“How’s Sam taking it?” I asked. I knew how much it must hurt him to have to cancel shows.
“He’s pretty bummed,” Grace said. “He feels like he’s really letting down the fans.”
“We can always reschedule the tour. The fans will understand,” I assured her. “But Sam and his health come first.”
“That’s what I keep telling him,” Grace said.
“Wait.” Ella squinted. “Does this mean what I think it means?”
“Yep,” Grace answered. “We’re coming home early. Our flight gets in at four p.m. tomorrow.”
Ella’s eyes widened, and though I knew she was ecstatic Grace was coming home, I also saw a look of panic in her eyes.
“Do you need us… I mean, one of us, to pick you up from the airport tomorrow?” I questioned.
“Nope,” she said. “We’ve already got a car scheduled to pick us up.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go drain the main vein,” Luca announced, rising from the table to a simultaneous groan from everyone else.
“Was that Luca? What did he say?” Grace asked. “I think my phone cut out.”
“He said he misses you and to travel safe,” I said quickly.
Everyone laughed, and Chloe clapped her hands in Derek’s lap.
“I miss you guys so much,” Grace said. “This has been amazing, but I can’t wait to be home again.”
“We’ve got to celebrate,” Ella suggested. “We’ll go to dinner if you’re not too tired when you get in.”
Grace gasped. “Yes! Please. And can we go to Frothy Monkey? I’ve missed their coffee.”
“Of course,” Ella replied.
“Okay, I better get going.” Grace sighed into the phone. “I still have to pack and try to get some sleep before we have to leave for the airport.”
“We love you, Grace,” Ella said, and we all sang our chorus of goodbyes before Ella hung up the phone. She must have felt my gaze on her because when her eyes finally met mine, a nervous smile flickered across her face.
Nineteen
Ella
“The flu? You poor thing,”Liv said to Katie before taking the last bite of her lasagna.
Katie took a sip of wine. “And then those girls we hired got drunk and no-showed, leaving poor Ella to fend for herself.”
Liv gasped. “Ella, I’m so sorry.”
Dallas spoke up before I could say anything. “It all worked out, though. You and Katie taught me well. Between me, Derek, and Cash, we had everything under control.”
Liv’s forehead creased. “You guys baked the cupcakes?”
“Yep.” Dallas beamed. “We did a pretty good job too.”
“Ella, why didn’t you call me?” The hurt in Liv’s voice was unmistakable. “I would have come to help.”
Katie’s eyes met mine, and she mouthed the word ‘sorry’ to me.
“Babe, I know you would have,” I said quickly. “You’ve had so much going on. I didn’t want to bother you.”
