"So what happened?" Lisa asked, more serious. "What was the emergency?"
I filled them in on Vincent's attempt to frame me, the board meeting, the bombs. Their expressions went from concerned to furious.
"That motherfucker," Imani said flatly. "Tell me Dez is handling it."
"He is."
"Good." She took a long drink of her wine. "Because if he doesn't, we will."
"You guys can't fight my battles for me."
"Watch us," Charmaine said. "You're our sister, Angie. Your battles are our battles. And it was tough to be away the first time. Knowing the truth, getting rid of us won’t be so easy this time."
The food came and conversation shifted to lighter topics. I learned that Lisa was dealing with a difficult divorce. Her husband had cheated with a colleague and was trying to claim he deserved half her architecture firm.
"Hell no," she said, stabbing her salad. "I built that company from nothing. He contributed exactly zero. His lawyer can cry about it."
Imani was newly divorced herself and clearly thriving. She'd just closed her biggest consulting contract ever and was considering expanding to the East Coast.
Karla was single and loving it, dating casually but focused on her medical practice and volunteer work.
And Charmaine?—
"I'm seeing someone," she admitted quietly. "It's new. But it's good. Really good."
"The woman from the wedding?" I asked, remembering how she'd smiled at someone in the crowd.
"Yeah. Diana. She's a professor at UW. Smart, funny, gorgeous. We're taking it slow but..." She grinned. "I really like her."
"That's amazing," I said, squeezing her hand. "I'm so happy for you."
"What about you?" Karla asked. "Besides the uncle drama and attempted murder. How's married life?"
"Perfect," I said without hesitation. "Complicated, obviously. But perfect."
"He treats you well?" Lisa asked, her instincts showing.
"He treats me like I'm precious. Like I'm the most important thing in his world." I smiled. "I never thought I'd have this. Someone who sees all of me—the messy parts, the broken parts, the parts I try to hide—and loves me anyway."
"That's beautiful," Charmaine said softly.
"Although," Imani grinned, "I have to say, I'm pretty sure Marco Moretti thinksI'mprecious too."
We all turned to stare at her.
"Excuse me?" Lisa demanded. "Marco? Dez's brother? The one you danced with at the wedding?"
"We may have exchanged numbers." Imani tried to look casual and failed completely. "And he may have texted me every day since."
"WHAT," Karla shrieked. "Why didn't you lead with this?!"
"Because it's not a big deal?—"
"It is absolutely a big deal," Charmaine said. "Spill. Everything."
Imani's normally controlled expression softened. "He's... not what I expected. I thought he'd be another smooth-talking player. But he's smart. Really smart. We've been having these deep conversations about business and philosophy and he actually listens. Really listens."
"And?" I prompted.
