Page 21 of Tame Me

Tyler came bounding into the backyard with the energy of the professional football player that he was and wrapped his arms around me. “How’s my little sis?”

“I’m great.”

He stepped back to examine me. “You look amazing.”

I did a little curtsy. “Thank you.”

“No. I mean, wow. That Gold Coast life is really good for you.”

I smiled at his enthusiasm. “Thank you. I love it there.”

He leaned in to whisper, “Lucky we escaped, huh?”

“You’re not kidding.” I chuckled. “I would’ve ended up like Chelsea-Lea.”

He frowned. “Have you seen her?”

“Made a point of meeting her last night.”

“And?”

I told him all about it, right down to dropping Chelsea-Lea to her knees, and he burst out laughing. “Oh God, I wish I’d been there. You know that’s going to be all over town by now.”

I cocked my head. “Good.”

“Have you told Mom?”

“Nope. She thinks Chelsea-Lea and I should still be friends. Hey, did you know Dad and Alexander are fishing buddies?”

“What? No!”

“Yep.” I shook my head. How was it that everyone understood why this relationship between my parents and my ex-fiancé was so wrong except for them?

“How’s my beautiful daughter?” Dad stepped onto the back porch and removed his faded old cap.

“Happy birthday, Dad.” We wrapped our arms around each other, and he planted a wet kiss on my cheek.

“It’s so good to have both my children home.” He pulled us in for a group hug, as he’d been doing since we were little kids.

“Roger!” Mom’s voice boomed from the kitchen. Dad kissed my forehead and silently slinked off in that direction. It was a move I’d seen him do dozens of times over.

The final pieces of the party setup came together as the sun began to set, and an hour before guests were due to arrive, I excused myself to freshen up and change.

I took particular care with my hair, styling it the way Lolita had suggested, with some tucked up to the back and the rest coaxed into soft waves. My makeup also took a fair bit of my time, but I wanted to get it perfect.

The black lace dress felt every bit as amazing as it had the first time I’d put it on, and as I stood before the mirror, I tried to tame my tumbling emotions. I was equally as apprehensive as I was excited about seeing Alexander again.

At the sound of the first guests arriving, I pulled my shoes on and buckled them at the sides of my ankles, dabbed on my trusty Bobbi Brown Retro Red lippy, planted a huge smile on my face, and stepped out of my old bedroom.

“Wow, look at you.” My dad’s comment had everybody turning and my heart skipping in delighted beats. I stepped forward to greet the neighbors who’d been living next door for more than forty years.

“Hello, Janice, Don, how are you?”

As the elderly couple hugged me to their chests, I was surprised at how much they’d aged in the four years since I’d seen them.

“We’re good, luvvy. You look amazing,” Janice said.

“Thank you.” I turned to Mom, who was staring at me like she couldn’t work out who I was. “Mom, would you like me to take Janice and Donald out the back?”

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