Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Hey brother.” Brody clapped Dante on the back, which seemed to be the Crane family way. He shook her hand next. “Honesty. Long time no see.”
“Thanks for…letting me crash? Is that an appropriate thing to say in this scenario?”
Brody’s mustache twitched when he smiled. “This is a unique scenario.”
The last time she’d seen him, he’d dropped by Dante’s college apartment. If memory served, she’d been in full-on make-out mode and about to lose her shirt. Luckily, Dante had locked the front door.
Dante’s brother hadn’t changed much over the years, save barely visible crow’s feet around his eyes that seemed to be more from the sun than aging.
According to Dante, Brody had always been the adventurous one.
She didn’t remember that mustache back when she’d met him, but then again, it had been a few years.
An older man was sitting across the room, cell phone in hand and typing aggressively with one crooked finger. He stood from the chair. “Dottie is on the way! To meet my first great-grandbaby!”
His cheery tone made Honesty smile. At first she’d assumed the man was Dante’s father, but not now that he’d mentioned a great-grandchild.
“Ike,” he introduced himself, cupping one hand over hers. “You’re with the serious one?” He tipped his head in Dante’s direction. “We smoked cigars here when he stopped by once. He’s a tough nut to crack.” He winked. “Although you might have an easier time with him than I did.”
“This is Reagan’s grandfather,” Brody stepped in to say. “He used to live in this house.”
“He bought it from me fair and square, and then he met my granddaughter. Those two have a unique story you should hear sometime. You know she’s a handywoman. She can fix anything.”
“Even me,” Brody said with a grin.
“Especially you.” Ike let out a hearty laugh.
It was hard not to smile. Honesty sensed the ribbon of pride running through Ike at the mention of Reagan, and even Brody.
That reminded Honesty of her own parents.
She had been supported by them, and they had made sure she knew they were there for her.
As she looked around the room at Jaylyn, Brody, and Dante, she wondered if they’d had the same care and support from Octavius Crane.
If Dante had enrolled in college seeking stability, and then had left for LA to live with his mom in search of meaning, how much could Octavius have been there for any of them?
Brody laughed, which drew Dante’s attention. For a moment, his expression softened before shuttering again. It was like showing affection wasn’t the norm for him—like he’d chosen a more practiced, neutral reaction in emotional situations.
Maybe Octavius Crane being absent over the years had taught Dante to be careful. O was suspiciously absent now, which made her wonder if his children had become accustomed to leaning on each other instead of him.
She couldn’t imagine.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Brody offered her. “Dante, beer?”
“Water is fine,” Dante answered. “Honesty, have a glass of wine. I’m driving.”
“Do you have rosé, per chance?” she asked Brody.
“That we do.”
She followed him into the kitchen where he poured a glass of pink wine into a stemless glass.
She took a sip of the tart, fruity liquid and felt her shoulders instantly drop.
She’d been more nervous than she’d acknowledged during her meeting with Eli.
Having a glass of wine at lunch had been out of the question—who knew what she might have said once she’d relaxed into that glass.
“How is Reagan doing? And congratulations, by the way. Is this your first child?”
“First. Only.” He pulled a beer from the refrigerator and popped off the cap. “I was just coming here to write a book, you know? Didn’t plan on staying.”
“You’re an author?”
“You don’t read The New York Times, I take it.”
“Humble brag.”
“Not that humble,” he said with a smile.
“I write memoirs. First one hit. Next one is out in a month. Probably going to coincide with our wedding. Think she’ll agree to go on the road with me for the book tour?
Marry on the road, show our daughter the sights?
” He might have been pretending to joke, but Honesty watched his eyes light up as he spoke about traveling with them.
“You never know,” she said.
“It’s funny that I met you before I was…me. I mean, this version of me.” He observed her silently for a moment. She wondered if he was thinking about an idea for a third book.
“I wasn’t this version of me, either. I was speaking with Eli and Isa Crane about my nonprofit. I’ll be partnering with Refurbs for Vets to bring nutrition training to veterans. That definitely wasn’t my plan when I was at Northwestern.”
“Eli is a good guy to bet on.”
“So is Dante,” she couldn’t help saying. Without him there’d be no grant, no introduction—nothing. She owed him a lot and he’d been in town less than a week.
“Yeah. He’s a good guy to bet on. In business,” Brody tacked on.
She didn’t think he’d meant it as a dig, but she noted the distinction. The Crane men were fluent in the language of loyalty, but a bit stunted when it came to trust.
“No wedding date yet?” she asked.
“Well—”
“Just what I popped in here to talk about!” Jaylyn leaned past the doorway of the kitchen, her long, dark hair trailing over one shoulder. “Honesty, would you and your rosé join me for a moment? Reagan wants to talk to you.”
“Me?” That was surprising.
“You are the nutrition expert who talked our cousin Eli into partnering with you, yes?”
“That was mostly Dante, but yes.”
“Then it’s definitely you she requested.
” Jaylyn tugged her out of the kitchen and marched her through the living room and down the narrow hallway.
They stopped at the last door on the left.
Jaylyn cracked the door but didn’t open it all the way.
“She does actually have a food question. But she also wants to meet the woman who stole Dante’s heart years ago. I don’t think she believes it’s true.”
“J, leave her alone,” Reagan whisper-shouted from the room. Through the narrow crack, she waved them in. “Come in here you two.”
Jaylyn pushed the door open the rest of the way. Reagan was propped up in bed, surrounded by blankets. In her arms was a sleeping, grunting, cooing newborn.
Honesty was frozen in the center of the room, her eyes flashing back and forth from the older woman in scrubs to the bedding. She’d never been around anyone who had just given birth. Let alone in their home.
“I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be outside,” the woman wearing scrubs said.
“Thank you.” Reagan smiled at Honesty. “My doula.”
“How are you feeling?” Honesty asked.
“Like what I expected to be a traumatic experience was actually a spiritual one that produced a miniature human.” She smiled down at her sleeping daughter with so much love, Honesty could feel it from across the room. “I can’t fully wrap my mind around her being real.”
“She’s amazing.” Honesty shook her head in awe.
“Isn’t she?” Jaylyn plopped down on the bed and gently touched her niece’s tiny toes.
Reagan looked up from her daughter. “I know this is weird, so thank you in advance for letting Jaylyn drag you back here. I have a legitimate reason for wanting to see you.”
She shifted the baby in her arms, and the infant grunted, one fist opening to five fingers and then closing again. All the while her eyes stayed closed.
“What’s her name?” Honesty asked.
“Sloane Elizabeth. Named after my grandma Betty.” Reagan smiled.
“It’s a beautiful name. For a beautiful baby.
” Honesty felt a palpable tug toward Reagan’s bundle of joy she didn’t quite understand.
She’d never been a “baby person.” She preferred the company of adults.
If she had a biological clock, no one had made her aware of it.
She considered herself a nurturer more than maternal. Maybe she was both?
“Careful, Honesty. Baby-itis is in the air. It’s highly contagious.” Jaylyn waggled her eyebrows.
“Don’t scare her, J.” Reagan tsked.
Honesty’s cheeks grew warm. “The last thing I need is a baby. I want to have a husband first.”
“Or second,” Reagan joked. “That’s sort of the reason I wanted to talk to you.”
“About having a husband?” Honesty squeaked.
Reagan and Jaylyn both burst out laughing.
Reagan pulled herself together first. “No. We’re not matchmaking. But I am getting married and my husband-to-be and I would be happy eloping.”
“On his book tour,” Honesty finished. “He mentioned it.”
“There’s no way that’s happening. But it’s not up to me.” Reagan lowered her voice to say, “It’s these Cranes. They want hoopla.”
“I love hoopla!” Jaylyn said.
“That’s because you have moola,” Reagan told her. “And those with moola can have all the hoopla they want.”
“You’re about to be one of us, so you’d better get used to hoopla and moola.” Jaylyn grinned, pleased with herself.
“Anyway,” Reagan continued, “Jaylyn and I have a cake tasting with one of the premier bakeries in Chicago tomorrow. We were lucky to snag the date.”
“I am very persuasive,” Jaylyn said. Of this, Honesty had no doubt.
“Since this little one came earlier than expected”—Reagan rocked Sloane in her arms—“I will not be in any shape to taste cake tomorrow. I would hate to cancel.”
“I wouldn’t let you cancel. The issue is,” J explained to Honesty, “I don’t trust myself to make the final decision for their wedding cake. Which I conveyed to Reagan. And Brody is no help.”
“Brody would probably pick the first one he tasted,” Reagan said with a laugh. To Honesty, she said, “When I heard that Dante was bringing a nutrition specialist to my house, it seemed like a sign.”
“It is,” Jaylyn conferred. “I pulled a tarot card that was an unmistakable yes.”
Honesty admired how Jaylyn owned the mystical side of herself.
“We just need one more palate along for the ride,” Jaylyn said.
“I’m no chef,” Honesty said. When Reagan’s face fell, she amended, “But I love to cook. And eat.”
Reagan brightened. “Then you are hired. Seriously. Write an invoice. I will pay it.” Her smile was tired, but oozed gratitude.
“I couldn’t let you pay me. Gourmet cake will be reimbursement enough.”
“A healthy donation to your charity, then?” Reagan offered.
“And whatever donation she makes, Brody will triple,” Jaylyn said.
“Quadruple,” Reagan corrected.
Honesty laughed softly. “Word travels fast through these Crane men.”
“Oh, that was Chloe,” Reagan said.
“Zander’s girlfriend. How are they not married yet?” Jaylyn rolled her eyes. “She would have gone with me, but she has plans with him. He keeps her to himself and rarely lets me have her.”
“Which is why we need you.” Reagan gestured to Honesty.
“You can be my new friend. Until Dante starts keeping you to himself. Then where will I be?” Jaylyn lifted her arms and dropped them again, bemoaning her own misfortune.
“I don’t think that will be an issue.” That comment drew two very interested looks from the women on the bed. They were hungry for more details, Honesty could tell. She shifted back to the topic at hand. “I can’t let you pay me, but I will accept donations. Thank you.”
“Okay, but I’m taking you to dinner afterwards,” Jaylyn said. Then she looked at Reagan. “Consider this part of your wedding present.”
“You don’t have to buy us a wedding present.” Reagan clucked her tongue.
“I’m buying you one, anyway.” Jaylyn folded her arms.
“You’re going to be the best sister-in-law ever.” Reagan blew an air kiss.
“I’m going to be your only sister-in-law.”
“That’s what makes you so special.”
Sloane made a grumpy sound that indicated something other than slumbering joy. Honesty and Jaylyn excused themselves so that Reagan could tend to her.
“I am so happy you’re coming with me. And dinner will be fun. You don’t have plans with my brother, do you?” Jaylyn frowned.
“Dante and I have not made plans for tomorrow.”
“Perfect.” Jaylyn looped her arm in Honesty’s and walked her into the living room where more people had materialized.
Now the pull inside of Honesty wasn’t so much about a baby as it was the Crane family as a whole. They were nice. In an overstepping sort of way.
As Ike introduced Dottie as “my girlfriend,” Honesty found herself thinking that maybe she would keep in touch with Reagan and Jaylyn in the future.
Was that a bad idea?
Just how close would Dante want her to remain to his family after he returned to LA? Would they still be friends? Or would the end of their affair leave them further apart than before?
Dante, who was talking to Brody, met eyes with her across the room. His neutral expression revealed nothing.