Chapter 5 #2
Lucy laughs. “You’re just noticing that now?”
“Hey, I was minding my own business until yesterday,” I say. “Now I’m apparently involved, too.”
“How?” she asks.
“We have a client,” I say. “She’s got me doing team bonding sessions with her girls.”
Lucy’s brows lift. “Really?”
“Yep. Really.” I echo. “But the thing is, her brother is Ty.”
“McCade?” Lucy stops in her tracks. “Ty McCade’s sister has you working with her team?”
Not where I was leading, but we’ll work with it. “Yeah, she does.”
“She’s a legend, you know that, right?” Lucy shakes her head. “My family always pointed to theirs, saying to watch the McCade kids, they’re the ones who are always on fire on the ice.”
And somehow, with the conversation on Ty, I fall into an easy spiral in my mind.
Thinking of the way he stood there in my shop: completely calm while everything was very much not calm, his hand flexing, causing a ripple effect up his arm.
I wonder if he knows how insane and gorgeous his biceps are, because I do.
I shake the thought off almost immediately.
“Anyway,” I say, nodding at the door in front of us. “Should we go in?”
Lucy pushes the door open, and the first thing that hits is the music. It’s warm, low, something with a steady rhythm that welcomes anyone entering into the space like an old friend.
I step inside and pause for a second, taking it in. It’s cool. Not in the overdone, trying-too-hard way. More of an effortless vibe.
In the first room, the one you walk into, records line one wall in neat rows, sleeves facing out like artwork.
Across from it, bookshelves stretch up toward the ceiling, a mix of worn spines and newer titles, layered in a way that feels curated without being precious about it.
They wind into a second space, filled with more shelves and stacked with even more books.
And tucked into the corner of that room is a small coffee bar, all warm wood and dim lighting, the smell of espresso weaving through everything else.
It’s the kind of place you wander into for a minute and somehow lose an hour. Maybe even two.
“Okay,” I say under my breath, glancing around again. “This is very cool.”
Lucy smiles beside me, like she knew exactly what my reaction would be. She cups her hands around her mouth slightly and calls out, “Eva!”
There’s a beat, and then she appears from behind one of the shelves, stepping into view like she’s been part of the place all along.
Eva is all smiles. This is the kind of woman who walks down the street and has no idea the wake she leaves behind her.
A little rock-and-roll, a little ethereal, but all love and light.
Her honey-blonde mane is flowing loose and a little wild, her outfit the kind of thrown-together that somehow looks intentional, and there’s an energy about her that fills the space without trying.
One look at her and I immediately understand the term “Bohemian goddess” because this woman is the epitome.
Where I tend to lean polished, pulled together, she’s the opposite in the best way—easy, open, like she’s in on something the rest of us are just catching up to.
“Hey, Lucy,” she says, her voice warm as she walks straight toward us.
Lucy laughs, already moving in to hug her. “I told you we were coming.”
“I’m so glad we’re doing this,” Eva says, pulling back, her chestnut brown eyes already zeroing in on me with a quick, curious sweep. “And you must be Vivian.”
“I am. This is for you.” I hand her the bottle of wine I’ve been clutching.
Eva grins, taking it from me. “Love this one. Thank you.”
“Nice to finally meet you.”
“Same,” she says, her gaze flicking between us, amused. “I feel like I already know you. Lucy talks about you all the time.”
“Because I adore her,” Lucy laughs as she tosses her bag onto a chair. “Oh, Juliette was going to swing by, but she texted a little bit ago saying rain check. Something about swimming lessons with her son.”
“Then I’ll just have to arrange for another champagne toast on a different night when she can make it.” Eva winks and then disappears behind a curtain, only to appear a moment later with a bottle of bubbles in one hand and three stemmed flutes in the other. “Champers, anyone?”
“Always,” Lucy says, already reaching for a glass.
Eva pours with an easy flick of her wrist, handing one glass to Lucy before turning to me.
“For the inaugural happy hour,” she says, offering it over with a small, knowing smile.
I take it, the gesture simple but intentional enough to light up something in me.
Like I’ve been folded into something that already exists.
The three of us drift into place—Lucy claiming her spot on an old leather couch in the corner, Eva leaning back against the counter, and me resting on the other side of the counter from Eva.
I take a small sip, buying myself a second I probably won’t get to keep.
“Okay,” Lucy says, turning toward me immediately. “So, I’ve joined a new lunch-only dating app as of Monday and I still don’t have any hits.”
Eva, who was mid-sip, spits out her champagne. “What?”
“I know. Talk about feeling low. Like not even lunch, guys? Come on.” She turns and looks at me. “Rapid fire. How was your week?”
Lucy is the kind of woman who takes over. I usually can get on board, but I am not prepared right now. “My week? What?”
“Your week,” she says. “Come on, decompress with me and make me feel better.”
Eva’s mouth curves as she watches us, clearly entertained. “Oh, I’m really starting to like girls’ night already.”
“My week was not that interesting,” I say.
“That’s never true when someone says it like that,” Eva replies.
Lucy points at me. “Exactly. Start talking.”
I exhale, already knowing I’m not getting out of this. “Well, I had a bride come in for her wedding band fitting.”
“Cute,” Eva says.
“Very normal,” Lucy adds. “So far. Is the bride someone we’d know?”
“It was Emma, actually, and yes it was quite normal,” I agree. “Until her brother tried on the ring.”
Lucy pauses mid-sip. “Ty did what?”
“Tried it on,” I repeat. “And then it got stuck.”
Eva’s eyes widen. “No.”
Lucy is already laughing. “Oh my…”
“I had to cut it off,” I add.
“That is incredible,” Eva says, clearly delighted.
“It was not incredible,” I say. “It was stressful.”
“I would keep laughing, but you look so irritated.” Lucy wipes under her eye. “It’s like you thought he was cute or something.”
I hesitate. That’s my first mistake.
“Hold up.” Eva’s brows lift. “Oh, you did think he was cute…didn’t you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to,” Lucy says. “You paused.”
I take another sip of champagne. “He was…fine.”
“Mm-hmm,” Eva hums. “And?”
“And nothing,” I say. “I fixed the problem. That’s it.”
“I know you too well, Vivian Sullivan.” Lucy studies me for a second, then leans in slightly. “You’re leaving something out.”
“I’m not. Really.”
“You are,” she says. “I can tell.”
Eva crosses her arms, smiling. “Come on, Vivian. I’m invested now.”
I exhale, already regretting opening my mouth at all. “There was a moment.”
Lucy narrows her eyes. “What kind of moment?”
The kind I shouldn’t have had. The kind I definitely shouldn’t say out loud.
I swirl my glass instead. “I was having coffee the other day, got myself into a situation. So I—”
I stop.
Lucy leans forward. “You what?”
Eva tilts her head. “Yeah…you what?”
I look at both of them. There’s no good way to finish this.
“I kissed him,” I say.
There’s some silence before Lucy makes a noise. A cross between a grunt and a snort. “You did not.”
“Oh, that look on her face.” Eva’s eyes light up. “You absolutely did.”
“It was not like that,” I say quickly. “It was a one-time thing. A needed distraction. That’s it.”
Lucy stares at me like I’ve just casually told her I adopted a pet tiger. “You kissed Ty.”
I gulp and nod. “Yep.”
“And then he walks into your studio, and gets his sister’s wedding ring—”
“—his sister’s husband-to-be’s,” I correct.
“Semantics. Either way, a ring got stuck on his hand.”
“Yes.”
Eva, whose head has been snapping left to right like she’s at a tennis match, presses her lips together, clearly trying not to smile. “And you’re going to be seeing him again, aren’t you?”
“Funny story,” I begin, taking a moment to pause for a desired effect. “I will be. Every Saturday for the next six weeks.”
My turn to catch Lucy mid-sip. She nearly spits her drink out. “How?”
“He’s filling in and coaching her girls youth team, and I’m contracted to do team bonding sessions with them starting this week.”
“For the next six weeks?” Eva repeats as if she’s trying to get the facts straight, which, same sister. Same.
“Yep,” I say, holding my flute in the air. “Cheers.”
“Are you teaching these girls to make out?” Lucy laughs. Next thing I know, Eva is as well. I need backup.
“It’s not like that,” I say again, but it sounds weaker this time.
“What is it like, then?” Eva asks, very calmly.
I open my mouth. Close it.
“I don’t know. I mean, it’s not ‘like’ anything,” I say, the words coming out in a tumble.
“He’s cute, yes, and his lips served a purpose.
But I’ve seen him around, and he comes across stand-offish and broody.
And he clearly doesn’t listen to directions, because I told him not to put that ring on and still, he did it. ”
Lucy tilts her head, studying me for a second.
“He’s not—” she starts, then stops herself. “He’s had a lot going on lately. Just…don’t write him off too fast, okay?”
Her words are light and her tone is casual, but like she knows me, I also know Lucy Snyder very well. And I know there’s more to what she’s saying than she’s letting on. Something she’s choosing not to say.
I narrow my eyes at her. “That sounded like insider information.”
“It sounded like I’m observant,” she shoots back easily, with a wink to boot. “And he’s, like, besties with my bro now, so I hear stuff.”
Eva glances between us, already clocking the shift. “Oh, I like this. Layers.”
“Really, this is all fun news.” Lucy leans back, shaking her head, already smiling. “I feel like I’ve been given the gift of the golden ticket to watch the Ty and Vivian show for the next month and a half.”
I take a sip of champagne, letting the bubbles sit on my tongue a second longer than necessary, like they might help me keep up with everything happening in real time. Because this is new for me, too.
Sitting here, talking about kisses like it’s not a big deal. Like I didn’t just step into something I don’t fully understand yet. Like I have people to sit with while I figure it out. A small smile pulls at my mouth before I can stop it.
I’d almost forgotten what this felt like. The lightness of it. The giddy, slightly ridiculous edge of “Oh…I liked that more than I expected to.”
Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to do it again. And with Ty, obviously. The thought settles in quietly. I can sit here and dance on the edge of possibility, and for the first time in ages, I’m pleasantly surprised.
I glance between them, Lucy already watching me like she knows exactly where my head just went, Eva smiling into her glass like she’s happy just to be included in whatever this is becoming.
For once, I don’t feel behind. If anything, I feel like I might be just getting started. With that, I take another sip, letting myself sit right here for a second longer.
And for the first time in a long time, I’m not bracing for the ending. I’m thinking about the next time I see him.