When I don’t move, she pulls out her phone, dials a number, and holds it out to me. “Here. You can ask Violet yourself.”
I take the phone, sighing. “Violet, please tell me you don’t know what’s happening.”
“Oh, I know,” Violet says, and I can practically hear the grin in her voice. “And I think you should listen to Mom.”
“She’s not my mom.”
“Close enough,” Violet says breezily. “Just go with it. You deserve a night off.”
I groan. “You’re in on this, too?”
“Yup,” Violet says, sounding far too pleased. “Now hang up, go get ready, and let Alice do her thing.”
Alice takes the phone back, still grinning like she’s orchestrated the world’s most secret operation. “See? Even Violet agrees. And between the two of us, when have we ever steered you wrong?”
I open my mouth, but before I can get a word out, she waves a hand, already ushering me toward the stairs.
“Go on,” she says, nudging me. “Take a little time for yourself. Charlie and I will have fun. We’re going to bake cookies and probably get frosting all over the floor.”
“Fine,” I mutter, mostly to myself. “But if he eats too much sugar and won’t sleep tonight, that’s on you.”
Alice just smiles. “I’ll take my chances.”
Upstairs, I hold the dress up in front of the mirror and sigh. It’s simple, but beautiful. Soft fabric, flattering cut. I can already hear Alice downstairs humming to Charlie, and something inside me softens.
Maybe she’s right. Maybe I could use a night where I’m not worrying about deadlines or whether Charlie’s going to adjust to this place.
When I finally come down, dressed and feeling both weirdly nervous and oddly alive, Alice turns and gasps dramatically. “Oh, honey. Look at you.”
I roll my eyes, but a smile tugs at my lips anyway. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously right,” she says, and hands me my purse. “Now go. The world isn’t going to wait for you forever.”
I hesitate at the door, glancing back toward Charlie. He’s sitting at the kitchen table, already covered in flour, laughing as Alice hands him a wooden spoon.
He looks so happy, so at home, that it hits me right in the chest.
“Thank you, Alice. I appreciate this.”
She waves me off. “Go, Dakota Fletcher. Live a little.”
As I stand on the porch, waiting for whatever’s coming next, I hear the low rumble of an engine approaching, and my heart skips a beat.
A truck pulls up—not just any truck, but Clint’s. Though it’s not just Clint behind the wheel. Sawyer’s in the passenger seat, and Reid’s leaning casually against the back seat, his usual grin in place.
I freeze, my breath catching in my throat.
“Clint?” I call, unsure, as they all climb out.
He looks over, a warm, crooked smile lighting up his face as he pushes his hat back just enough to look at me properly. “You look… stunning.”
I blink at him, unsure of whether to laugh or blush. “I… What’s going on?”
Sawyer, ever the calm one, just gives me a soft smile. “We figured it was time for a night out.”
Reid steps forward, giving me a wink. “You like fun, right?”
I glance at each of them. Clint, the way he looks at me like I’m something he can’t quite reach, even though I know he’s trying. Sawyer, his intense gaze that somehow makes me feel safe and seen all at once.
