“Where’s Grandma?” Lex shouts. “I want to talk to her about the Lex-board.”
I tense and throw a glare his way. “I’m sure we’ve discussed this, Lexington. We’re not calling it the fucking Lex-board. It’s fucking embarrassing.”
Ares chuckles. “To be fair, he’s a fucking embarrassment, so it’s only fitting.”
Luca rolls his eyes, a habit he learned off his wife. “Says the man that went on national television to tell everyone about his obsession with his wife.”
Ares freezes, and Val elbows Luca. “Need I remind you of the no-fraternization policy you implemented at the company when I tried going on a date, only for you to have to repeal it when you married me weeks later?”
Ares holds up his hand, and Val high-fives him, throwing him a conspiratory wink. Meanwhile, Raven just shakes her head in amusement as she’s lost in conversation with Sierra about some kind of romance novel they’re reading together, and they’ve drawn my darling wife into their nonsense. From what I’m gathering, it sounds an awful lot like they’re planning to kidnap some unsuspecting author in order to get advance copies of a new book, or something like that? It’s definitely the kind of conversation I’m going to stay far away from.
Zane is the only one at the table that’s eerily silent. It’s to be expected, I suppose. Celeste’s grand wedding plans keep landing on the front page of every magazine. We’ve kept the news strictly out of Windsor-owned news outlets, but there’s always the other half of the media.
My phone buzzes, and I reach for it instantly when I see Silas’s name pop up. A chill runs down my spine as I unlock my phone.
Silas
No other flight plans were found, not even in the archives. The flight your parents were on was the only one they’d planned to be on. There were no deviations to their schedule.
I stare at my phone in disbelief. For years, I believed that they’d rushed home and missed some crucial checks because of me, but all along, the flight they were on was the one they’d scheduled weeks in advance.
It doesn’t change anything, yet somehow, the remnants of my guilt ease, and I’m left feeling lighter than ever before.
I can’t help but think back to that dream. Was that truly my mind playing tricks on me, or had I been holding onto my guilt so tightly that my mother couldn’t reach me even though she tried? I’m not a superstitious man, but the way her perfume filled the living room for a few moments felt… magical.
“Kids!” Grandma says, rushing in, late. She’s never late. What’s going on? I frown as she grabs a wine glass and a spoon. “Kids!” she repeats as she taps the spoon against the glass until we all fall silent.
“I appreciate this is not our formal drawing room, and you do know I prefer to keep our dinners a safe, drama-free space, but I happen to have an announcement for you tonight that cannot wait.”
Her gaze roams over the table, only to pause on Zane. Oh, fuck. “Zane,” she says, and he tenses instantly, fury in his eyes. “Dion has been happily married for quite some time now, and it’s about time you follow in Ares, Luca, and Dion’s footsteps.”
He shakes his head and empties his wineglass before slamming it back down to the table. “Honestly, Grandma? I really don’t give a damn who I marry. You do you.”
She nods sharply. “Excellent. You’ll be marrying Celeste Harrison three weeks from now.”
We all stare at Grandma in shock, none of us quite certain we just heard her correctly. Sierra whispers to Raven, who nods slowly, a hint of confusion in her gaze.
“Last I checked, Celeste was engaged to someone else,” I say carefully, moments before Zane rises to his feet.
“I won’t marry her,” he says, looking stricken. “Anyone but her.”
Grandma crosses her arms, a calculating look in her eyes. “You once begged to marry her, didn’t you?” she asks. “So you will marry her. Her family are among the best hoteliers in the world — there’s no way we can sit back and let them join hands with the Emersons.”
Zane stumbles back, a wild look in his eyes as he turns and walks out of the room. Lexington and Sierra follow him while the rest of us sit back quietly. There’s an odd understanding amongst those of us that are married. We might not always like Grandma’s actions, but somehow, she knows exactly what she’s doing. Every one of her moves is carefully calculated — including every instance where she has us believing she’s pulling back. She’ll make you believe your choices are your own, when she’s been guiding you along your path all along.
“I guess now isn’t a great time to mention that Faye and I would like to have a second wedding?”
Faye reaches for my knee and pinches me admonishingly, and I throw her a smug grin when Raven and Val instantly perk up and begin to discuss the countless ideas they have.
Grandma just throws me a sweet look, one that’s filled with love and pride. I might not always agree with her methods, but man am I grateful she brought Faye and me together.
I just hope she’s making the right call with Zane and Celeste too.
Epilogue
Dion
I stare at the golden heart-shaped locket in my hand and trace over the smooth metal in disbelief. I’ve been looking for this necklace for months now, fruitlessly, until I dreamt of Mom again last night.
“You can have mine,” she told me. “The locket you’re looking for is one half of a pair. Felicity’s is lost, but mine isn’t. She and I have been best friends since we were kids, you know? We were both quite cheesy kids, so her locket contained a photo of me, and mine held a photo of her. It drove your father mad with jealousy, because he had a pocket watch with my photo in it while I often wore a locket with my best friend’s photo in it instead.”
She grinned and reached for me, the tips of her fingers brushing over my hair. “Give my locket to Faye. It’s the only thing I can give her, and I know she’d love it the way I did. You’ll find it in my jewelry box.”
And I did. It really was in her jewelry box. Some small part of me must have remembered that Mom had the same necklace as the one Faye’s father took away from her, or my subconscious never would have led me to it.
I tighten my grip on it and walk into Faye’s dressing room, oddly nervous. We’ve come so far, she and I, but I’d be lying if I said that all of our wounds are healed.
“Dion,” she says, rising to her feet. Fuck. She’s always beautiful, but that black evening gown she’s wearing takes my breath away. It’s one of Raven’s designs, no doubt. “Are you ready?”
I nod at her dumbly, unable to tear my eyes off her. “I am, but you’re not. Not yet.”
I walk up to her and hold up my mother’s necklace, my hand shaking ever so slightly. Faye gasps, her eyes moving between the locket and me in shock. “How?”
I smile at her as I reach around her to clasp the necklace closed. “This one isn’t your mom’s, unfortunately. I’m sorry, Faye. I tried, but I couldn’t find hers. The one around your neck was my mother’s.”
She lifts it to look at it, pure awe in her gaze. “It was your mother’s?” she asks, her voice trembling.
“It’s one half of a friendship necklace. Open it.”
She does as I tell her, and the biggest smile lights up her face when she sees a photo of our mothers together on one side, and one of just her mother on the other. “Mom had a similar photo in hers,” she murmurs, sniffing as she looks up at me. “Thank you, Dion. I… I don’t know what to say. Is it really okay for me to have this?”
I nod. “I checked with all of my siblings, and they all agreed that it should be yours, just as they all agreed on me proposing with Mom’s engagement ring. Neither of us can undo the past, Faye, but we can work together toward a better future while honoring our past. It felt right to have a part of both of our moms with us tonight.”
She rises to her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my lips, careful not to smudge her lipstick. “I love you,” she whispers, her arms wrapping around my neck as she leans back a little to look at me. “Are you ready?”
I nod, and she grabs my hand as she leads me through the concert building I bought for her. My heart is beating out of control, and I hold on to her like she’s my lifeline. In many ways, she truly is.
“In hindsight,” I tell her once we’re behind the stage curtains. “I don’t think I’m ready at all.”
Faye grins up at me and gently cups my cheek. “I always feel the same way too, but it’s better today, because I’ve got you with me. Just think of all the money we raised with tonight’s benefit concert, and how happy your family will be to see you on stage with me.”
I sigh and grab her chin, tipping her face up for a kiss shortly before the stagehand gestures for us to go on. “I’ll do it, for you,” I murmur. “For us.”