Page 68 of Sweet Escape at Bayside
Gabe brought everyone’s drinks and took their dinner orders. Andre wanted to ask Desiree if Violet had mentioned going away with him, but he had a feeling she would have already said something if she had.
After ordering, he asked Gabe if she’d heard from Violet. “I’m beginning to get a little worried that something might have happened to her.”
Gabe smiled and said, “This is Violet, remember? Nobody’s dumb enough to mess with her. She’ll show up when she’s good and ready.”
As she said the words, Rod stopped strumming his guitar, and Andre glanced up just in time to see Violet strutting down the hall from the kitchen wearing a bright red leather miniskirt with a zipper running down the center of it from the waist to the hem. A low-cut black shirt hung off one of her shoulders and had the wordsdaughter,sister,friend,loverlisted in white down the front, with a bright red slash through each one, and below them, written in red, wasBADASS WITCH. Her leather biker boots announced each step with athud, and her sexy green eyes were locked on Andre as she strode up to the mic.
“Oh my gosh. She’s wearingred!” Emery exclaimed. “Have youeverseen Violet wear red?”
As the others whispered about Violet’s clothes, Andre’s heart filled up anew. She had worn that same outfit early on in Ghana, and it had driven him out of his mind then, too. She put a hand on her jutted-out hip, with the defiance of a teenager, and the din of the others quieted.
“How’s it going?” Violet said with the confidence of a fearless woman.
Everyone answered at once, and she nodded, her eyes sweeping over her friends. Then those gorgeous eyes narrowed and she said, “Thanks for coming.”
She glanced at Elliott, who gave her a thumbs-up, and her expression softened. Her hand fell from her hip, and when she looked out over the tables, her left toe turned in. Andre’s chest tightened. He wanted to go to her, to be her rock, her greatest supporter. But he knew that his strong, vulnerable, creative girl with the heart of gold needed the support of everyone sitting around that table, along with Gabe, Rod, and Elliott, just as much as she needed him. She might need them all in different ways, but they each owned a piece of her heart, and they’d helped her become the incredible woman she was. He’d never want to take that away from her.
Violet cleared her throat and said, “You know all that bull aboutlove is patient, love is kind? Well, growing up with Lizza Vancroft taught me something a little different. I was taught that love is meant to be spread around because children should inherentlyknowthey’re loved. They shouldn’t need their parents to prove it to them. And kindness? Well, that’s not just for family members, is it? In fact, sometimes the people we love most are the ones we’re least kind to. Kindness is meant to be tossed around like confetti, and if you’re lucky, some of it might shower down around you. Those aren’t bad lessons, even if a little hard to take as a kid.”
She looked at Andre, and his stomach sank. She wasn’t leaving with him. He saw it in her apologetic gaze. He inhaled deeply, telling himself it was okay. There was nothing they couldn’t handle as long as he had her to come home to.
“But perhaps the biggest lesson I learned from my crazy mother,” Violet said, “is that sometimes those we love most get left behind.” She looked at Desiree, who was clinging to Rick’s hand. Violet touched the necklace hanging around her neck and smiled. Her beautiful eyes found Andre again, lingering only a second before they drifted over the others, and she said, “When I came here, I was broken, and I was brokenhearted. Other than Justin”—she smiled at him—“I’d never had a long-term friendship. Justin has always been there for me, giving me grief and straightening me out when I needed it.” She looked at Desiree again and said, “But then my sister showed me that I had a friend in her all along. I just didn’t know it. Des, you taught me what it meant to be loved unconditionally and, maybe more importantly, loved unconditionally by a family member.”
Desiree’s lower lip trembled, and tears slipped from her eyes.
Violet lifted her chin, visibly steeling herself against them. “I didn’t call you all here for a pity party. Each of you have taught me what friendship is really about. Steph, we’ve cried and laughed about our families.”
“She saw Violetcry?” Serena whispered.
“Shh.” Emery glared at her.
“Yes, Icry,” Violet said sarcastically. “I also work with kids and I sculpt, so yeah, there’s that.” Before the confused murmurs of her friends could take over, she said, “Rowan, you brought me into this amazing place, and Gabe, Rod, Elliott, and the rest of you welcomed my sorry self and all my attitude with open arms. We’ve had some great times, and I’ve always known that if I needed anything, you had my back.”
“Always, sugar,” Rowan called out.
“Mira, you are the voice of reason, and in watching you with your children, your brothers Dean and Rick, and the gossip girls, I’ve learned what being a mother, a sister, and a friend should look like.” Violet paused, swallowing hard. “Guys, you all know who you are.” She shrugged, and a small smile lifted her lips. “You’re the brothers I’ve never had. Em, Serena, Daphne, and Chloe, you drive me batty with your nosiness and your giggles, but I couldn’t have survived these last couple years without each of you giving me a reason to drag my butt to breakfast and give you grief.”
“Andthere she is,” Serena said.
“We love you, Vi!” Emery hollered.
Violet touched the microphone stand, as if she needed something to stabilize her, and said, “I hope that you all know how much I love you. I’m not good at that stuff, so I appreciate you forgiving my shortcomings. But I’m learning. Or trying to.”
Her emotional gaze returned to Andre, and he readied himself against what he knew was coming. He pressed his fingers into his thighs beneath the table, gritting his teeth, vowing not to make this any harder for Violet than it already was.
“Getting back to those lessons about love that our parents are supposed to teach us,” she said. “It wasn’t until I met a certain man overseas that I learned whatlovingand beinglovedreally meant.” She looked down, nudging the floor with the toe of her boot during a long, silent pause. When she looked up again, her eyes met his with so much love, so much trust, he choked up. And then she said, “His love was so deep and true, it scared theeffout of me. Sorry, Joni.”
Joni giggled and said, “She always says that word,” earning a rumble of low chuckles.
Violet smiled. “I was scared about what might happen if I brought you all together. Andre gave me the insight and the strength that I needed to see clearly. I thought my worlds colliding would leave me feeling alone again, which is insane, because how could I ever feel alone when I have so many great friends? Gabe was kind enough to close the coffeehouse for my private spewing of emotions. Thank you for that and too many other things to count. I can’t think of a better place to do this.”
Violet strode across the floor with a riveting, emotional stare aimed at Andre. He rose as she came to his side and slipped his arm around her waist.
“You don’t have to say it, babe,” he said softly.
“Yes, I do.Youtaught me that loveispatient and loveiskind.Youloved me even after I left you behind. You aren’t threatened by my love of my friends, and you understand my need to keep the roots I’ve finally planted alive. Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned from you, and Desiree, and the rest of our friends, is that even if those you love most get left behind, it doesn’t mean they’re forgotten or unloved.” She smiled up at him with tears in her eyes and said, “That’s why I’ve decided to go with you next weekend and, if you’ll have me, on every future adventure. You are the only man I’ve ever loved and—”
“Thank goodness.” He hauled her against him, crushing his mouth to hers as cheers and applause rang out around them. “I love you, Daisy. I always have, and I always will.”
