“She what?” I burst.
“That’s what she said. If she can’t work it out with you, she’s just going to leave.”
I shake my head, trying to lift the fog. She’s leaving? She can’t leave. She can’t leave me.
“Let me ask you a question,” I say.
“Yeah, sure. Shoot.”
“Why do you want to hire me?”
“You’re smart. You’re fearless. I know you’re dependable and a hard worker because I might’ve checked some references. You’re loyal.” He takes a deep breath. “I was there last night, Dominic.”
“What?” I must’ve misheard him. “What did you say? You were where last night?”
“Graham and I slipped in the back and watched the fight. We knew Cam was going.”
“How did you know?”
“Because that’s what we do. She’s a Landry. If she loves you, she’ll stand behind you one hundred percent. So when we found out you were fighting, there was no doubt she’d go. And we wanted to see what you were made of, to be honest. You’re impressive. Very, very impressive.”
“You saw what happened?”
“Of course I did. I couldn’t imagine being you in there and having Ellie up in the stands like that. I would’ve died.”
“I feel like I did,” I wince, getting situated again.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I almost died,” I chuckle, which causes a stabbing sensation to rip through me.
“Get some rest. Think about my offer. Call me when and if you’re ready.”
“I will. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Camilla
“THAT WAS AMAZING, VIVIAN,” ELLIE says, rubbing her stomach. “It’s safe to say the baby likes your roasted chicken.”
“I’m not pregnant and my stomach likes it too,” Danielle laughs, giving Ryan a bottle.
“You could be pregnant. Wanna try again?” Lincoln says, wiggling his eyebrows. “We could go for twins this time.”
“You can’t go for twins,” Sienna points out. “And didn’t you tell us you were only having one baby after you almost passed out in the delivery room?”
“I did,” Lincoln admits, “but it’s been awhile. I forgot about how much it hurts.”
“Again,” Danielle says as we all laugh, “I had the baby. Not you.”
We’re draped around the family room of the Farm. There are so many of us now that Mom had new furniture brought in to hold us all. Even still, Mallory, Huxley, and Graham are sitting at the bar in the kitchen.
Everyone is telling stories, making plans, having a good time like we always do together. I sit next to Sienna on a love seat. She’s laughing at something Barrett said, something I missed.
She elbows me in the side. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Heard from Dom today?”
I shake my head, my spirits plummeting even more if it’s possible. With each hour that passes that he doesn’t call or text me, I feel him drifting away. Joy suggested I just show up at his house, but I’m scared. I don’t think I could take the rejection face-to-face, not without the adrenaline of fight night. She’s kept me posted on Dom’s recovery and that he’s looking better and getting around better. He’ll go to work tomorrow, and I worry how he’ll handle that.
I miss him. Lord, I miss him.
Each morning, I look for his good morning texts. I wait for the mid-afternoon selfie of him at work. At night, I wait for him to check in to see if I made it home or to roll over and see him next to me.
I miss the safety of his arms, the security of his smile. The feeling of having someone to take care of and knowing someone wants to take care of me.
Looking away from my sister, I dab at my eyes. They’re still swollen, but no one has asked. I think they know. Dad gave me a pained glance and a longer hug than usual, but that’s the only difference from normal.
“Do you remember?” Sienna asks me.
“Remember what?”
“That yoga position we saw in the magazine. Where it was like an adult version of airplane?”
My spirits lift, the fog thinning just a bit as the excitement of our plan kicks in. “Yeah. Did you see that, Mallory?”
“I have no idea what you guys are talking about,” she says.
“Come here.” Sienna takes my hand and clears Ford from the middle of the floor. She lays on her back and holds her legs up in the air. I put my hands in hers and her feet go to my belly. She winks. “Ready?”
“Yup.”
She extends her legs and I hop a little, but instead of balancing at the top, I fall over her head and somersault away. “You’re not strong enough, Sienna.”
“I am too. Try it again.”
“You two are ridiculous,” Ford laughs. “Want to try it, Lincoln?”
“Fuck you,” Lincoln says. “You’d drop me on purpose.”
“Language, Lincoln,” Mom warns, leaning her head on Dad’s shoulder.
Sienna gets back in position and I jump, but fall intentionally again. “You’re too weak. Come here, Mal.”
Mallory gets up and joins us on the floor.
“You need to figure this out,” I insist. “They said in the magazine it’s one of the best moves for mental clarity.”
“And soul happiness or something,” Sienna adds, ad-libbing her way through this and earning a glare from me.
“Anyway,” I say, trying to stay on target, “can you envision what we mean?”
“Kind of.”
“Ugh,” I say, trying to hide my smile. “G, get down here. I don’t think I’m strong enough either.”
“I’m not playing yoga games.”
“Oh, but you are,” I tell him, knowing he’ll come. “Mal’s been bragging about you.”
“You are getting so good,” Mallory tells him. She looks surprised when he stands up and takes off his jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair.
“Is G turning into a yogi?” Lincoln teases. “I’ll buy you a mat for Christmas.”
“Stop it,” Dani shushes him. As a response, he takes Ryan from her.
“Lie down,” Sienna tells Graham, pointing to the floor.
Graham lies on his back. “Now what?”
“Put your feet on Mal’s stomach,” I say, moving Mallory so she’s in the right spot. “Now hold hands.”
Graham pushes up and Mallory is horizontal in the air above Graham.
“I haven’t done this since I was a kid,” she exclaims. “I didn’t think about this as yoga.”
The rest of us exchange grins and wait. Graham works one hand free from Mallory’s and slips it in his pocket. Mallory is telling a story about yoga class and isn’t prepared to look down and see a diamond ring nestled in a pretty blue box.
“Oh my God,” she says, forgetting about her story. Her free hand flies to her mouth. She twists on Graham’s feet, but he holds her still. “Graham. What the hell?”
“You’ve come into my life and messed it all up. I mean that,” he says softly, making us laugh. “I can’t find a thing in my kitchen and my calendar is a mess of pink and yellow highlighters. You make me go out of my mind.”