Vivien took them and put a hand on Kate’s leg. “Only if you want to talk.”
“I do.” She took a deep drink of champagne and let the sweet bubbles give her courage. “Eli and I had a conversation,” she said. “A real one. At two this morning, in the kitchen.”
She told them. Not every word, but the shape of it—Emma and the Bible, Eli’s hurt, the irony of asking him to be himself and then being frightened when he was. The fundamental crack between them that she’d been trying to step over for months.
When she finished, Tessa leaned in, nothing but love in her eyes, but a little determination, too. “Can I be honest with you?”
“You’re going to be whether I say yes or not.”
“You know what I’m going to say.”
Kate searched her face. “Actually, I don’t.”
“You do because we had this conversation a while ago—I think it was the day I tried to break up with Dusty. You were still harping on the same religion thing, and I asked if you were really going to give up a guy as great as Eli because he wastoo good. I stand by that question, because it defies logic. Even yours, the most logical logic there is.”
Kate closed her eyes and remembered the conversation, a little exasperated that she and Eli were still stuck in the same place.
“Kate,” Tessa said. “You found a man who is kind, balanced, patient, wonderful with your daughter, incredible with his own kids, has a great business, good friends, two homes, and adores you.”
Kate winced at her sister’s litany of Eli’s perfection—mostly because it was all spot-on.
“And you’re going to throw that away because he goes to church on Sunday?”
She sighed and looked at Vivien, who held up a hand.
“Hey, I’m not going to argue with that. I’ve known Eli since the day I was born. He was, and is, the very best big brother known to man. He’s a gem, Kate. And he’s been through a lot inlife. Melissa’s death tore him to shreds, and his faith helped him heal.”
“I know, I know.” Suddenly, Kate felt…small. And dumb. And desperate to defend her thoughts and actions. “It’s not about church, though,” she said, making an attempt at self-defense. “It’s about a fundamental difference in how we see the world.”
“So?” Tessa looked ready to dismiss that argument with one strappy shoulder shrug. “Dusty and I see the world differently every single day. He’s a therapist who thinks everything can be talked through. I’m an event planner who thinks life’s problems can be solved with better lighting and a decent caterer. We make it work.”
“That’s not the same thing,” Kate insisted.
“It’s the nature of a relationship,” Tessa said. “And good ones are rare. What you and Eli have? The way he looks at you? The way you light up around him? That doesn’t come along twice, especially not at our age. And you’re going to let it go because you can’t reconcile his faith with your microscope?”
“She has a point,” Vivien said quietly.
“Of course I have a point. I always have a point.” Tessa took a sip and let the words settle. “So what if he believes? Everyone believes in something. You believe in science. Even I’ve had some conversations with The Guy.”
Kate blinked. “The guy?”
“Capital G.” Tessa pointed toward the ceiling. “God, the universe, whatever you want to call it. And honestly? He’s not that bad. Maybe Eli’s right. Maybe there is a power out there. I mean,somethingled all three of us back to Destin and back to the boys we knew when we were teenagers. That isn’t acoincidence.”
Kate shook her head. “Please. Maggie had the house and you found it and Vivien messaged me and?—”
“Somethingorchestrated all that,” Tessa cut in, reaching for Kate’s hand. “You are the smartest person I know. You’ve always been the smartest person in every room. But smart isn’t the same as right, and being certain isn’t the same as being open. Just let go and see what happens.”
Kate closed her eyes and smiled. “Madame Celestine.”
“What?” they asked in unison.
“Do you remember the fortune teller from the Seafood Festival when we were seventeen?”
Tessa let out a hoot. “Of course! Madame Celestine!”
“You wouldn’t have your palm read,” Vivien recalled. “What made you think of that?”
“One of your diaries,” Kate said. “I read it this morning and I was…the same. Stuck in the mud, refusing to believe in something so silly, and because of that, I missed out on the fun.”
