Helping my best friend and her spawn comes with a price, though. I’m leaving Dad to run the company by himself. What if he has another heart attack because he can’t take a chill pill and he loses track of time easily?
“You say that now, but—”
“Let’s compromise,” he says. “You run your weekly meeting with all the branch managers. We do our weekly call every Friday.”
I sigh. “Fine. Please, just promise me that you won’t overdo it. The last thing we need is another visit to the hospital.”
“I’ll be watching him, Liv,” Dan says. “Why don’t you relax too? After this, we’re all taking a long vacation.”
“Maybe,” I say vaguely.
“What are your plans for today?”
The doorbell rings. “Holly is here. We’re having lunch, and she’s going to walk me through a day in the life of an event planner. I’ll call you tonight.”
“You’re here!” Holly says as I open the door.
“I am.” I hug her. “Look at you, all beautiful and glowing.”
She smiles. “Wait until I start showing. Then, I’m going to look like a shiny snake who ate a mouse.”
I roll my eyes. “Exaggerating much?”
“I’m serious. Everyone says that their boobs grow, their hips widen… I’m still flat as a pancake.” She fondles herself.
“Should I leave you alone?” I point toward the staircase. “There’s a guest room if you want some privacy.”
She looks around the house. “This is pretty. Why did you choose a house instead of an apartment?”
“Unlike my apartment in Boston, there aren’t any places here with an upstairs terrace—unless I leased a penthouse. After discussing it with Dad, buying a house was the best choice. It’s an investment. I can set up a garden like the one I had in Boston, plus there’s a patio.”
“If I’m lucky, you’ll stay for a long time,” she says excitedly.
“Unlikely, but I’ll have a place in Colorado. When I come to visit you and the spawn, I won’t have to worry about hotels, Airbnbs, or sleeping in my car.”
“There’s always a couch in my house.” She gives me a tight smile and begins to nibble her thumb. She has that habit of biting her nails or the skin on the side when she’s nervous.
“What’s wrong?”
“Calvin is worried about his job security,” she says.
“Why? Is there something happening in the branch that he hasn’t reported?”
“No, but you’re here. Why would you need him?” She takes a deep breath after speaking too fast.
“I’m helping you, not him. I’ll be in and out of the branch just to check on everyone—not just him,” I explain to her. “Once you’re ready to go back to work, I’m taking some—”
“Let me guess.” She interrupts me. “Some time off to think about what you want to do with your life?”
I burst into laughter. “Dan said the same.”
The excuse about my father being sick is too old to use anymore. I guess after so many years, I learned to love the company. The people who work for me are no longer employees but family. Taking over the company wouldn’t be a hazard, but is it really what I’m meant to be doing?
I’ll always have that question if I don’t try something new.
“Who knows? I might enjoy planning parties,” I joke.
“Though I’d love to hear you’ll stay in Colorado, I know that’s not going to be the case. Once I come back from maternity leave, I suggest you take a few weeks off before heading back to work for your dad.”
“I’d rather not discuss that. Why don’t you train me for the job of a lifetime?” I clap, excited. “I get to tame bridezillas for the next six months.”
“Lesson number one, you have to be nice to them.” She glances around and whispers, “Even when you want to slam their heads against the wall.”
“Noted. Don’t kill any clients.” I pretend to type on my phone.
“Lesson number two, never sleep with the best man or the fiancé.”
“Well, now you’re just mean. What if he’s super hot?” I challenge her. “You’ll take away the opportunity of a lifetime just because you have rules.”
“That’s how I lost my partner,” she reminds me. “I can’t have you running away with some guy and leaving me stranded.”
“Fine. Just remember I sacrificed my happily ever after for your child. You’ll be indebted to me forever. You might have to give me your firstborn.” I wink at her.
She laughs. “I’m happy to hear that you’re still dramatic enough to entertain me. I’m so glad you came to Colorado.”
Me too, except I thought I’d be able to see someone else while I was here, but he stopped talking to me. It’s been two months since I stopped hearing from Eros. I have no idea if I offended him or if he just decided that our friendship wasn’t worth it. Next time serendipity brings him back into my life, he’s going to be carrying a baby and holding the hand of a beautiful woman—his wife.
My heart twitches slightly.
I ignore it.
We don’t care about him. He’s nobody to me.
Nobody.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Eros
“Fuck,” I groan as my phone blares “Girl on Fire.”
I cover my eyes with one arm and let it go to voicemail. It must be Nyx calling about some family issue, an appointment I might’ve forgotten, or just to nag me about my personal life. When we were children, she appointed herself as my personal life coach. Not that I needed one.
Do I fuck up sometimes? Yes. Just like everyone else in the world.
For some reason, she believes I can’t function without her ordering me around. Someone has to set the record straight and remind her that I’m the oldest of the Brassard siblings. Also, at almost thirty-six, I can buy my own clothes, put one foot in front of the other, and run a successful business.
She should worry about her three-year-old daughter and the little one that’s on the way. Not me.
I’m sure you think that someone should be you. I could set the record straight, but I can’t. While she’s pregnant, she gets a bit too emotional. Her husband will try to kick my ass. I like Nate well enough not to get into a fight with him.
After a couple of minutes, my phone rings again. This time it’s the tune “Confident.” That’s Persy’s ringtone. I’m going to change their ringtones to something more dreadful, like “The Imperial March,” or as some like to call it, Darth Vader’s theme song.
I scrub my face with both hands because it’s evident that my sisters have some kind of emergency. There’s a second option; they found me the perfect woman. It’s been their mission to find me a bride. I adore my sisters, but their meddling is out of control.
Do I feel alone?
Yes. Should I start thinking about settling? I’m working on it. It’s something I can do on my own. They don’t need to intervene.