Chapter 35
Taylor
“It feels like forever.” Cameron’s gaze swept around the table. “Like I’m dreaming, and we’re not actually all here right now.”
“I mean, it’s brunch. Not like some holy event or whatever.” Frankie was already digging into her salad, not looking up.
Jaws dropped, daggers appeared in eyes, and there was even a clattering of cutlery somewhere to my left. I bit back my laughter and let Reid have it. She looked about ready to go, anyway.
“Keep this up and we’re moving you four to the kids’ table. Only Gracie gets to stay.”
Gracie looked up from her crayons, her chubby cheeks glowing rosy with the smile she gave at the sound of her name.
“I didn’t say anything,” Devon argued back, a look of pained shock on her face as she bopped Gracie onto her lap. “Why am I being lumped in at the kids’ table?”
Frankie snorted laughter, and soon we were all ragging each other and laughing at our own jokes. It was lame, but it was home. I drank in the sight and sounds of my family around me, wondering how the hell I’d lasted so long without them.
The answer raised its head in the back of my mind: Wyatt, of course.
But being with her only staved off the worst of the pining.
The women around this table were necessary to me, a sort of life force, and it felt damn good to be back in our regular routine.
The only thing that kept it from being the perfect comeback brunch was Wyatt not being there to enjoy it with me.
I wouldn’t have blamed her for not coming, given the venue and what happened the last time she was here.
But today there were other circumstances at play that I respected.
“Don’t worry about it, Frankie,” Mia chided. “I doubt they’ll be able to wrangle a table for us kids in this place. Look at it.”
She was referring to how packed the restaurant was, despite the time of day. Hayden’s face lit up with a smug smile and she leaned back in her chair, dusting imaginary specks off her shoulder.
“What can I say? I’ve got the touch,” she said. “We’ve been fully booked since opening night and the last time I checked, the first open table is in about seven months’ time.”
“Here, here. The best ventures are the ones that take off and stay that way. To many more rocket ships that make it to the moon.” I lifted my glass, and everyone followed suit, saluting the success of Hayden’s new restaurant.
The expression on her face shifted after the toast, and she narrowed her eyes at Mia. “But don’t get too cocky. I’m the owner. If I can free up one table for brunch, I can easily free up another for segregation purposes.”
“Me? Cocky?” Mia gave us her best innocent angel eyes. “I think you’re getting me mixed up with Alex.”
Alex’s head snapped up at the same time that Devon stifled her laughter behind her hand.
“I’m just sitting here minding my own business,” Alex said, shaking her head slowly. “How dare you come for me that way?”
“Seriously though. What’s gotten you so quiet?” I nudged her under the table with my knee. “You’ve barely said a word all morning.”
“Distracted.” she shrugged. “Sorry. We have a visit at the orphanage after this, and there are some issues I need to take up with the new building manager.”
“I told her that she should leave that to the board,” Devon said. “Her job ended with the construction, and the board has to deal with how it’s run.”
“It’s more than that.” Alex and I spoke at the same time.
I knew what it was like to make something out of nothing.
“I feel like every one of my resorts has a piece of me in them,” I went on. “It’s not that simple to just build a thing and forget about it.”
“Thank you,” Alex said, in a relieved tone. “She gets it.”
“I get it too,” Devon replied, keeping her cool despite Alex’s agitation. “But I also get that you could do with less work pressure and that will only come from you being more assertive about what you take on, and what you delegate to others.”
She was right, and Alex knew it. It was written all over my friend’s face. But she’d roll over dead before giving in that easily.
“How’s that kids’ table coming?” she asked Hayden, and we all burst out laughing again.
Once we’d simmered down, Reid—who I’d caught staring contemplatively at me a few times—leaned forward, chin resting on her open palm.
“So, is Wyatt going to surprise us, or is she really not coming?” she asked.
I was surprised they’d made it this far before getting to the burning question.
“She wanted to be here,” I replied with a smile. “But she had something to take care of this morning.”
“Not avoiding us, is she?” Reid asked without missing a beat.
“Is it about what happened the night of the opening?” Cameron’s voice was weighed down with concern.
Devon shook her head, jumping in for that one. “I saw her after. She was rattled, but she’s been doing okay.”
“So then she is avoiding us,” Reid said with an air of playful incredulity.
“Would you blame her?” I quirked a brow at her, smirking. “You’re all in a mood today.”
“Just happy to have you back and be back to our usual routine,” Cameron offered gently.
“Seriously, though.” Reid wasn’t going to go that quietly. “Are you and Wyatt… I mean… I’ve never seen you this happy with anyone before. Is she-?”
“She’s good,” I cut her short. “And she’s good for me, seriously, to answer your question.”
I wanted to tell them just how serious things felt with Wyatt.
How she’d felt like who I’d been searching for my whole life very soon after meeting her.
How I was pretty sure the reason I hadn’t had luck in love all those years was because the universe knew Wyatt was out there, waiting for me to fall down that hill in a snowstorm.
But I didn’t.
I’d been thinking about Wyatt and our future a lot since getting back to the city, and I got emotional every time. I wasn’t about to tear up in a packed restaurant over brunch tapas.
“Well, I like her.” Alex seemed relieved to have the attention off her for a bit. “And I can see that you’re right—she’s good for you. You’ve been different since getting back.”
That was news to me, but the others seemed to agree, nodding along. Even Elliot, who’d been mostly quiet the whole time.
“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling myself getting defensive already. I was always preaching about not letting a woman change the person you fundamentally are, so I hated being called out on it.
“She means you’re not walking around with a perpetual sense of loss about you,” Hayden answered. “Less unsettled, calmer behind the eyes…”
Her own eyes shone with soft affection as she looked at me, a tender smile playing on her lips.
A different kind of warmth bloomed in my chest, slowly taking over the rest of me.
There was no reason for me to be worried about losing myself, not with this gang around.
As much as they’d keep me in line, they’d be the first to tell me if I was doing something right.
It felt good getting that affirmation from them.
“Calmer behind the eyes,” Reid echoed, a mischievous glint in her eye. “I hear that’s the leading side effect of over-indulgence between the sheets.”
I choked on the sip of sparkling wine I’d just taken, coughing and sputtering my way to normalcy. My friend sure had a special knack for pushing buttons at the worst possible times. The others started laughing again, and I felt my face grow hot under their cheeky scrutiny.
“Nothing like a hot-blooded mountain woman to keep you young.” Alex caught Devon’s challenging glare and quickly backtracked, holding up both her hands. “Is what I’m assuming, of course. Not that I think about mountain women. Or any other woman, for that matter. I was just-”
“Would you like a shovel?” Cameron broke in with a devilish grin. “It’ll help you dig that grave much faster.”
Alex rolled her eyes and waved her off before she turned back to Devon with an emphasized, angelic smile.
“I love you.” She leaned into Devon for a kiss.
“I love you too, Momma.” Gracie placed her pudgy little hands on Alex’s cheeks and slopped a fat, wet, spaghetti bolognese kiss right on her lips. She was painfully cute, thinking the sentiment was intended for her and responding in kind.
Everyone at the table melted in a puddle of mushy ‘awwwwwwws’ while Alex licked the residual food from her lips, trying not to cringe.
“She’s lucky the love of a mother knows no bounds,” Alex mumbled, sipping her wine to get rid of the taste.
Devon nudged her with her elbow. “You’re lucky she isn’t fazed by your moodiness, unlike others of us who really wish you’d work less so you can sleep better. From a place of love, of course.”
“Others? Plural?” Alex looked at the rest of the table for confirmation.
“Well, you can be a grouch when you’re overworked,” Mia said with a half-shrug. Then, off Alex’s glare, added, “But what do I know? I’ll see myself to that kids’ table now.”
I snorted laughter. “My God, I’ve missed you guys. You have no idea.”
“Same.” Reid reached out to take my hand across the table. “And I’m happy you’ve finally found the one. Someone to love.”
My eyes misted over despite myself. “It’s better than that… She loves me.”