“I was so wrong about him. The way he looked at you all night.” She fakes a shiver.
“It’s fine. It was good to get back out there.” I am trying desperately to play off my night with hot Leo like it meant nothing more than a hookup to get over my ex. I can’t handle another blow right now, so total delusion is my best option.
Besides, it isn’t the greatest time to get involved with someone. I need to focus on myself for a little while and figure out my crap. The breakup is still fresh, and my life is a mess. Hear those weak excuses? Yeah, I know. They’re true, but I have plenty of room in my schedule for mind-blowing sex with Leo. I will make room in my schedule for that.
“Can I change the subject?” she asks.
“Please.”
“I applied for a job with a bridal magazine,” Jade says, pulling my attention from the three shades of lipstick I’m deciding between.
“That’s great.” I turn from the chair in front of my vanity to look at her and smile.
“It’s a long shot. I have less experience than they’re looking for, but one of my classmates from college is an editor there, and she said she’d put in a good word.” She sits up, and I hold out the tubes of pink lipstick to get her opinion. She points to the one in my right hand, and I swivel back around to the mirror.
Jade is two years older, and unlike me, she went straight to college after high school, worked hard, and got a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She even used it for a short time, working with a local fishing magazine. Not long after, she quit and went back to the bartending job at Mike’s that she’d held through college because she said she makes more money and doesn’t have to write about nature. She is a girly girl through and through. The closest she wants to get to nature is a fancy-ass boat on a lake—her words.
“You really want to go back to a desk job? I thought you liked the hours at the bar.”
“I do, but I miss writing and researching, seeing my name on glossy pages. Though if I get this one, it’ll be mostly digital.”
I catch her in the mirror staring down at the old Cosmopolitan magazine and running a hand along the paper.
“You’ll get it. I can feel it. Good things are coming our way.” I kiss the air. “Now, how do I look?”
She gives me a once-over, and the corners of her mouth pull up into a smirk. “Like you’re heading off to eighth-grade graduation.”
“I wouldn’t have been caught dead in a dress with this much fabric in eighth grade,” I say as I smooth a hand down the skirt of my long dress. The cotton material falls to my ankles and has cute little tie straps at my shoulders. My mother has good taste. This dress is just a little more sophisticated and girly than I’d pick out for myself.
“Are you sure you can’t stay?” I plead. “My parents love you. You’ll be a good distraction.”
“Sorry, I have to get to the bar. I will check in later though.” She stands and places her hands on my shoulders. “You’ve got this. You’re a great photographer, and you’re following your dreams.”
I nod, soaking in some of that confidence. I have this.
I walk Jade upstairs and outside. Dad is in the garage working on his golf swing. He has a whole setup with a course simulation screen Mom got him for Christmas last year. The driver makes a loud thwack, and Dad curses under his breath as the ball goes left.
He looks up as we approach, and his scowl turns into a smile. “Hey, baby girl. Hi, Jade.”
“Hey, Coach Miller.” Jade has always called him this, even though he’s never been her coach, but I think my dad loves it. Both of my parents adore Jade. She’s polite, respectful, and responsible. She’s also impulsive and fun, but never at the detriment to her career or reputation. I don’t know how she does it.
“How’s the team looking?” Jade asks him.
“Good. We have a lot of young, talented guys.”
“Maybe I’ll actually watch a game or two this year,” she says with a sly smile. Neither of us is into sports, much to Dad’s disappointment. Cadence was the sporty daughter.
Dad grins back at her with an amused expression as Jade heads to her car.
I sit on a stool at his workbench on the side of the garage. “Lots of new talent, huh?”
“Mhmm.” He walks over with the golf club and takes a drink of water, then gives the end of one braid a little tug. “You look nice.”
“Thanks. Mom picked this out for me.”
His dark brows raise. “Uh oh. Trying to please your mother. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is great.” I roll my eyes and pull away. “Cadence is coming.”
“I heard.” He rests the club on the ground and leans into it. “How are classes going?”
I struggle to form a response but am saved by Cadence’s car pulling into the driveway. “She’s here.”
I hop down and jog to greet her. She hurries out of the vehicle, and we meet in the middle, hugging fiercely.
“Scar,” she says. “Oh, I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” I squeeze her harder and then remember the baby. “Sorry.”
“I’m fine.” She looks me over. “You look so grown up.”
“Don’t worry,” I say quietly. “I’m still as much of a hot mess as ever.”
She links her arm through mine and keeps staring at me. We haven’t seen each other since I’ve been back. She lives three hours away and is a lawyer, which is, apparently, code for never gets weekends off.
Dad waits for us just outside of the garage.
“How’s the quest of becoming the next Tiger Woods coming along?” She steps forward and hugs him.
“I’m just out here because your mother threatened to withhold dinner if I didn’t stop working. Simon at work?” Dad asks, referring to my sister’s husband and my awesome brother-in-law. Simon is the best, but he’s even more of a workaholic than my sister.
“Always,” she answers. “If we didn’t work together, we might not ever see one another.”
The three of us laugh as we head inside. Dad is a total workaholic, just like Cadence, and Mom is always on the two of them to take more time for themselves. She was my biggest supporter when I wanted to study in London. She’s all about experiences and traveling. You’d think that would make her team drop out and follow your dreams, but she’s also a teacher, so education is sort of her whole life’s purpose.
“Ready for pre-season games?” my sister asks as she walks beside my dad.
“We’ll see. We still have a lot of work to do next week to prepare, but yeah, I’m ready to get back into it.”
“I heard you made Lohan an alternate captain. It’s about time. He’s one of the most underrated players in the league,” Cadence adds.
I fall in step behind them as we walk through the house to the kitchen. I couldn’t smell it earlier, but the aroma of homemade bread and spaghetti sauce assaults us as we step through the door and makes my mouth water. Mom made all of Cadence’s favorites tonight because family dinners are my mother’s love language.
“No hockey talk at the dinner table.” My mother comes around the big island in the kitchen to hug Cadence.