“Of course. Go enjoy your night.” She gestured toward her half-eaten sandwich. “Do you mind if I stay to finish this and then maybe take a quick dip in the pool? I brought my suit since the weather is perfect. It’s one of the things I miss the most about not crashing here anymore. Besides you, of course.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” I stood and grabbed the roll of parchment paper to wrap the other half of my sandwich, then put it in the fridge for later. “Sorry I have to run.”
“You want to spend time with your girlfriend. I get it.” She shrugged. “There’s still enough pork and buns to make a couple more sandwiches. I’ll cook the tenderloins and put them in the fridge so you can have as many as you want tomorrow.”
I clapped her on the shoulder the way I’d done since we were kids. “Thanks, Maddie. I appreciate it.”
“What are friends for?”
Serena didn’t care what I wore, but I headed up to my bedroom to take a quick shower and change anyway. Wearing her favorite shirt of mine—which I’d bought because the shade of blue exactly matched her eyes—I grabbed my keys and went back downstairs.
Maddie was at the stove, making the second batch of tenderloins. “Almost done.”
I was amazed by how quickly she worked without me to distract her. “You want to take one of those home with you?”
“Nah, you’ll enjoy them more than me.” She shook her head. “And your air fryer is way nicer than mine, so they’ll taste better when you reheat them.”
“Thanks.”
Even after Maddie moved into her apartment, she still came over to help out with stuff. She didn’t have any luck finding a job, so I’d added her to my payroll as a third assistant. I didn’t really need one since Paul handled my set work and travel, while Sarah was on top of my daily life, but it was the quickest way to give Maddie something to keep her busy and earn enough to qualify for her lease in Agoura Hills.
With five bedrooms and all that space, the house had felt perfect for the future I’d been quietly planning. I’d wanted to ask Serena to move in for months now. The only thing holding me back was timing. Maddie had shown up heartbroken right when I was ready to take that step, and it felt wrong to bring Serena and her sister into the house while Maddie was sleeping in the guest room I’d mentally reserved for Avery. Especially since Avery loved Harvard-Westlake and the commute from Malibu would be brutal. I’d even thought about buying her a car for her sixteenth birthday to make it easier.
After Maddie finally got her own apartment, the moment never seemed right. But with Avery’s birthday this weekend, I was hoping that would change soon.
Checking the wine fridge, my brows drew together when I didn’t find a bottle of Serena’s favorite wine. I always kept one there. “Hey, have you seen the Pinot?”
“Oops.” Maddie’s eyes widened. “I think I drank the last one and forgot to order more. Sorry.”
The blurring of professional and personal lines was getting messy. “I thought you didn’t like Pinot?”
“Serena seemed to enjoy it so much, I figured I’d give it a try,” she explained.
“Can you order a case?” I raked my fingers through my hair. “I’ll stop at the wine store around the corner from Craig’s to snag one for tonight, but I want to make sure I’m restocked for later.”
“Sure, will do.”
“Thanks.” I slid my wallet into my pocket and grabbed my cell. “I better hit the road so Serena doesn’t beat me to her place by too much.”
“Okay, I’ll lock up here when I’m done swimming.”
Choosing the Range Rover, I headed toward the Hollywood Hills, with a pit stop in West Hollywood to grab dinner and a bottle of wine. The perfect combination to smooth over the cake situation and remind Serena how good we could be when we had time to ourselves.
3
SERENA
My baby sister was sixteen, and I wanted everything to be perfect for her tonight. I knew Avery felt our parents’ inattentiveness even more during special moments, so I tended to go all out on birthdays and holidays. I couldn’t spare her from feeling like they had abandoned her, but I’d do just about whatever it took to soften the blow. Especially since they hadn’t bothered to call her all day. Just transferred a couple of hundred dollars to her bank account and sent a text telling her to buy herself something pretty.
Our parents were jerks, and that was never going to change. But at least they were halfway across the world, where they couldn’t do as much damage on the daily.
I forced my thoughts away from them as I took in the backyard of the house I bought two years ago when Avery came to live with me. Laughter and the splash of the pool mixed with the low thump of a playlist she’d curated. Soft white lights were strung from the privacy fence to the patio cover.
I stood near the dessert table in a simple cream slip dress, watching Avery eat a slice of the Hale & Honey cake I’d flown across the country for. The knot in my chest loosened. This wasworth eleven hours on a plane and the tense phone call with Hudson.
Then Maddie came out of the French doors leading into the house.
Most of Avery’s friends had gone for a dressy-casual style before they changed into their suits to swim. But Hudson’s self-proclaimed bestie showed up looking like she was heading to the club instead of a sweet-sixteen party for a girl she didn’t even know. Her hair was down in loose waves, her makeup was flawless, and she was wearing a tight black mini dress that rode up when she walked.
