page19 (1/2)

"I'm honestly not shocked I've alondered why she stayed with hi up and I think she stuck around out of fear of being alone"

"I could kick his ass for her"

Her laughter tickles my skin, and I have to clench irl

"That's sweet, honey, but I think her honor is safe and all that"

"Is she going to be okay?"

Eainst mine

"She'll be fine She's a strong one Just needed to get it out Don't be surprised if she never brings it up again and just moves on like she hadn't just been betrayed by a "

"That's not healthy, baby"

"I know it's not She works on things her oay and I just make sure I'm there if she needs me"

"And what do you need?"

Her smile is instant "Just you"

"Always"

She curls back againststill a few ht, but hopefully, it helped distract the nerves that she's been fighting as her show gets closer

It's been on the tip of hts, especially after the fire, to tell her how I feel, but because of the bullshit I had done in the past to hurt her, I know that she needs to be shown I fucked up and because of that, h Actually, that's a lie The thought that I o when she bared her soul and I let the pain come to it is a very real insecurity for me I know deep down that won't happen, but until I can ain and prove to her that I won't take that gift for granted, I's for her

Hell, any fool can say those three little words but not all can show it It took ure out what I needed to do was de I not only want but also crave Turning her doill always be one offor her at the time--because now that I have her, I know the only way I would have ever felt true happiness is in her arms

Everything I have ever wanted is co true I have Dirty, and already, I knoith no doubts that place will continue to thrive My family is healthy I have my own home, a badass truck, and friends with a bond thatthat ift of Ember's love ithout a doubt solidify that I've made it

Nothing in the world is worth having if it isn't with her

I know that now, and it's ht have are erased

With a s in my mind, I pull her a little closer and drift off to sleep

To to be fun

"WOULD YOU SIT STILL!" MY sister yells, throwing another Q-tip down on the kitchen table "I swear to God, Ember, you act like you've never put eyeliner on before"

Blinking back some of the tears in my eyes, I look up at her and sut and I' not to puke

"You're lucky I love you," she fumes

Nate wisely left when the girls showed up earlier I think he would have stuck around, but when his sister started talking about her night with Cohen, he gagged and left with the proallery

"When is Stella getting here?" Dani asks, twirling another lock of ot those aht it would be a flat iron doing the trick

"Dunno," Maddi hu ht the urge to blink when she starts to coain

"She had better hurry; she's got my dress," I mumble When I realized that the fire had destroyed the one I had picked out, I knew Stella, or her father rather, was my only hope

"What happened to the one you bought?"

I look over at Dani with a sad s in the doorway to roceries and just decided to leave it there" Even though I've come to terms hat I lost in the fire, it still hurts My studio being the biggest of heartaches But everything besides that rooeable, so I need to focus on that and not on what I lost

"Damn, sorry, Em," Dani mumbles

"It's okay Things are co to my dad I've slowly started to rebuild my supplies, so I'll be fine"

"And luckily she kept a lot of her overflow in the guest rooht Em?"

I smile at my sister and nod my head

"That's good You should take over a place here," Dani contemplates out loud

It isn't soht about, but I don't want to take over Nate's space with my stuff He has a bonus rooe pictureoverlooking his backyard When I first walked into the rooame room, I couldn't help but think of what a perfect space it would be to set up et lost

His property is set away froated and secluded When you stand in that room and look out the , all you can see is the beautiful woods, the s around The trees aren't heavy back there, not like they are around the sides and front of his property, so the sun just gives a shadowed grayness to the land

I've already decided that I would be painting it soon My phone was quickly filling up with various angles and ieneral

"I'm here!"

All three of us turn when Stella co into the kitchen, where we have currently set up coht She rushes into the roo what nerves I had been able to settle pick back up

"Uh," I start

"It's co that I just couldn't shake when it was discovered where I was headed"

That's when I notice the heavy clicks of heels against the floor There is only one person I knoho takes that heavy of a step when in heels

Sway

Or Dilbert 'Sway' Harrison III

He's not only one-half of Stella's fathers, as in plural, but he also owns the very popular salon, Sway's, that otten a lot of hype after the reality show aired a few years ago, Sway All the Way, and things just keep getting bigger and bigger for hiirls at the salon

Butabout when it coht anything but the best of the ner fashions better than anyone else did I've seen pictures of him from before all of our parents had kids, and this has always been hi, but these days, he has it shaped into a shoulder-length stylized mess of wavy curls

Just because he's a gayfrom the women's section doesn't mean he can't pull off jeans and a tee shirt from his husband's closet too He just has it all

"Looking good, Sway," Dani calls over

He has on soed black pants with a white button-down shirt tucked into his triht, but nowadays, he's trimmed up and put on soh, he has his natural shaved black hair on display, soh he usually has covered up, he takes great pains to rays don't ever show

"Of course, Sway does, darlin' Would you expect any less?"

"I suppose not" She giggles

"What are you wearing?" He gasps and continues to look at Dani

"Uhclothes?"

/>"Those," he puffs, "are not clothes and should be thrown out i that luscious body?"

"I know, I know, but give it a rest today I was in a rush, and Owen spilled his breakfast on e when I finish her hair"

"You had better be," he fusses

"And you," he says to ht and black, but covers everything froold shawl if you decide that bare arold heels that are justtoo flashy, even if flashy is h you should show off that body too I'll let it pass tonight because you should flatter your art and not overshadoith your beauty So hurry up so Sway can get you all beautified for tonight"

I don't get a chance to talk because his face lights up and he starts bouncing in his spot

"Oh! And now, tell me all about the hunky prince ns this house I always kneith parents as striking as Axel and Izzy that boy would be a jaw dropper Even as a baby he was just thein the world, I tell you Just the sweetest face, like hismuscles that I kneould win out with his only son That jaw, et , oh yes, I have Tell Sway everything, if you knohat I h and drops into the seat in front ofMaddi out of the way "I bet he is a dream in bed!"

"Oh ing noise

"Soes him out of the ith her hip

Sway continues to wag his brows at ive hih to keep him quiet while Dani and Maddi finish my hair and makeup