Emma exhales hard. “You’ve already destroyed my wedding and it’s not even here yet.”
Vivian sets the ring pieces gently onto the tray, already assessing it. “I’ll take care of this right away,” she says, looking at Emma. “It’ll be ready well before the wedding. I promise.”
Emma nods slowly, the irritation still there but softened now. “Thank you, Vivian. You’re an angel.”
Then she looks at me.
“You,” she says, pointing, “should come with a warning label.”
I glance at Vivian. “In my defense?—”
“No,” Emma says. “No defense.”
Vivian’s mouth twitches, just slightly, as she turns back to the ring. “By the time I’m done with the repair, you’ll never know there was a problem,” she says, professional again, steady.
“Sorry.” I glance back at Vivian. “I shouldn’t have put it on.”
Her eyes lift to mine briefly. There’s something softer there now, but her voice stays even. “It happens more than you’d think.”
I don’t think that’s true, but I nod anyway.
Emma lets out a breath, some of the leftover tension finallyslipping out of her shoulders. “Thank you for saving my wedding band from my idiot brother.”
Vivian’s mouth curves slightly. “You’re very welcome. And really, don’t worry about it. It’s an easy fix.”
Emma gives me a look, but there’s less bite to it now. I flex my hand once more before letting it fall back to my side, grounding myself in the absence of pressure, the absence of a problem. The moment settles, everything easing back into something more predictable, more manageable, now that it’s over.
Emma glances between us, like a thought clicks into place. “Well,” she says, brightening a little, “I guess this is as good a time as any to properly introduce the two of you.”
I glance at her. “Pretty sure we covered that.”
“Not like this,” she says, waving a hand between us. “Because, you’re actually going to be seeing each other a bit over the next six weeks.” She nods toward Vivian. “While you’re coaching my girls, Ty, she’s going to be working with them, too. Team bonding sessions.”
That seems like an intense plan to me. “The girls train three days a week, Emma. Are you having them bond every day?”
She shakes her head. “Once a week. Starting this Saturday morning.”
I track that automatically. Six weeks. Every Saturday. Weekly. Same place.
Huh. The intensity has changed.
Routine. My routine.
It’s just been altered.
My gaze moves to Vivian, who has no idea of the tiny spiral I’m on the precipice of tipping into. She’s watching Emma, but there’s a small pause before she looks at me, and I wish I could read her mind and know what she’s thinking right now.
“Huh,” I say, glancing at Vivian, squinting a little as I try to get a read on her. The moment’s passed as quickly as it came, and I’m a step behind it, which I don’t like. So I adjust. “What are you doing—coming in to take jewelry off their hands, too?”
“You are so funny.” Her gaze meets mine, steady, unimpressed. “You should do stand-up comedy.”
I shrug like that was the point. “Just trying to understand the program.”
Emma makes a noise under her breath.
I tilt my head, still looking at Vivian. “Don’t tell me you’re all going to sit around making friendship bracelets?”
Emma crosses her arms. “Seriously? Could you be any more ridiculous right now?”
