It was a nice break. I didn’t mind at all that I could spend my days working on Sweet Dreams and my evenings working on the house. I loved when Nathan texted me that he wouldn’t be home for dinner, and I could order in or make a bowl of pasta and rot on the couch watching Bravo. I especially loved the nights he was so late that I was fast asleep by the time he made it home.
My gut churned again at that.
What kind of wife would wish to never see her husband?
I tried not to let myself dwell on it too much as I followed Grace inside. I didn’t need to think about Nathan tonight. I didn’t need to think about Shane, either — whom I’d insisted leave me to deal Sweet Dreams on my own unless I specifically needed help with players. Thelastthing I needed was time alone with him in close proximity.
One day had proven how dangerous that could be.
It was strange, how quickly my emotions had warped after that day. I’d left angry and sad, storming home with smoke fuming from my nose. But even that night, my anger had subsided, leaving only sadness in its wake. And by the next day, I found I just…
I just missed him.
I missed the Shane I spent nearly two years of my life with at a time when I felt like possibility was endless. I thought the worst of my life was behind me and I had nothing but brighter days ahead. I’d lost myself in that boy and the promises he made so easily, because I trusted him. I never had a reason not to.
Until the day he showed me how fair-weather love can be.
I shook my head, determined to let it go. No thoughts of Nathan or Shane allowed.
No, tonight was about making friends. It was about building community in my new home. It was about me.
That was probably why I felt so uncomfortable.
It had been so long since I’d done anything for myself that I felt guilty for even considering it.
“Welcome to Craft Night Chaos!” Grace said when we made it to Maven’s living room.
I was stunned enough to stop walking, my lips parting as I took in the gorgeous space. The sliding glass doors along the back of the room led out to a private beach on the Gulf, which was currently showcasing a stunning sunset. Pinks and purples darted across the sky, the sound of the waves crashing just barely audible over the soft music playing on the speaker.
Sitting at the dining table near the kitchen was Maven, along with two women I didn’t recognize.
And one who had me even more shell-shocked than the beach view.
“Is that…”
I pointed at the pop star, who looked deceivingly normal at the moment with a messy bun of hair piled on her head and an oversized t-shirt. Her tan legs were folded beneath her, and she was painting ghosts onto what appeared to be an old, vintage painting of a farmhouse, her tongue out as she focused. She sat back with an appreciative smile at her work before her eyes met mine.
“Oh, yeah, I forget that she’s kinda famous,” Grace said, waving her hand at her friend like she was just an everyday person. “But yes, that is the one and only Mia Love.”
“You say that so casually like you didn’t fangirl so hard you nearly passed out the first time you met her,” one of the women at the table quipped with an arched brow. She was working on a delicate necklace, it looked like, her earthy-brown hands meticulously threading beads onto a chain. She had gorgeousblack hair that framed her face in a flowy blowout, her makeup flawlessly applied like she was set to hit the runway rather than hang out at a friend’s house. “Hi, I’m Livia,” she said to me, her smile warm.
“And I’m Chloe,” the last of the unknown said, and the curvy little redhead popped right out of her seat and skipped over to me, crushing me in a hug. She had metallic pink eye masks under her eyes and brought a set for me, too. “I have heard so much about you. Welcome to girls’ night.”
“Thank you,” I managed, smiling despite the way my neck felt like it could fry an egg.
“So, you already know Maven and my connections to the team,” Grace said, placing my cookies at the center of the craft table before she invited me to sit. She immediately plucked one off the platter and took a huge bite, moaning with approval before she continued around a mouthful. “Livia here is Maven’s bestie and is now engaged to Carter Fabri.”
“She had his baby first, though. Scandalous,” Maven teased.
Livia threw a bead at her.
“And then Chloe here somehow softened our very own Daddy P into the mush ball he is today.”
“Is that how you’d describe him?” I asked, folding my hands tightly in my lap. I hadn’t thought to bring anything with me to craft night.
Idiot.
“Because I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him smile a total of two times.”
