Epilogue
GRACE
Five and a half years later…
“How you feeling, mama?” Jo asked from across the table, sipping her punch.
I scrunched my nose. “Like I hope this baby doesn’t come before the Grammys next weekend.” Luca was nominated for his seventh award, and his record, To Be Continued , was up for album of the year.
It was the last weekend of January, and I was less than a month away from my due date. We hadn’t intended to push my baby shower out quite this far, but life had been more than a little chaotic for all of us. Liv and Jax had been on the road for their farewell tour, while Katie’s Kitchen had opened its second location in November with McKenzie James as owner. Then, of course, Sam and I had been all over the place. I’d been traveling with Luca and a few of my other clients, and Sam had been on the European leg of his own tour. When all of us ladies realized we had this one weekend collectively free, we pounced on it.
McKenzie had offered to host the event at her restaurant, and with Jo’s help, they’d decorated the place beautifully.
“I’ve got a good seamstress if you need an emergency alteration,” Liv said.
My mom returned to her seat, placing a plate of appetizers in front of me with a fresh glass of punch, as my little sister’s small hands massaged my shoulders.
I chuckled. “You guys are spoiling me.”
Another exciting thing that had happened over the past few months was my mom, Cash, and Betty had moved back to Nashville. Cash still made frequent trips to LA, but the second he and Mom found out they were going to be grandparents, they’d started packing and bought a place near our family home where Sam and I still lived and would raise Maeve.
My heart swelled as I thought about my daughter. It still seemed surreal that in a few short weeks, Sam and I would have a child of our own, and she would get to grow up with a whole extended family that already loved her beyond measure.
“So, Grandma .” McKenzie elbowed my mom. “How are you feeling about all this?”
My mom laughed. “I know you’re not talking to me. Because I will only be answering to Gigi.”
“That’s not what the sweatshirt I got you says.” McKenzie lifted her brows and crossed her arms. “In fact, I’m pretty sure it says ‘World’s Best Grandma’.”
“And that sweatshirt is buried in the bottom of my closet where it belongs,” Mom said with mock disapproval.
“You wore it yesterday,” Betty said with a giggle, and we all laughed.
Mom’s mouth fell open. “Betty!”
“I don’t even have kids, and I live like a grandma,” Katie joked. “ The Golden Girls marathons, knitting Christmas stockings, in bed by nine. It’s actually pretty great.”
“So, wait, how is everyone here connected?” my friend, Reah, asked. Reah was the assistant I’d hired six months earlier who’d be filling in for me while I was on maternity leave. We worked closely together and were around the same age, so we’d become fast friends.
“You guys are all related, right?” she continued, trying to connect the dots.
I nodded. “Not by blood, but we’re definitely a family.”
Reah smiled, tucking a dark curl behind her ear. “How did y’all meet?”
“It’s a long story,” I said, tracing circles over my round belly before my mom chimed in.
“It all started with a Midnight in Dallas meet and greet for this one’s birthday,” she said, touching my arm.
The next thing I knew, everyone was jumping in, picking up where the others left off, telling Reah the story of our family. As I listened, it hit me just how deeply intertwined we all were. It was crazy to think that this life wouldn’t exist, and none of us would be here if Liv, my mom, and I hadn’t gone to that one single event—one night that began the chain linking us all together.
I’d like to think we would’ve found each other, anyway—that these souls were always meant to become my home, my safe harbor. But I’m not sure. Perhaps it was part of some predestined plan or maybe it was all just a coincidence. As I gazed around at the faces surrounding me, I knew we’d all ended up exactly where we were supposed to be. It didn’t matter where life took us or how busy we got because this…these people…would always be home.