Page 64 of My Heart Belongs to You

“Okay, I have to break the news to Opal and Carmen,” I said. My head was spinning. How would my staff respond to being on camera? Would there be added pressure to be perfect? I certainly didn’t want them to be uncomfortable. I palmed my forehead while my parents shared the details of their upcoming trip to Roseville.

When the call ended, I texted Nadir to share the disappointing news.

ROBYN:

My parents are filming my friends and family night.

NADIR:

How did this come about?

I sent a paragraph explaining the situation. Raven was on the phone with Sadé voicing her frustration with Starling for not warning us. This was just another instance of him taking our parents' side.

“Opal and Carmen are going to lose it,” I groused.

“Carmen, for sure. Opal is used to Mom and Dad’s shenanigans. Matter of fact, I’ll break the news to her. It’ll give me a chance to see if my charm still works on her.”

“Raven,” I chided with a scowl.

She rolled her eyes. “What’s a little harmless flirting with an old friend? You know all about that, don’t you?”

My jaw dropped. Raven snickered while leaving my office. Speaking of flirting with friends... I checked my phone to see if Nadir replied.

NADIR:

It could be great exposure for B&B. I know it’s not what you want to hear right now, but it’s true. I’ll do what I can to ease your nerves before then.

I held my phone to my chest and sighed. Before breaking the news to everyone, I took a moment to appreciate having someone as supportive as Nadir.

Hours later, I lay on my couch staring at the ceiling. Ari Lennox played softly as my mind wandered. Carmen and Opal took the news better than expected. Opal volunteered to run point with my parents since she had the most television experience. Adding her to the “family” scenes seemed appropriate given our history. Carmen suggested which servers she thought could handle a few extra eyes. In under an hour, we came up with a plan for my parents’ show.

Once Adrienne arrived, I calmed down and could enjoy time with my girls. While they indulged in items from our menu, I caught Adrienne up on me and Nadir. She had the same sentiments as my sister, suggesting I just “go with the flow.” I found it comical that two of the biggest control freaks I knew were telling me to ease up. As I lay here listening to Ari Lennox croon about wanting a lover to fill the vacancy in her heart and bedroom, one person came to mind. Before calling him, I had to let Starling know he was on our shit list.

ROBYN:

A heads up would’ve been nice...

Raven exclaimed my message, earning a chuckle from me. We decided that I should initiate the contact because it would likely lead to a productive conversation.

STARLING:

You wouldn’t have agreed. Sometimes we must do things we don't want to for the ones we love.

RAVEN:

Bullshit. You could’ve mentioned them wanting more family moments. We could’ve easily surprised them at home.

They continued going back and forth; the argument turned into something bigger than my soft opening. I should’ve texted Starling outside of the sibling chat. After muting our chat, I called Nadir.

“Wassup, Goldie.”

I sighed in contentment. “Hi, my darling.”

“What are you up to?”

I jumped right into the reasons I was on the couch staring at the ceiling. As always, he listened attentively and affirmed my feelings.

“Focus on what you can control,” he said, then yawned.