“Goodness, no. It’s just a consultation, so it’s only for the weekend. I was thinking I’d bring Mel and Liv with me, too.”
His tense body visibly relaxed at that statement and his hand reached over to hold mine. “I think that’s a great idea. The girls talked about your weekend away so much. I know Mel especially would love to go.”
“I think it would be a fun weekend, too.” I was so glad we were getting back to less strained conversations.
“What happens if the consult goes well and you take the job?”
“Well, because I’m the designer, I can work remotely a lot of the time and just guide the specific crews as I need to. I’ll need to make some trips every so often to check in with progress, but it’s not something I need to be away for long term.”
With that news, he stood and picked me up, spinning me around in a circle, planting a big, beautiful kiss to my forehead once he placed me back down on solid ground.
“I amsohappy for you.” His smile proved it, too, and I beamed at him in response.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had been celebrated for my work, and it feltgood.
“Yes!” the girls squealed when I asked them to come with me on the work trip. Olivia was already making our shopping plans and Mel was looking up which spa had the best reviews.
Driving would have extended our trip by more days than I was willing to be away from Love, so I booked a small charter plane to take us to Calgary.
“Damn, Stella! You’ve been holding out on us!” Melody exclaimed as we walked up to the plane on the small local airstrip.
I laughed at the girls. I did have a good savings account, and had some investments pay off for me, but it wasn’t information I liked to flaunt or the lifestyle I wanted to live. When my own income was the only thing I could control in my life, I did it almost obsessively and was grateful for that choice as it afforded me with the opportunity to get away from Nick and treat my beautiful friends.
We landed late Friday afternoon, and my meeting wasn’t until Saturday morning, so we spent some time perusing the bookstores around the city before finding somewhere to eat for supper.
“So, you and Calvin, huh?” Olivia said, raising her eyebrows persuasively at me.
“Ew!” Melody cut in. “I mean, yes, I want details but notdetails,details, y’know?”
“Don’t worry.” I laughed. “There’s nothing like that to tell, anyway.”
“Phew, good,” Melody said, comically wiping her hand across her brow.
“Because you don’t want there to be?” Olivia pushed. “Let’s be honest, we’veallseen the way Calvin looks at you so that’s definitely not his call.”
Was it really that obvious? I noticed the heat in his eyes when he looked at me sometimes, but was it really that noticeable to everyone?
“Chill. You look like we just told you your childhood dog died or something. It’s been obvious for a long time,” Melody replied casually while taking a bite of her burger.
“He’s just alwaysthere.”Exactly when I need him to be, knowing exactly what to do and what to give me. “He makes me feel so safe and secure andseen.He’s gentle when I need it, and supportive of me finding myself again.”
I told them about the way he brushed my hair when I was sick, about the gift of the cut flower garden for my birthday because he noticed how much I loved Trixie’s. I couldn’t tell them about the night I panicked on top of him, though. That was a memory I wanted to keep for myself.
Melody’s demeanour softened. “Yeah, my big brother’s always been a big protector. But he’s also a big teddy bear so it doesn’t surprise me to hear he’s that way with you. You are good for him,” she assured me, grabbing my hand and giving a gentle squeeze.
As someone who was an only child, it felt so good to have the love of these women, who felt more like sisters than just friends.
A few more drinks and desserts later, we retreated to our respective hotel rooms with our new book hauls, each looking forward to a quiet night of uninterrupted reading time.
My meetings the next morning went by in a flurry of blueprints, vision boards, and, ultimately, handshakes. It was a great job for me to just be getting back into it. The building Voyager Hotel was taking over already had great bones and the renovations toward plumbing and electrical were well underway. All I had to do was the fun stuff—design and decorate. Once I had all the different room specifications and measurements, I would be able to do most of the work remotely, ordering what was needed and having it delivered straight to the hotel. I’d have to make one trip once everything was delivered to set up a stage room and the rest would be done by hotel employees. It wasperfect.
My eyes locked with Melody and Olivia who waited for me in the lobby as I exited one of the boardrooms. I couldn’t help the smile that overtook my features. I wassoexcited for an afternoon at the spa, celebrating with my girls.
“My goodness, I didn’t think I would have to go to all this work to finally get a hold of you, Crystal.” The voice I heard coming from behind me had only been in my nightmares the last few months.
Oh no, no, no.
Mel and Liv’s expressions changed from smiles to confusion as my face fell, but the familiar fingers of shame had already gripped its hold on me from that very first breath of a word, and I whipped around to face Nick before we got too close and they could hear anything he had to say.
