“Your house is perfect,” she said through her tears.
“Yeah?” He slipped his hand in hers. “So you’ll move in?”
She nodded.
“What about Kyle?”
“Are you inviting him, too?” she asked.
“If it’s a dealbreaker, then yes. But we’ll need to do some soundproofing.”
She laughed and shook her head. “It’s not a deal-breaker, and I’m one hundred percent certain he wouldn’t want to anyway. He likes when I stay over at your place. He’s fine at home. Plus, he’ll be moving back to his own apartment soon, and he has Jackson to take care of him.”
“That he does.” He stood and offered her his hand. “Care to dance?”
She glanced around. “With no music?”
“Alexa, play “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra.”
The music came to life, and Joy let Troy lead her around the winter wonderland he’d created just for her. Love and hope and possibility filled her up, made her whole, and she knew deep down that he was the one. Troy was the love of her life, and no matter what happened in their careers or family life, they’d find a way to do it all together and most importantly, do it all while having fun. Her days of walking blindly through her life, waiting for it to get better, were over. She’d found her forever, and she wasn’t letting go.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Gigi Martin held a champagne flute in her hand and watched as her coven, her family as they called themselves, stood in a circle in the lounge of Premonition Pointe’s swankiest restaurant. They were laughing and talking and congratulating Grace Valentine on the sale of the gated mansion known as the Emsworth estate that was located ten miles south of town.
Grace, Hope, and Joy really were like the sisters she’d never had. When she’d moved to Premonition Pointe less than a year ago, the three witches whom she loved so much, had opened their hearts to her, pulled her into their fold, and had done so with no questions asked. And for that, she was grateful.
Her past wasn’t something she was fond of thinking or talking about. That’s what happened when you were married to a narcissistic asshat who didn’t think anything of manhandling his wife.
Gigi shuddered at the memories of her ex and then slammed the door on them.
“Gigi!” Hope called. “Get over here, we need you.”
“Coming.” She made her way over to her friends, Hope and Lucas, Joy and Troy, and Grace and Owen. They were all so beautiful, so happy. Sometimes it was overwhelming, and she started to think of herself as the seventh wheel. It wasn’t as if they ever left her out. They didn’t. It was just that occasional loneliness that crept up on her when she wasn’t paying attention. Not tonight, she told herself. Not tonight.
“Now that we’re all here,” Hope said, holding up her flute, “raise your glass to toast the brilliant real estate agent who closed the deal of the century.”
“To the brilliant real estate agent,” they all said in unison and then downed their champagne. It wasn’t long before the glasses were filled again and most of the party ended up sounding tipsy.
“Gigi,” Hope said, leaning into her. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while now.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” Gigi put her flute down and bent her head closer to Hope so she could hear her.
“How is it that you know that gorgeous lawyer, Sebastian Knight?” She slurred a little when she said Sebastian’s name.
Heat flooded Gigi’s insides when she pictured the tall man who was Carly Preston’s lawyer. It was weird to think of him as someone else’s anything when they’d been so close as teenagers. They’d been as close as two people could be without being lovers. Or they were right up until Gigi had been forced to leave town and everyone she loved behind her.
She sighed. That had been a long time ago.
“Gigi?” Hope frowned at her. “Is something wrong?”
“No. Not at all,” she said quickly. “I’m just a little tired. You know, long week.” Though, really, what did Gigi have to do that made her so tired anyway? She didn’t have a job. She didn’t need one. Instead, she made potions and lotions and herbs and sold them online just for something to do. Though she did find herself in her earth studio out back quite a bit lately. It really was the only place that seemed to settle her.
“You know what you should do?” Hope asked.
“What’s that?” She smiled at her friend, knowing that Hope wasn’t feeling much pain in that moment.
“You should let us set you up on a blind date.” She grinned triumphantly as if she’d just won something.
“And why would I do that when I can just stay home and cuddle my cat?” Gigi asked. “She’s a lot less work and won’t think I’m going to get horizontal just because there was dinner involved.”
“Um…” Hope’s gaze shifted to someone behind Gigi. She glanced at the time on her phone and then grimaced. “Oops. I was a little late on the delivery, Gigi. We already did it. We set you up on a blind date. Surprise.”
“What?” Gigi whipped around and then froze when she spotted none other than her old best friend, Sebastian Knight. His dark eyes were full of amusement, and that smile… It was the same one she’d grown up with, only his lips were fuller and a lot more kissable.
Kissable? Where had that come from? Sebastian Knight was not kissable. The man was from her past, and that’s where he was supposed to stay.
“Good evening, Gigi,” he said, finally getting her chosen name right. The last time they’d run into each other, he’d called her Clarity. The name her mother had given her. The name she’d always hated. But why then, when Sebastian said it, did it sound kind of nice? She shook her head, trying to dislodge the confusing thoughts in her brain.
“It’s not a good evening?” he asked.
She stared at him in confusion until his question sank in. “Yes, it is. Sorry, I was just taken by surprise. It’s a very good evening. A great one in fact. We’re celebrating Grace’s success at work.”
“Yes, I heard about that.” He glanced at Grace. “Congratulations. I bet you’re the envy of the office.”
“Even better than that,” she said with a laugh. “The other buyer was represented by my ex. So not only did I get the sale, but I get the pleasure of knowing I stole it out from underneath him.”
“Serves him right,” Hope said. “Cheating bastard.”
Grace patted Hope’s thigh. “You know it’s a true friendship when your girlfriends are even holding grudges.”
Everyone laughed and the party resumed, leaving Gigi to deal with her blind date.
“Well, if I promise not to try to get you horizontal, do you think we might give it a try?” Sebastian asked, that glint of humor still shining down at her.
“Give what a try?” she asked like a complete idiot.
“The blind date?”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” She waved at the chair across from her at the table, but he took the one on the other side of her where it was quieter.