Page 45 of Just Like That
He may have called it a coven to tease me, but he wasn’t wrong.
The Bluebirds were a sisterhood. A group of women bonded by love and friendship.
Unexpected emotion stung the bridge of my nose, and I poked at a tear that had formed at the corner of my eye.
Sylvie’s hand rested on my back. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed hard. “Just missing my sister a little bit.” I gave her a sad, watery smile and was comforted by her kind expression.
“Could you tell me about her?” she asked.
I shifted, scooting so my knees could face her. “Sure. She was older than me. Liked to boss me around ... typical big-sister stuff, I guess. Olive was funny—always the life of the party. She had this knack for getting people out of their shells.Everyoneloved her.”
Sylvie sighed. “Oh, sometimes I envy people like that—people who just have this glow about them, and light up a room in the best ways.”
I nodded. “Exactly. There was a spark, you know?” When my voice wobbled, I cleared my throat. “When she found out she was pregnant, she wasn’t scared. She just knew it would all be okay. Even after she told him and he?—”
I chewed the inside of my lip, willing the swell of emotions not to overtake me in a room full of new friends.
“Oh, honey.” Sylvie folded over me as I clamped my mouth shut.
I’d almost said it out loud and told her what he’d done—what he still wouldn’t admit actuallyhappenedbetween the two of them.
Guilt, slick and slimy, crept in at the edges of my awareness. I had been fighting my attraction to JP since I met him.
What kind of person did that make me?
What kind of sister?
I exhaled and sat back, swiping underneath my eyes and hoping my mascara wasn’t running all over the place.
“That’s it,” Annie said as she began texting something on her phone. “This calls for more alcohol.”
“Oh.” I laughed a watery chuckle. “I really can’t. I borrowed JP’s car and drove here.”
Annie waggled her phone with a grin. “Already taken care of. While the King men are busy having guys’ night with Teddy, the Sullivans just became our designated drivers.”
“In that case ...” Veda held a fresh bottle of champagne and expertly popped the cork with a laugh.
Playful whoops and hollers rang out as Veda poured the champagne into our plastic cups.
Sylvie held up her drink and winked at me. “To the Bluebirds, new and old.”
Together we toasted and sipped, the champagne tickling my nose as I sent up a silent toast of my own.
To the Bluebirds ... Olive sure would have loved you.
SIXTEEN
HAZEL
It waslate by the time Beckett Miller’s black SUV rolled down JP’s driveway. Kate, Emily, Veda, and I were giggling in the background as the grumpy builder smiled and shook his head from the front seat.
“All right.” He parked and turned toward the back. “It was nice to meet you, Hazel.”
“You too,” I answered as I crawled out of the back seat with Emily right behind me.
Kate was already making her way across the center console and nearly sitting in her husband’s lap as she giggled. Her butt was in his face as she awkwardly made her way into the front passenger seat. He slapped her ass and laughed as she plopped down.