“Gus pushed Belle in, didn’t he.” Not a question as my brother’s lips flatten. “That kid will be the death of me.”
“You survived me,” I say, standing and crossing to my husband and sliding my arms around his waist. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Whit’s head whips up. “You know, I hadn’t considered who he took after before, but now I see it. He’s a mini Lavender.”
“Then he’s a lucky kid.” Raif hooks his arm around my shoulders. “My wife is the best.”
40
RAIF
My chin restson Lavender’s shoulders, my arms around her waist as she and Daisy wave at Whit’s Bentley as it pulls out of the gates.
“Glad that’s over?” I ask as the car disappears into the street.
“Yeah.” She rests her arms over mine. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“Can I have some ice cream?” Daisy asks, canting her head Lavender’s way.
“Sure.”
“Yes!” Her damp ponytail slaps her back as she fist-pumps the air and spins on her heel. “I’ll get the spoons!”
“Uncle Raif will get the dishes,” Lavender teases.
“I like Mimi,” I say as we turn, following Daisy into the house.
“Mimi’s great,” she agrees.
“Your brother is… an interesting character.”
“Interesting. That’s one way to put it.”
“Yeah, but Mimi is the one who offered to buy me hash brownies instead of a birthday cake.”
“When?” I ask with a laugh.
“When she was Whit’s PA. I think it was a miscommunication. Something he’d said, and she thought he was serious. Serves him right that he left her to book a restaurant for my birthday.”
“Why? What’s wrong with that?”
“She booked a vegetarian place. Oh, the complaints from my meat-eating brethren.”
“And the cake?” I ask, amused.
“She ordered something from a fancy hotel. I tried cannabis once, but it didn’t agree with me.” Lavender inhales deeply, her next words spilling suspiciously carelessly. “I have high-functioning anxiety. It seems the two don’t mix. At least, not with me.”
My hand tightens on hers, and I tug, making her slow. “Tell me what that feels like,” I ask softly, settling my hands on her waist.
“I’m like a duck on a pond. Calm on the surface, but under the waterline, my mind’s paddling like hell, spinning off in a thousand directions. Worrying about the irrelevant and putting ridiculous pressure on myself.”
“Princess, you’re a motherfucking swan, not a duck. Fierce. A warrior.”
“Yeah, but I’m mostly fighting myself,” she says with an unhappy laugh.
“You know what your brother told me? He said you are unstoppable, that you always have been.”
“Really?”
