“You weren’t even here,” I whispered. “I don’t understand how you did all this.”
She shrugged. “The week we came back for the Hamptons party, I picked everything, and then there was a lot of Skyping and pictures back and forth.” She lowered her voice and said, “And James has been amazing. He did so much of it.”
“I just can’t believe you.”
“You know, Mom, when your heart is really set on something, sometimes you move mountains to get it.”
James came up from behind Caroline, put his arm around her, and kissed her cheek. “I am ridiculously proud of you.”
I looked around again, finally noticing that every spare wall was covered with one of Sloane’s paintings.
I walked over and hugged Sloane. She smiled. “I know. Pretty great, right?”
“Your sister did good.”
“Want to look with me?”
We walked over to the first painting, and I peered down into the corner at the price tag.
I thought Sloane was going to spit out her champagne. “Caroline!” she scolded. “Have you lost your mind? I mean, you’ve always been insane, but this is a new level.”
Adam squeezed her arm. “It’s not insane, Sloane. You deserve this and so much more.” He leaned down and kissed her, and warm, fuzzy feelings spread all through my body. Sloane’s life had been ripped from stem to stern. I wasn’t sure she would ever get back to a place where she could be happy. And now, tonight, everything in her life that had been hard or uncertain was culminating in this one glorious moment.
Caroline gestured out the window, where throngs of people had gathered. “These people,” she said, “are not waiting for me. They are waiting for you.”
Emerson cleared her throat and said, “OK. We’ve got to let this crowd in. But first, a toast.” We all put our arms around one another and stood in a circle as she said, “Here’s to taking risks and chasing dreams. May they all come true.”
“Hear, hear!” Jack said, and we all clinked glasses. Jack kissed me and said, “You are my dream come true. I need nothing else.”
As the people flooded into Sloane Emerson New York, Emerson grabbed my arm and whispered, “It’s amazing what all that beautiful Beaumont money can buy, isn’t it?”
“Emerson!” I scolded, but, well, I’d been thinking the same thing. I had scrimped and saved to open my first tiny storefront. I had no doubt that James had thrown every cent he could at this project, just to see his wife happy. Despite his flaws, I’d give it to the man: when it came to Caroline, he was unfailingly generous with what seemed to be an endless well of money.
But the money wasn’t the only thing flowing. The Veuve was, too, into the more than one thousand champagne coupes arranged in a tower underneath that giant light fixture, the string quartet was playing on the second-floor balcony, which was open to the first floor, and Caroline’s salesgirls were ringing up merchandise as fast as their fingers could fly.
“This is unbelievable,” Jack said.
I smiled and looked over at Sloane, whom people were swarming. Caroline floated over and whispered, “We’ve sold all the paintings.”
I gasped. “You’re kidding me.”
She smiled. “I am not kidding you. She’d better get home and get painting so we can sell more. I have eleven names on a waiting list for her work.”
I could feel pride swelling in my chest. Caroline, against all odds, had taken over the family business. Sloane, whose dream was to make a living as a painter, was able to do that. Emerson had succeeded as an actress and was beginning her journey with the man she loved, and I had Jack by my side. It was the best life had been in a long, long time. Maybe it was the champagne, and maybe it was the music, but I felt like I was walking on air that night. Caroline had made magic here in Manhattan. I vowed right then and there that I would visit her more often. I had avoided New York for too long, and now I couldn’t deny that coming back here felt like coming home.
“There’s nothing better than doing what you love and making a living off of it,” Jack said.
“Exactly,” Caroline said, gesturing toward Jack. “I mean, you love hot dogs, and look how well that worked out for you.” Jack had started a chain of hot dog stands in college towns that he had later sold for a fortune.
We all laughed. One of her friends pulled her away as Jack slipped his arm around me and kissed me.
An extremely tall man walking through the door caught my eye, and I did a double take. Jack looked at the door and then looked back at me. “No,” he said. “No way.”
I cocked my head to the side as he came toward me, and said, “As I live and breathe, if it isn’t my brother John.”
He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “I told you I was going to step it up.”
I hugged him and said into his ear, “Thank you. Truly. This is a big deal.”
