“Paulina, we just started dating. We’re feeling things out.But remember when he danced with me at the wedding?” Paulina shakes her head aggressively. “Well, I knew then that he was my savior and he would be there for me when I needed him. You’ll understand when you’re older.”
“I do understand. And guess what?” She switches the subject. “Trevor asked me to go to the movies. His parents are coming into town and taking us. Can you believe Dad said I could go?” She’s practically bouncing with excitement.
“Yes, I’m sure Sutton is the one who made that decision.”
“Mom wants me to have some experiences she didn’t have.”
Yeah, and your dad doesn’t want you to have the experiences he had.
Across the room, my dad is deep in conversation with Parker and Matt. Matt laughs, and it seems a little too forced. Is he nervous or just playing along?
I scan the crowd and spot my older brothers throwing daggers Matt’s way. Mom used to call it the old stink-eye. But the tension between them helps—if they acted totally fine with me dating Matt, everyone would know I was lying, grasping for anything to stop the hurt Brooks inflicted. This performance is perfect.
Sutton taps the microphone, thanks everyone for coming, and says, “Noelle’s dad would like to say a few words.”
He clears his throat and looks at me. “Noelle is the light of our family. Free-spirited, but not wild. Even though her revelation today may make me change my mind.” Subtle laughs hum through the room. “She’s nurturing but not suffocating. She’s direct and confident with us, her family. Maybe that means I did something right. Her mother was supposed to be here for this.”
When he says it, I find Witt in my peripheral vision, and he’s as stoic as they come. Witt never talks about his feelings, but I know it must be hard on him not having grown up with Mom at all.
“Anyway, I know she would be proud of the woman you’ve become, Noelle. And I want to read something she wrote in her journal when you were four years old.”
My sweet Noelle, the heartbeat of our family. You make each one of us smile with just a laugh or one of your many questions. And when I catch Greyson and John David playing princess with you, drinking out of tiny teacups and protecting their little princess with fake swords, I realize that you will have plenty of people that will always be there for you. And I love how Parker is only a year younger, but you act like he’s a baby. You pull people into your orbit, and they can’t get out. My wish for you is that you find a career you love and a person in life who will give you as much joy as you give everyone else.
My dad has one errant tear slowly making a trail down his cheek, and I can’t help but attack him like the little girl I once was. “Thank you. You’re the best dad.”
“Congratulations on your big day.” He squeezes me tight.
“Okay, no more sappiness,” I say. “Thank you, Sutton and Birdie, for making this party so chic. I don’t deserve you two. Thanks for being my estrogen in a family of testosterone. And for being the women who put up with my brothers. Everyone, eat up. And in true O’Ryan family tradition, the back room is also set up with games and contests. Like ‘Guess My Age’ or ‘Where in the World Am I?’”
I stop and chuckle. “Just guess a football game and more than likely you’re on the right track. Am I at a high school game, one of my college games, one of Dad’s, Greyson’s, or J.D.’s, or a professional game? So you must say the city. There’s also a brand-new virtual reality simulator that Witt coded so that you can immerse yourself in ten different activities. Have fun.”
A line of friends waits in a circle to hug and congratulate me, but when I look around, I can’t find Matt. When I’m finished and starving, Matt comes up to me with a plate full of food.
“Here, you need to eat at your own party. Isn’t that the point of being a princess… to be waited on and taken care of?” His voice is as smooth as silk but quiet, and I just let his words linger in the air. It feels good for someone other than my family to care about me. Brooks never made sure I ate. Like, at the party, he could have been with me and made sure I didn’t get too drunk, but instead he was betraying me.
“Thanks. Where did you go?”
His chest hiccups with an internal laugh. “Had to take some medicine and needed water. You’re dating an old man, you know?”
He shoves one hand into his pocket and hands me an organza bag. “This is for your graduation.”
“You didn’t have to…money would have been fine,” I tease. But then I pull it open and gasp. “It’s perfect.”
“It’s not a diamond necklace.”
I bump my shoulder against his arm, playful and flirtatious. “Well, you weren’t my boyfriend until an hour ago, so I’ll forgive you.” It’s a crystal ornament with my name and graduation date on it. “It’s beautiful. Why did you buy an ornament?”
“You mentioned that you collect Christmas ornaments at a cookout one time, so I thought…”
Cutting him short, I fling my arms around him and hold him as tight as I can. “Thank you. It’s so thoughtful.” Not once has Brooks bought me a Christmas ornament, despite me talking about it all the time.
“Crap!” Parker yells by the chocolate fountain, and as people gasp, I see chocolate all over his khaki pants. “It looks like I’ve shit myself.”
The more I attempt to hold in my laughter, I can’t. Parker’s eyes narrow, but my cheer mate Elise brings him a wet cloth, and she can’t decide if she should clean him up. He takes the cloth and dabs. Greyson says, “I have shorts in the truck. Want me to grab them?”
Parker nods his head, and soon everyone has forgotten about his mishap and a makeshift conga line forms around the chocolate fountain. I nudge Matt and tease, “You should join them. I bet you can do a killer conga.”
Matt’s cheeks tint pink. “The last time I danced was with you at your brother’s wedding, and I twisted my ankle. I don’t need an injury. I have a feeling being your fake boyfriend will cause enough damage,” he whispers.
