The Do-Over(71)

“That was fun,” Laynie whispered in my ear. “Score one for the hoes.”

Settling into the back of the limo, the first order of business was shoe removal. With my legs straight out in front of me, I said to my feet, “Go ahead and swell. You deserve it after what I did to you tonight. But I do want you to know one thing, you looked fabulous.”

Laynie was perusing the bar. “Can I interest either of you?” She looked at me and Jill.

Nodding, “My feet want cognac, if they have any.”

“My feet want what she’s having,” Jill piped in as she kicked off her shoes and started to go through her giftbag. “Look how cute this is.” She pulled out a bright pink C-Kicker shirt that said, C Me Kick Cancer to the Curb.

Laynie had handed us our drinks and began digging through her bag. “I got that shirt too, except mine is in green. Which is good, that goes better with my hair. And oh look, Bluetooth headphones. These are really nice.”

Jill pulled out her headphones, “These are nice. I can’t wait to use them on the treadmill.”

Scarlett pulled a big square box out of her bag. It was wrapped in pale blue metallic paper with silver ribbon.

“What’s that?” Jill asked. “I don’t have that in mine.”

“Neither do I,” said Laynie. “I’ve just got the shirt and headphones, donation information and a box of handmade truffles.”

“Me too,” Jill corroborated.

Pulling the ribbon and the paper from the box, an excited Scarlett said, “It’s from Swarovski.” Opening the box, she gasped, staring fondly at its contents before looking up at us. “It’s a tiara.”

She pulled the silver and crystal headpiece from its box and it was all our turns to gasp.

“Mom, put it on me.” Scarlett was shaking with excitement.

The moment it was situated on her head, she pulled out her cell to take a selfie.

“Oh my God, I like literally can’t believe he did this. I have to send him a picture.”

“Who?” Jill asked.

“Wes. He calls me Princess. This has to be from him.” She snapped another photo of herself with her head tilted, then began to type. Immediately, her phone buzzed back. “Oh, he’s bummed we left and didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.”

“Make sure you thank him.”

“I did,” and she typed something else. “I can’t believe he got me this.”

“Tara, why don’t you take a look in your giftbag and see if there is anything special in yours,” urged Laynie.

I laughed, “I think not.” Digging in the bag, I pulled out the shirt, then the headphones, a bunch of papers, and then the truffles. Reaching back down in the bag, my fingers wrapped around a small box wrapped in silver paper with a silver ribbon.

“That matches your dress,” Jill commented.

With shaking hands, I removed the ribbon and paper. The box said Michou. My heart felt like a stopper in my throat.

“Michou,” I said softly.

“Did he know you love her designs?” Laynie was waiting for me to open the box.

“He’s seen me wear Michou pieces, but we’d never talked about it.” I was shocked at how observant he’d been.

“Mom, open it. I’m like literally dying.”

Opening the box, its contents were as perfect and as personal as Scarlett’s tiara had been. Opening my purse, I grabbed a tissue to dab at my eyes. This was us.

“What is it, Mom?”

I lifted the round matte silver pin from its box.

“That is gorgeous.” Jill leaned in for a closer look.

The pin was made of silver and gold with a mélange of stones in an array of blue hues. The gold laid on the silver was in the shape of moons, stars, shooting stars and planets. It was a gorgeous depiction of the cosmos, the night sky. It was us and had been from the first night we met.

Laynie reached out her hand and I gave her the pin. “It’s really magnificent. And you know he purchased this prior to his conversation with our little princess tonight.”

I nodded, letting that sink in and wondered if Wes and I would ever get to the same side of the bridge or would Julien Matthews always be taking the toll?





Chapter 24


As we waited in the conference room for Chris to arrive for the Monday morning staff meeting, the giftbags and Flourless Chocolate Torte dominated the conversation. I had opted not to mention the extra little box in my gift bag which I had thanked Wes for via text over the weekend.

Thank you for that special Michou surprise.

It was perfect for you. I hope you liked it.

Very much. Again, TY.

YW

And that had been the extent of our communications.

At 10:15, Donna popped her head into the conference room. “Chris is on a call, he said to tell you it will be about another five minutes.

“I used the headphones yesterday when I was running. They are sweet,” commented Jamie.

“The whole event was first class.” Jonathan checked his phone as he spoke.

“Sorry I’m late.” Chris burst through the door a few minutes later and took his spot at the head of the conference room table. Donna settled into the chair next to him. “So, did everyone have a good time on Saturday night? That was some event.”