“A happy woman is a beautiful woman indeed. I’m just fortunate that I make her that way,” Dash added with a smile.
They entered the living room where Chessy and Tate were sitting. Chessy rose and hurried over to hug Kylie.
“You look amazing!” Chessy exclaimed. “And oh my God, look at your shoes! Someone get a camera and quick! This has to be documented. Kylie is wearing heels!”
Laughter broke over the room. Jensen slid his arm around her, rubbing his hand up and down the bare expanse of her arm. She’d worried she’d be overdressed for the occasion. After all, they were merely going to Dash’s and Joss’s house for dinner. But now she was glad she made the effort.
She looked good. With no false modesty, she knew she looked her best. And now that she’d made friends with her heels, she could actually walk without teetering precariously.
“I do love those shoes,” Joss said wistfully. “Where did you get them?”
Dash groaned. “Thanks, Kylie. She’ll break me now.”
Joss elbowed him with a ferocious scowl and Kylie just laughed.
Joss certainly didn’t need Dash’s money. She had all that Carson had left her plus her share of the profits from the business. She, like Kylie, had inherited a portion of Dash’s—and now Jensen’s—consulting firm.
Kylie banked her share, not touching it. She used her paycheck for her bills and the necessities. It was invested and she rarely gave it any thought. But perhaps with her new outlook on life she would consider doing something fun with some of the proceeds. Maybe she and Jensen could take a trip somewhere.
There was suddenly so much she wanted to do and experience. Having a new lease on life made her look at everything so much differently now. She saw the world in color instead of a drab gray.
“Y’all go on in to the dining room,” Joss said, motioning with her hands. “I’m going into the kitchen to start serving it up.”
“I’ll help you, honey,” Dash said, following her.
Kylie sat next to Jensen at Joss’s dinner table that seated twelve. Chessy and Tate sat across from them while Dash sat at the head of the table with a spot for Joss reserved on his right, next to Kylie.
As the food was placed on the table, several oohs and ahhs of appreciation sounded. Joss had outdone herself with tonight’s feast. As Kylie glanced around the table, she realized that this was how it should be at holidays. Friends. No, not friends, family. She’d spent so long focused on the fact that Carson was her only family and now that he was gone she had no one, she’d lost sight of the fact that family was what you made it. This was her family now. Joss, Dash, Chessy and Tate. And Jensen.
Joss had baked Cornish hens with a delicious-smelling marinade. There were at least three casseroles, potatoes, vegetables and of course, a good bottle of wine.
“Oh yummy! Gimme!” Kylie said when Joss uncovered one of the casseroles to reveal Joss’s homemade four-cheese macaroni.
“Watch her, Jensen,” Dash warned. “She gets territorial when it comes to Joss’s mac and cheese. The rest of us have to fight her for whatever we get.”
“I’ll send the leftovers home with you, Kylie,” Joss soothed.
“There won’t be any leftovers after they all get done,” Kylie groused.
“I made an extra one for you,” Joss whispered.
“Hey, I heard that!” Chessy protested. “What about me? Am I chopped liver over here or what?”
“I made dessert for you,” Joss said in a placating tone.
Chessy’s eyes lit up in delight. “Ohhh please tell me you made your caramel pie.”
Joss nodded. “And an extra for you to take home.”
“Only if she agrees to share it with me,” Tate said dryly.
Chessy sent him a mock scowl. “Only if you’re a really good boy.”
“Good grief, Joss. Where did you come up with all the time to fix all this?” Kylie asked. “There’s enough to feed an army here plus you made extras for me and Chessy!”
“This is wonderful, Joss,” Jensen complimented after several bites. “I think I’m in heaven.”
Several other praises were offered and Joss sat down, her face pink from all the compliments.
“This is excellent, honey. Thank you,” Dash said, shooting his wife a smile that even made Kylie shiver.
Now that she’d found love herself, she could view her friends and their relationships in a whole new light. No longer was she envious of them. She now shared in the wonder of being involved in an actual relationship. Being in love and all the newness that it brought.
She slipped her hand into Jensen’s lap, resting her fingertips on his thigh. He reached down, switching his fork from his left hand to his right, and laced his fingers through hers, squeezing.
Contentment settled deep into Kylie’s soul. Love was said to get better with age, and if that was true then Kylie looked forward to the days ahead. Because right now was pretty damn awesome. If it got better? She couldn’t even imagine.
They joked and talked through dinner. It was a noisy, happy occasion. The atmosphere was relaxed, and even Chessy seemed to be genuinely happy, her eyes sparkling with laughter and love.
Then Tate’s cell phone rang and the light diminished from Chessy’s eyes. She glanced away so no one would see, but Kylie had already witnessed the resignation in her friend’s expression.
Kylie tried to tune out Tate’s conversation, hoping it was nothing that would ruin the evening for Chessy. But it quickly became apparent that whatever the situation was, it required Tate’s immediate attention.
She still didn’t really get it. Kylie didn’t understand the nuances of Tate’s job as a financial advisor. One would think his would be a job that was only demanding during normal work hours. When the market and banks were open. Not late into the evening. What on earth could require his immediate attention and drag him away from his wife with such alarming frequency?
Doubt crept into Kylie’s mind as she pondered the situation and the expression on her friend’s face. No wonder Chessy had worried that he was having an affair. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Stage a call from a client demanding his attention and then he slips away for a few hours with another woman.
She really had to put a lid on her overactive imagination. Chessy needed support. Not validation for her suspicions.