Brandon tips back his head with a chuckle.
“I never got to say thank you, though.” She takes my hand, and the wrinkles of life on hers feel soft. “For being there for him last week. You’re a special girl, Kate.”
The air in my chest feels fuzzy and warm. “Thank you for saying that.”
Brandon’s lips graze my blushing cheek, and Stacey beams up at us.
“I’d love to invite you both over for dinner next week,” she says.
Brandon cocks a brow. “You cooking?”
“Don’t be a butt, Brandon. That being said…” She grins. “We’ll order takeout.”
“Deal,” he says.
Brisk clicking heels capture our attention, and we turn to find Kendra sheathed in a scarlet one-shouldered midi-dress. Her facelift bun is especially tight, black strands gleaming.
“Brandon,” she says, “I’m going to have to ask you to escort your early arrivals into the Astor wing. We are about to open the event to the public.”
My gaze cuts to the glass doors of the museum, and sure enough, there’s a line of attendees waiting. Kendra’s heels tap toward Rick, who's been stationed by the entrance and is ready for door duty. He catches me watching and tips his head.
I give a little wave, then circle back to the procession of people passing Brandon. Mr. Sanderson claps him on the back, murmuring something I can’t hear through a toothy grin. Tiny Heidi presses in a brief hug. Tuck follows after his parents. A red-haired couple consisting of a slender woman and a burly man with an auburn beard say something to Julia, making her blue eyes twinkle before they follow the rest to the Astor wing.
I don’t realize I’m staring until Brandon catches my gaze, and he gives me a smile so radiant, his rays of happiness are almost palpable. A fierce appreciation for his people roots deeply into my chest. Because if they can make Brandon smile like that, they are to be cherished and protected, always.
“Ready, Mom?” Brandon skirts to the back of Stacey’s wheelchair. He kisses the top of my head as he passes, and Stacey gives my hand a quick squeeze. “Coming, Kate?”
“Wait,” Julia calls. “Kate, can you help me connect my phone to the wifi? I need to confirm the new follower signups for the giveaway without my computer interrupting the video. Tech didn’t leave me the password.”
“I’ll meet you guys up there,” I say to Brandon.
The suction-like sound of the door pops open behind me. Echoing voices of excitement round the arched ceiling as I face my back to them, rapidly typing the wifi password into Julia’s phone. I get an error message right as I hear a handful of curious patrons approaching Julia’s table.
She engages them in an animated conversation while I dig my phone from my clutch to double check the password. I groan, retyping to include a capital letter I forgot. The phone connects. I slip thephone into Julia’s hand, but she doesn’t skip a beat in her conversation.
I’m fazed for a moment by the eloquence and passion rolling off my new friend. Julia stays alight with a bright, effortless smile. Is this how she interacts with customers at Autumn & June who’ve been swayed by her marketing? Or does her happiness glow a tad brighter here in this lobby?
My gaze shifts, falling onto a face that makes my world stop spinning.
“Mom?”
forty-seven
PRESENT DAY
KATE
Mom must not hear me over the shuffling stream of people on their way to the Astor wing. She stands stock still in front of my video, clutching her designer handbag. Her amber eyes stay locked in on the screen, and I can’t quite make out the expression in them.
I swallow what little saliva I have left as I approach.
“Mom?” I say again, and she turns. Her chestnut hair is piled into a rolled updo on the back of her head, and her wrist-length gown is a champagne color.
“Katherine.” She sighs my name like it should explain everything. Explain why she’s here. Her attention flits back to the screen for a long moment before she speaks.
“You remind me so much of her.”
“Who?” I ask, more than a little confused.
