I felt a lump form in my throat. Liv had been my rock, and I had been hers. But now she had her own rock in Jax. As selfish as it was, I had kind of hoped that after Grace grew up Liv and I would have some time together that just belonged to us—time where we could travel and do all the things we’d wished we had time for when we were younger.
“See? Without you, I would eat all the sodium,” I said matter-of-factly. “Actually, I still eat it. I just hide the evidence.”
“Just like a teenager,” Liv teased.
I smiled and squeezed her shoulder. “And you say you won’t be a good parent.”
“Thank you,” she said, hugging me tightly. “I’m sorry. I guess everything is finally starting to hit me, and I’m kind of freaking out.”
“I’d be worried if you weren’t freaking out,” I assured her. “This is a lot for anyone to process, but you can do this.”
She nodded, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a tissue. “I’ve got to pull myself together so Jax and I can get out of here. We can at least have one night of wedded bliss before we become parents.”
“It’s going to be the best twelve-hour honeymoon ever.” I kissed her on the cheek. “Grace and I will make sure you’ve got everything packed up here and get you to your man.”
I flitted around the room and gathered Liv’s belongings, putting them into the appropriate bags until everything was ready to go. Liv was touching up her lipstick in the mirror when there was a knock at the door.
“Liv?” Jax’s voice called. “Are you ready, baby?”
Liv took a deep breath and looked at me, her face full of a million questions—the kinds of questions you ask every day of your life as a parent.
I gave her an encouraging nod. “You’ve got this.”
“Heck yeah, you do,” Grace agreed.
I slung her weekender bag over my shoulder. “I’ll hand your bag off to Brady so he can go ahead and put it in the car for you.”
“Thank you.” She started toward the door before stopping abruptly and spinning around. “Oh! How was your date with Ryan?”
I couldn’t tell her the truth. She had enough to worry about without feeling sorry for her best friend who had a dud for a date. I plastered a smile on my face. “It was really great.”
Liv’s face lit up, and she reached for my hand. “I can’t wait to hear about it.”
“Soon,” I promised.
Liv looked from me to Grace before throwing her arms around us both. And for a moment, the three of us held each other, just like we had hundreds of times before.
“I love you guys,” Liv cried. “So much.”
“We love you too, Aunt Livvie,” Grace’s soft voice replied.
Tears burned my eyes. “You bet your ass we do.”
“Babe? Everything okay in there?” Jax’s voice called again.
I cleared my throat and answered for her. “Come in, Jax. She’s ready.”
The door swung open to reveal Jax waiting with a smile on his face. With one last hug, I let her go, and she walked through the door to her new life.
Grace grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Are you okay, Mom?”
“I’m good. Just happy for Liv.”And sad for me.I folded Grace in my arms, breathing in the familiar lavender scent of her hair as I kissed the top of her head. The time had come for me to encourage my best friend in this next chapter of her life, even if it meant she fell off the pages of mine.
Four
Cash
Guests beganto trickle out of the courtyard just after eleven, a little wobbly on their feet as they went in search of their Ubers. I watched as Luca downed yet another scotch before whisking away one of the pretty cocktail waitresses. I rolled my eyes when he threw a wave at me from over his shoulder before disappearing into the night. Dallas, Derek, and Antoni had already left, but I’d hung around for another drink in hopes I might get to talk with Ella.
