Page 22 of On the Rocks

“Did you at least put it in a gift bag?”

I frowned. “No?”

“What are you, twelve?”

“You didn’t know me when I was twelve.”

“And thank god for that. You were probably an annoying little sh—” He cleared his throat. “Piece of work.”

I snorted. “You’re thinking too hard about all of this. You’re supposed to be relaxing and enjoying your weekend with Hailey. Not stressing out over cards and gift wrap as some sort of substitute for stressing about your?—”

“Watch what you say with current company,” Dominic cut in.

“—other predicament,” I finished tactfully for Hailey’s sake. What I really wanted to say wasstressing about your horrible, gold-digging, selfish hag of a soon-to-be ex-wife.

“I’m not stressing about that.”

“Sure you’re not.” Dominic’s mind cycled between three things: Hailey, his disaster divorce proceedings, and the launch of Elixir Free.

“I’m actually the King of Calm today. How far are you?”

I glanced out the window, watching the Bayfront properties zoom by. Nana Dee’s place was nestled in a neighborhood comprised of picturesque beach walks and quaint cafés. It was all a little too slow for my usual tastes, but a perfect occasional escape from the chaos of Manhattan. “About two minutes.”

“Okay, we’re just pulling up. I’ll see you there.”

I hung up, making my way down the street, pulling up in front of Nana Dee’s place. I spotted Vincent’s red Bugatti Chiron—the one Piper, his fiancée, had crashed into on the day they met—and Paul’s car. Dominic was unloading Hailey in the driveway, his Bentley Bentayga far more child friendly. We liked to tease him about driving the dad-mobile, but I supposed Vincent was about to join him, since Piper was due to give birth soon. Bye-bye Bugatti and hello rear-facing car seat.

I grabbed the liquor off the passenger seat and hopped out, meeting Dominic on the driveway.

“Say hi to Uncle Aiden,” he said as Hailey climbed down from her seat.

“Nana Dee!” Hailey cried, zooming straight past me and up the porch steps of the house.

Dominic shrugged. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I get it. Nana Dee is infinitely cooler than I am.” I followed him to the door. We didn’t bother knocking. We hadn’t since Christmas break of freshman year. I was only just starting to get to know the guys then—Vincent, Dominic, and Trent from a brand management class we were all taking together, and Paul because he was Vincent’s roommate. But when going hometo my almost-divorced parents had sounded like a nightmare and Vincent’s travel plans fell through at the last minute, Trent hadn’t hesitated to invite us to spend the holiday with him at Nana Dee’s. From that moment on, his grandmother basically adopted us, calling us her Lost Boys. We spent every Christmas break in college with her and had stayed close since.

Hailey ran ahead, racing through the house Nana Dee had childproofed the day Hailey was born. Dee and her husband had made it big in the furniture business, and the house was filled with antique furnishings and stained-glass windows, but there were no sharp edges or trip hazards anywhere. Nana Dee always made sure her world was as safe and welcoming for us as it could be. We made our way to the covered patio where she was setting out the lunch spread.

“There you are!” she said to us as she hugged Hailey, who’d latched onto her legs.

Dominic scooped Hailey into his arms, freeing Nana Dee, only for her to latch onto both of us. I allowed myself to be squished in a hug. For as long as I’d known her, Dee had always worn the same rose-scented perfume. I couldn’t smell it without smiling.

“Is the birthday boy around?” I asked.

“He’s in the kitchen trying to help. I told him not to bother, since it’s his birthday, but you know how he is.”

Hecouldbe kind of a control freak…but I was the same way, so I was hardly one to criticize.

“We’ll go root him out,” Dominic said, flipping Hailey upside down until she’d started giggling uncontrollably. “Won’t we?”

“Can I do anything?” I asked Dee when Dominic disappeared. She handed me a basket of cutlery, and I set to work. “Are we expecting your famous red velvet cake again this year?”

“Of course. I baked it fresh this morning. Just finished icing it before you all got here.”

“Hey, Dee!” Vincent called, coming through the patio door from the yard. Piper was just behind him. “It looks like you’ve already got jasmine growing in the greenhouse.”

“Glad you noticed. Took me forever to get those little buggers to take root!”

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