“You’re staring,” Bex whispers in my ear. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“So,” I say, expertly pivoting the conversation again. “Are you going to tell us why you’re here?”
“For fuck’s sake,” Bex replies. “Oops, sorry.” She looks at Chloe, who has already narrowed her eyes at Bex’s language. “We are?—”
Anders cuts in before Bex can continue. “We’re moving back!” He’s practically vibrating in his seat, biting back a smile. They’ve been in New York City for the last several years. I knowit’s been hard on them, but I also know Bex was more than willing to support Anders as he’s been killing it on Broadway.
“Well, shit!” Gabe jumps up, matching Anders’ excitement. “Hell yeah! I’ve missed having my best friend around.” They pat each other’s back in a huge bro-hug.
“And your sister,” Bex adds. Gabe ignores her.
One look at Mom tells me she already knew Bex and Anders were moving back. She claps her hands together, exclaiming, “All my cabbages back together again!”
“Hawthorne wants me to come back as an artist in residence, and we knew we couldn’t refuse an offer to come back to Sassafras,” Anders explains.
“That’s amazing. I’m happy for you both.” And Jules does look happy. He’s got his arm around the back of Thea’s chair, stroking her shoulder in a way that sends a pang of longing through me. I look over at Cole, but she seems overwhelmed by everyone talking over each other and won’t meet my eye.
“Thanks, JuJu,” Bex replies. “Added bonus: the girls will get to grow up close to their new cousins.”
The entire table looks between Chloe and Thea, the latter of whom looks like she might burst into tears at any moment. The Roses are good people, and I know they’ve had a rough go of things. I hope Cole can see how easily she would also be accepted into the Bardot family—is already accepted here.
“Do you already have a house?” Gabe asks, interrupting my thoughts.
Anders is the one who answers. “Not yet. This has been in the works for a bit, but I had to figure out some stuff withHercules, to make sure they could replace me. It was time, we did the whole New York thing and we’re ready to come home.” He pauses to smile at his wife and their two girls. “We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to make it work so we’re staying at Elaine and Hugo’s until we find a place.”
“Hell yes,” Gabe replies. “Sleepover at Mom and Dad’s!”
Mom and Dad exchange an excited look. I think they would buy land and build a compound if we would sign off on that.
Before they can respond, Bex’s phone starts ringing. “Oh! Luci is FaceTiming! I told her and Riz to call me so I could tell them the news.”
All of our eyes swing to Gabe, and I guess I’m not the only one who knows about his history with Bex’s best friend.
“I’ll just…” Bex looks apologetic as she excuses herself to take the call.
The tension in the room can be cut with a knife, so of course I do something a little bit impulsive. That’s my role in this family, isn’t it?
“I also have an announcement.” I push from the table, tapping my glass with my knife even though everyone is already staring at me.
Cole knows me a bit too well because she’s the first to respond. “No. You don’t.”
I think her glare could castrate me and I’d enjoy every fucking second. And probably thank her for it afterwards.
“On the contrary, Colette,” I grin. “I absolutely do.”
This is a risk, but so is everything I’ve done with her. Looking at Jules and Thea, I know,I knowhow much Cole would fit in perfectly here all the time, not just at the occasional dinner. Fit into my life all the time. She just needs a little… push.
“As many of you know, Cole recently turned thirty,” I continue. “A little over a month ago.”
“We were supposed to celebrate! Cole! You’ve been avoiding me!” Thea smacks her hands on the table in mock-outrage, but Cole has yet to look away from me.
“Birthdays are stupid,” Cole replies, answering Thea without looking toward her.
I hold back my laughter, knowing it won’t help my cause, opting to tip my glass toward her instead. “Eloquent as always, my dear,” I say to her, before turning to the table at large. “Colette and I are?—”
Now Cole decides to respond. “No!” Her favorite word. She pushes back from the table, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she decided to leap right over it.
She doesn’t get a chance however because Bex bursts back into the room and exclaims, “Luci’s engaged!
