat I was still not used to but loving.
“It’s perfect,” I said. “Thank you.”
The DJ made it back into the room, and we moved so he could haul more equipment over to the corner.
Cole removed the corsage from the box, took my hand, and slid it over my wrist before bringing my hand to his lips and kissing it.
“I’ve been thinking about you since you left,” he said.
“Same,” I said.
“Have you made a decision?” he asked, and I laughed. He wasn’t one to beat around the bush. It was something I liked about him. Something I was learning about him.
If I went to Europe with him, would there be things I found that I didn’t like about him? Would I be stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere and have to find a way home because he was suddenly someone I couldn’t stand?
Looking at his friendly green eyes and his open expression, I knew, even if he did something completely ridiculous, I still wouldn’t be able to hate him. He’d woken me from my sleeping state. His entire body made mine feel alive just by standing next to him. I couldn’t imagine that ever going away.
I had made a decision, but I couldn’t help teasing him. “Hmm. I don’t know. I thought our deal had something to do with third base. Did we really make it to third base last night?” I asked quietly, suddenly very aware of the extra pair of ears in the room.
A guttural growl erupted from him, and he tugged me tight up against him. “Do I have to remind you how you called my name?”
My body ignited, the flames flickering just like the candles on the table. “You can’t talk to me like that right now,” I whispered. “I have to get through this whole party. We have seven hours until midnight, and I can’t leave until after t
hat.”
“You started it,” he said, running his hand along my arm. “Do we really have to stay for all of it?”
“Yes,” I told him. “I told Edie I’d wait for the caterers and the DJ to be done so I could pay them. She’ll be exhausted way before then. After all, she just had a baby.”
“You have a lot of family. I’m sure one of them could take over for you.”
It was what Ty had insinuated earlier. I hadn’t really seen it like that before. It was hard to imagine I could just let all the balls drop and someone else would pick them up. I didn’t have to be Eliza’s watchman, and I didn’t have to protect the world from Ty or him from them. Stephen and Khiley had each other just like Mayson had Grace. They all had people who could look out for them. Just like our parents and our grandparents had each other. I was twenty years old. Close to twenty-one. I didn’t need to be the person in charge.
“I’ll make you a deal,” I said, and he groaned, but I smiled.
“Kiss me at midnight, here in front of everyone, and I’ll give you my answer.”
“Why wait for midnight?” And he took my lips with his, his hands on my butt, pushing me so my curves were aligned with his muscles, my entire body molding to his.
We were standing there, lip-locked, unaware of the room around us or the DJ in the corner, when a deep, “What the fuck?” sounded from the door.
I opened my eyes as Cole pulled his lips away. We didn’t look toward the door or Mayson. We just stared at each other, smiles on our faces. Loopy, goopy, happy smiles that I’d never shared with another human being.
The melancholy I’d felt the day he’d entered my life had disappeared into a bubble of hope and joy. I had new adventures ahead of me. Exciting ones that were sure to surprise my family. Would make Mama and Aunt Cam swear over us kids and our desire to give them heart attacks. Me. Ginny. I was doing that.
I loved it. I didn’t regret it at all.
I wasn’t going to dance on a table tonight, and I wouldn’t be marking off a one-night stand anytime soon, but I’d already been kissed in public and was well on my way to losing my virginity. I was going to Europe. My list was going to dwindle away.
Who could have asked for a better New Year’s Eve wish? Who could have asked for a better resolution than to live the next few months doing everything I’d dreamed of doing before I graduated? And the very best thing of all was that I was going to explore my new colorful world with Cole at my side.
Cole
MY GIFT IS YOU
“All I need is love and the truth
And I got it
My gift is you.”
Performed by Gwen Stefani
Written by Stefani / Tranter / Busbee
Mayson’s growl had us pulling apart, but the pure happiness radiating off of Ginny made it impossible for me to look away. I couldn’t. My lips pulled into a smile I couldn’t remove if I tried. It stayed there until Mayson was standing next to us, frowning.
“You. Me. Outside,” Mayson barked.
Ginny laughed and turned to face him. “Puhlease. What are you trying to prove?”
“This is not about you, Ginn. This is completely about the asshole here trying to get even with me for sleeping with his cousin. You know, an eye for an eye.”
Ginny’s smile faded, and that pissed me off.
“Jesus, do you know me so little? Am I really that person? Would I use Ginny like that to get back at you? Especially when I wanted you to get together with Grace all along? I wanted you to make her happy.” I demanded, and that seemed to take the heat out of him.
Grace, however, had a real scowl. “So this is why you didn’t want to go to drinks last night? What is this?”
“This is two adults finding each other along this wild ride we call life and deciding we’re worth fighting for,” I said. Ginny’s fingers tightened around mine.
Ty and Maleena entered, looking very much the couple who would soon be on a million magazine covers. Him in a tailored black suit and her in a red cocktail dress that screamed success. When Ty saw Ginny and I joined together, his face turned into a huge smile instead of the glower to match Mayson’s that I’d expected.
“You’ve told him you’re going to Europe with him, then?” he burst out.
Ginny huffed. “No! I hadn’t told him yet!”
Ty looked slightly apologetic.
“Wait, what?” Mayson demanded.
“I’m taking an extended vacation to Europe with Ginny. We’ll be gone for a few months.” I stared into two astounded faces. Grace and Mayson were having a hard time keeping up.
“But what about the musical? Our dream?” Grace demanded, her black cocktail dress and thigh-high black boots doing nothing to lessen her intimidation factor.
“It’s not like we live in the prehistoric age. I can do it all remotely.”
More people started arriving, and Ginny turned to Mayson and Grace. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to tell you in a different way, but I feel like now isn’t the time either. Can we talk later?”
Ty was greeting people at the door, and Ginny squeezed my hand before leaving to join him, dragging Mayson with her and leaving Grace and me alone.
“You didn’t tell me.” She sounded hurt.
“It just sort of happened.”
“I knew something was up yesterday,” she said, referring back to our lunch at the bar. I couldn’t deny it. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“We’re taking it slow,” I said, and she burst into laughter.
“You met her three days ago, and now you’re throwing aside your life to travel the world with her. That is the least definition of slow I can think of.”
I chortled. “I don’t mean that. I mean, we’re friends, and we like each other, but we’re figuring out the relationship at a slower pace.”
She covered her ears with her hands. “Stop. I don’t want to know any more than you want to know about Mayson and me.”
I shuddered. I really didn’t.
Grace and I stayed out of the way the best we could as the room filled with people. Cousins and friends. Watery Reflection band members and their families. People who acted as if they’d all known each other their whole lives. Like Grace and I. They were all part of one huge family, most of whom were hardly related by blood.
The crowd had reached a point where it might have burst from the room by the time Edie walked in with her little baby in her arms and with a flush on her cheeks. I was surprised at how good she looked after just having barely delivered a kid two days before. Women blew me away. They would forever be the stronger gender, no matter what we males wanted to think.
“They’re coming,” she said, and the room turned hushed.
The first to walk in were Mia and Derek, the lean rock star whose dark hair was hardly gray and the quiet woman who seemed to have given Ginny all her looks. Their hands were twined together, smiles on their faces that matched the smiles of almost everyone in the room. Love. Happiness. Behind them, came Lonnie and Wynn, people I’d barely met but knew were Edie and Stephen’s parents. Redheads like their children. Lonnie’s face turned into a huge, goofy smile, and Wynn’s eyes glistened upon seeing the crowd. And finally, Cam and Blake arrived, her dark vivaciousness mingling with his blond charm. Dynamic energy wafted from them that filled the room.
As soon as all three couples were inside, the group waiting yelled, “Surprise!” followed by, “Happy fiftieth!”
They didn’t look fifty in my mind. None of them. Just like Uncle Seth didn’t look fifty, and my dad didn’t look nearly sixty. They looked vibrant and alive like they had another fifty years to give this earth and the people who loved them.
Wynn was crying, and Cam looked stunned, and then their children were piling into them, hugging them, spreading love. I watched as Ginny, her sister, and brother, formed a little unit with Derek and Mia. They belonged together. They looked unaffected by the secrets that
had hit them this week, and I hoped, with all my heart, they’d be able to handle one more.
Once the initial wave of greetings was over, the DJ had started the music up, the crowd moved toward the buffet line, and I found my way over to the woman I’d been staring at the entire time. The woman in a nude and black lace dress that made me shiver with desire. Made me want to take it off and see the real skin beneath it.
When I eased up behind her, she leaned back into me as if she’d known all along I was coming. That I was there. I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Are you really sure?”
She nodded, turning her head so our eyes and noses and lips were almost aligned. “More sure than I’ve ever been about anything.”
She kissed me, and I stilled. Unsure about how the room would react…the people who hadn’t seen the kiss I’d already given her. When she pulled back, her face was glowing, and I suddenly didn’t care. If it made her happy, to hell with everyone else.
“Come here,” she said, and she pulled me over to where her parents stood talking with Ginny’s grandmother and Cam.
It was Cam who frowned, looking at our arms tangled together, my hand on Ginny’s hip, and said, “Oh no. No, you don’t. We absolutely cannot handle even one more truth from any of you.”
Ginny laughed, and when I met her dad’s eyes, he was actually smiling. Smiling at Ginny’s obvious happiness as much as at the force of Cam’s words.
“Mama, Daddy, I’ve decided to take a semester off and go to Europe with Cole.”
Derek chortled, a deep gruff that made me grin back. Mia put her hand to her forehead and then tried to cover her smile as laughter escaped her as well. Cam rolled her eyes.
“Et tu, Brute?” Cam demanded, rolling her eyes. “You were my last hope!”
Derek bent over he was laughing so hard, and Mia was holding her side. Marina was even chuckling.
“I…I didn’t think you’d find this so funny,” Ginny said, grinning at their laughter.
Mia and Derek seemed to get a hold of themselves. “We’re sorry,” Derek said. “It’s just…been a week. I think laughter is the only way we can handle any more.”