“Harrison!”
His deep, throaty chuckle has me laughing along with him. “Are we okay? I need to get back to work before we never get to leave.”
“Yes, and Harrison?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Thank you for being so generous.”
You’ve got to be kidding me right now.
I glance around and realize there is nowhere to hide, so I carefully run into the street and duck behind a random carwhere I can see over the trunk as I watch my Aunt Liza and cousin Amber leave the bakery.
What the hell are they doing here?
They walk toward the car, and I hold my breath, wishing on every star in the universe that they don’t see me. Thankfully, the gods are on my side when they step between the cars in front of me to call for a cab.
“They’ve done a beautiful job with the place, don’t you think?” my aunt asks.
“It’s fine. Who even cares? I’m not sure why you’re making such an effort when you don’t even like Aunt Inès.”
“Amber. That’s enough.” She shakes her head. “I should have made more effort when my brother was alive. He always wanted us to be close, and now that I’ve taken the time to get to know her after all these years, I’m regretting every second I stayed away. Inès is such a lovely woman. I never bothered to give her a chance, but better late than never.”
Oh, that’s sweet.
She’s right. It would have made my dad so happy if they were close, and I hope he’s somewhere looking down, seeing it now.
I’m glad I was wrong about my aunt. If Amber stayed away, it would be good for my mom to have close family around since she only has me.
“Can you believe she’s dating him?” Amber spits with fire in her words. “Of course, she snags the billionaire.”
Oh, shove it, Amber.
“Can’t you be happy for your cousin? Wouldn’t it be nice if you tried to be close to her, too?”
Not happening.“Not happening.” We think and say at the time.
At least we can agree on that.
Thankfully, a cab comes down the street and they climb in, allowing me a reprieve from hiding so I can finally get inside and finish packing. Harrison’s already on his way.
I’m flying around the apartment, shoving last-minute things into my bag as if I’m going away for three weeks. In actuality, it’s three days.
Ahhh, I’m sweating bullets right now.
I spin around. “Do I look okay?” I ask Mom.
I’m wearing a stunning, white knee-length Valentino eyelet dress that is cinched at the waist, with a scooped neck and thick straps. I thrifted the dress last year with Becks and thought it would be perfect for a Hamptons birthday party until I realized it’s practically an all-night rager, where people will be dressed in one-of-a-kind designer clothing.
Luckily, Becks found me a dress and is sending it with Harrison today.
I paired the one I’m wearing with a flat slingback sandal, which I’ll switch to a wedge if we go out.
I’m not in the mood to hear Harrison’s bitching about me in heels with my leg right now; even though I received the amazing news last week that I’ve finally graduated from physical therapy, he’s still constantly on me about it.
I’ve had minimal nerve pain lately, and I’m hoping it only improves from here.
“Yes, you look perfect, my love.” She smiles lovingly.
