At first, I stare at her blankly, and then I blurt, “You’re nuts.”
“I know.” She grins wider. “Cade says it’s one of my best qualities. Well”—her head tilts in consideration—“and my tits.”
I can’t help it. All my tension bubbles over and I laugh.
“There we go. That’s what we like to hear, isn’t it, Emma?”
The little girl with a mop of dark hair claps her hands with excitement and it’s impossible not to smile.
“She’s adorable.”
“Yeah, thanks. I agree.” The expression on Willa’s face as she stares at her baby is pure wonder. Pure love. It pinches a spot in my chest.
The line moves, and so does Willa, arm still linked with mine as we step forward. “So, did Beau manage to fix your stuffed horse?”
I flush, thinking about the sweet gift he gave me last night. Or regifted? Upcycled? I don’t know what to call it. But he sewed it meticulously. When I crawled back into bed with Peaches, I squeezed her to my chest and took a huge inhale. She didn’t smell musty or like the garbage she no doubt spent some time next to in that black bag.
She smelled like Beau’s citronella soap. I’m almost positive he washed and dried her after restuffing and mending her.
She smelled like home.
I clear my throat, realizing I checked out for a minute. “Yeah, he did. She’s pretty much good as new. Just a cool badass scar and a wild story to tell.”
The smile that touches Willa’s lips now is soft, not the maniacal grin from before.
“Kinda like Beau.”
“I mean, he speaks in these superior dirty looks that he’s been giving me since we were kids. But then he turns around and does nice things for me. Like bringing Skylar Stone to perform at our wedding?”
Willa walked me all the way to the till, chatting my ear off, even though Summer and Sloane were already waiting at a table for her. I ordered my coffee, and she ordered me a mimosa. Now I’m sitting at a table by the window double fisting with them all on a Friday morning.
Life is a wild ride.
“Ford is so extra.” Summer laughs.
“Wait, so he’s not … insane like you?” Sloane smirks from behind her champagne glass, still dressed in a tank and tight shorts from dancing this morning.
“I resent that,” Willa volleys dryly.
I’m having some sort of out-of-body experience. It feels like I got invited to hang out with the cool kids at school. And now they’re sitting here, talking about personal stuff, razzing each other, like there’s nothing weird about me being here at all.
“But it’s true.” Willa sips her mimosa. “We are opposites. I think my mom’s body saved all the personality for me and gave all the nerdy, overachiever drive to Ford. He probably ran numbers and created business plans in the womb. If he ever meets someone, she’s going to have to speak bitch. Because he can be a real bitch. Sometimes I miss working for him. Driving him nuts was the best.”
That gets a round of chuckles from the table.
“But he is a good guy,” Summer says. “I think you’re giving them the wrong impression. You two have the whole sibling thing going on. And I know you go out of your way to annoy him.”
Willa just shrugs, a mischievous glint in her eye.
Summer turns to Sloane and me now. “You’ll meet him at the wedding and realize Willa is exaggerating.”
The way they talk about me is just … like it’s a given I’ll be there. These women don’t make me feel like they’re doing me some huge favor by having me along. They act like it’s perfectly normal to include me, and I let myself sink into that.
After all that’s transpired today, it’s nice to be wanted.
“Another round?” Willa glances around at us, already nodding her head.
“Another?” Sloane doesn’t sound quite so sure. Her mimosa appears to be completely untouched. “It’s a Friday morning. Just get me an orange juice.”
“It’s boozy brunch, Sloane. It’s tradition. Put your big girl tutu on and chug that. You got somewhere to be? Or are you wussing out because your new bestie Winter is busy with her new boy toy?”
A pout forms on Sloane’s lips. “No, Jasper is at training camp in Rose Hill and so I’m pretty much just dancing to pass the time.”
“Perfect!” Willa slaps her leg, plops her baby into Summer’s lap, and says, “I always dance better when I’m drunk.” She stands and waltzes toward the counter without a care in the world.
There’s something inspiring about Willa.
“I want to be her when I grow up.” I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but the words slip out in a moment of wonder.
“I think we all do,” Sloane says softly, nodding.
“Speaking of when we grow up,” Summer ventures in, “what are your plans? You don’t strike me as a lifer at the bar, Bailey.”
“Ha!” The champagne has me feeling loose and a laugh bursts from me loud enough that people turn to stare. I’ve mostly stopped caring about judgmental eyes on me. But Summer has always been kind to me, so I know she means well with the question. She’s probably looking out for Beau. “How could you tell?”
She smiles at me but offers nothing. She’s always treated me normally, the way any stranger who doesn’t know a person would treat someone new. But now she’s been in Chestnut Springs long enough to know the stories about my family, and she still hasn’t changed her tune.
Maybe I want to be Summer when I grow up.
“Yeah, my ultimate plan is to get outta here and go to school in the city. Probably kinesiology and then chiropractic school.”
“Oh my god, I would love to be related to a chiropractor.” Sloane moans the words. “I could ask you to fix my back any time I want.”
Summer’s chocolate eyes stay on mine. “You’d be great at that.”
“Thanks.” I smile and lift my mimosa.
“How does Beau feel about you moving to the city?”
I freeze as it hits me how thoroughly I’ve stepped in it. Why the hell would two newly engaged people be planning to part ways so soon? Or does she think Beau is planning to move with me and hasn’t told his family?
I cover by finishing the sip and then smiling as I carefully place the flute back on the table. “We’re going to cross that bridge when we get there. It’s not that far to commute. Right now, with his hours plus mine at the bar, we’re sometimes ships in the night anyway.” My head wobbles. “And if I ever pick up another job, I imagine our schedules will be even more chaotic.”
Sloane shrugs while Summer analyzes me, far too closely for my taste. “Makes sense to me. Jasper and I are always busy during hockey season. School semesters would be the same.”
“What do you mean if you ever manage to pick up another job?” Summer asks.
I sigh, averting my gaze out the window to hide my embarrassment. “No one in town wants to hire me, thanks to my dad and brothers. The bar is the only place I’ve been able to hold down a job. But I need more shifts, and there aren’t any available because everyone who works there loves the money.”
Talking about my problems to two women who remind me of Disney princesses feels odd, but I continue. “The manager likes me, but I guess he can’t fire other employees to make work for me. He offered cleaning the bar for extra money when I told him I was in a bind, so I do that a few times a week too. I’ve moved up and into better shifts over time, but it’s not enough to save for university.”
“Oh, Bailey.” Sloane reaches across the table to hold my hand. Everything about her is soft and sweet. I momentarily want to ask her for a hug. I bet she gives superb hugs.
“I’ll hire you.”
I jolt in my seat, hand turning to clamp onto Sloane’s as I stare at Summer. “What?”