“Did Felix pick out that shirt?” I ask, grinning at the happy baby.
“Of course.” Piper rolls her eyes but smiles back at me. “He got one for Ellie, too.”
“He’s an excellent girl dad,” Iris says.
“They have him wrapped around their tiny fingers.” Piper's smile softens. “He nearly cried when Ellie threw a perfect spiral with her little toy football.”
A snort escapes me, and Molly yanks the pencil back before I take a graphite streak to the temple.
“Still,” she commands like the gentle dictator she can be when she sets her mind to it.
“Has Riva checked in?” Piper asks when Sadie appears in the doorway.
“She just sent proof of life pics,” Sadie confirms. “Henry has a colander on his head, and Ellie has a pillowcase superhero cape around her shoulders. They’re in heaven.”
Sadie and Ian adopted three-year-old Henry at Christmas, and he and his cousin Ellie became immediate besties.
“It’s nice of Riva to babysit both of them,” I say. “She has her hands full.”
“She loves it,” Sadie assures me, her brown eyes taking on a dreamy look. “She’s the best big sister and cousin ever. Those two think she’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. The hero worship has totally gone to her head, and I’m here for it.”
The easy laughter that follows settles somewhere deep inside me. For so long, I'd been afraid to picture a future. Now it's impossible not to. Not when it's sitting all around me in the lives of the people I love.
Molly finishes with a shimmer of highlighter across my cheekbones and steps back to admire her work. “You look even more beautiful if that’s possible.”
Before Molly did her makeup magic, Iris curled my hair, which now falls just below my shoulders. The dress I picked for book club prom is deep blue, the color of the Colorado sky as night takes over from daytime. It has a scooped neckline that shows the top edge of my port scar and is gathered at the waist before flaring to my ankles. It fits the body I have now, the one that fought like hell and won.
I don’t recognize the woman in the glass, and then I do, which undoes me just a little because she looks like someone who expects good things to happen to her.
“Thank you,” I manage. “For everything.”
“Our fearless leaderandprom queen,” Iris says.
“Not fearless.” I meet her gaze through the mirror’s reflection. “But happy anyway.”
“And speaking of queen energy, can we have a moment to honor our girl moving into her maintenance era?” Piper asks casually. At least as casual as a nurse can be when she’s discussing test results.
Sadie shakes her head. “You’re as subtle as a wrecking ball, sis.”
“She’s right, though,” Avah says. “You did it, Sloane.”
“Wedid it,” I clarify, then blink when tears sting the back of my eyes. Last week, I officially finished the drug trial and got to ring the bell on the hospital’s oncology floor. I’ll have scans and blood work every six months for the next few years, but a blessedly boring relationship with the hospital instead of a steady one. “I’m not sure how I would have made it through the past two years without you guys.”
A round of hugs and tissue dabbing commences in the crowded space until Iris claps her hands and tells us it’s time to get our prom vibe on. And as I follow my friends through the house, I think about what I built when I started the book club. I picked them without knowing what we’d become or that each of us was quietly drowning in our own way. But we made it back to shore together, and I wouldn’t trade everything we’ve been throughbecause it got us to this moment. And this moment is absolutely perfect.
Silence falls over the group as we step outside onto the covered porch—an almost never-occurrence for this crew. But the guys are lined up in front of the open barn doors across the driveway, every one of them in a tux. They’re scrubbed, combed, and resemble a grown-up boy band at an awards show they didn’t realize they were obligated to attend.
My brother breaks into a shit-eating grin when Avah gasps, and I adore the way the two of them love each other. Ian, who fills out his jacket like a man who used to get paid to be enormous, winks at Sadie, and she lets out a little moan in response. Jake’s hand is already out, ready to take hold of Iris. Eric beams at Taylor even as he curls two fingers into his collar. I didn’t think Eric would willingly put on a tux for all the money in the world. Chase, who’s in a bolo tie because, of course, has a protective hand on each of the twins’ shoulders. And Felix—sweet, giant Felix—swipes a hand across his cheek as Piper lifts baby Isla’s hand to wave at him.
Then there’s Jensen. The midnight-blue bow tie and cummerbund should make him look ridiculous, but his commitment to the theme has my pulse stuttering. Apparently, we’re really doing prom, and he's determined to make sure I never forget it.
Dark hair brushes the collar of his tux, unruly despite his obvious attempt to tame it, and his gaze locks onto mine.
“Hi,” I say when I’m closer. Once again, the ability to speak in complete sentences has deserted me.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Sloane.”
“You clean up pretty nice yourself, Nashville.”
