Page 72 of The Glass Dolphin

They arrived at the gangway first, and of course, everyone paused and waited for her to go ahead of them. Kelli wanted AJ to start up the ramp first, but she took the initial steps, saying, “Come on, Ava. Let’s get this over with.”

Kristen met her at the top of the gangway, already reaching for Daphne. Kelli had been sharing her with anyone who came to visit her and Shad at the townhome on Pearl Island, but not very many had done that. Her mother, and his, and Kelli’s sister had come for a weekend. Alice, Robin, Julia, and Jean had come.

When she’d heard about the argument just down the hall from her hospital bed, Kelli had been beyond irritated. She’d heard multiple versions of the same story, but none of them had come from AJ until Kelli had called her and confronted her.

AJ had brought Asher out to Pearl after that, and they’d had their own tearful reunion.She’s just proud, Kelli thought as she passed her baby off to Kristen. Without the infant in her arms, Kelli didn’t quite know what to do with her hands. So she turned back to the gangway and took her purse from Grace and her bag from Shad.

“I’m going to find a place for these,” she said, and then she headed for the couches and chairs across the deck and toward the interior of the yacht.

“Where are you going?” Robin demanded, and Kelli thought she could take her bite down a couple of notches.

She gave her a glare and said, “I’m just going to put these down.” Robin fell into step beside her, the tension radiating from her brushing Kelli’s skin. “You need to calm down,” she muttered.

“I know.” Robin didn’t bother to keep her voice low. “I’m so nervous.”

“So is she,” Kelli said as she found a puddle of shade for her bags. “Don’t forget that, Robin.” Their eyes met, and Kelli pulled her into a fierce hug. “She’s so worried too.”

She turned back to the open front of the yacht, and AJ and Matt were just stepping on. Asher squirmed in his daddy’s arms, and Matt set him on his feet with the warning to, “Stay where I can see you, buddy.” He immediately ran off toward Jean and Parker, which didn’t surprise Kelli that much.

AJ claimed not to be talking to anyone but her, and the way everyone watched her testified of that. She wore a look on her perfectly painted face that screamed “back off,” and Kelli couldn’t see her eyes behind the large pair of designer sunglasses.

She wore an all-white dress with white sandals, and she could be a beauty queen though she was just as close to fifty as Kelli. Thankfully, the people already on-board the yacht had somewhere else to look as Eloise and Aaron arrived.

“All right,” Duke said loudly. “Is everyone here?” He came out from the shadows of the interior and scanned everyone standing near the railing and those who’d just come aboard as they spread out across the deck.

“We have drinks,” Alice called.

“Pink champagne,” Arthur said, but Kelli wouldn’t be drinking. At least not alcohol. “We’ve also got fruit juices for the kids,” he added. “And this gorgeous sparking blush.” He held up a bottle that shone with glorious light pink liquid. “It’s apple with a hint of raspberry.” Arthur raised his eyebrows at Kelli, and she gave him a nod and a smile. She could hold a champagne flute with that pretty apple cider in it while her friends sipped something harder.

“Sips and dips,” Julia called. “Come on, we’re doing drink orders first.”

Everyone started to move away from the gangway and railing and into the seating areas. Kelli didn’t want to stand out in the sun though she hadn’t worn anything sleeveless or strappy. She wasn’t exactly someone who spent a ton of time outside.

In the shade, she found the bar, and she helped Parker get some Sprite with his orange juice. Grace and Billie wanted Diet Coke, and Kelli helped them with their sodas as well. El stood very near to Aaron, and neither of them had made it much further than the first couch, still out in the sunshine.

“We’re putting out,” Julia called. “Might be a slight bump.”

They’d all been on plenty of boats, and Kelli barely felt the movement as they got untied from the dock and the yacht eased out into the restless water. “This is an incredible yacht,” she said to Alice.

“One of Duke’s friends owns it,” she said. “We got it for really cheap.”

“Julia is going to send out bills, right?” Kelli shot a glance over to the woman, who poured champagne for Matt and handed him the glass before starting on one for AJ. The fact that they’d come so deep into the yacht told Kelli something, and she tried to catch AJ’s eye.

Her very best friend in the whole world would not look at her, and that only made Kelli step over to her. “AJ,” she said.

She finished her sip of champagne. “This is great, right?” She’d always liked the expensive things in life. Kelli couldn’t fault her for that, but she didn’t want to talk about the beauty of the yacht.

A couple of people laughed, and everywhere around them, people chattered. Kelli didn’t want to ruin the party. Quite the opposite. She wanted to enjoy it, and she couldn’t do that—no one truly could—until everything had been said that needed to be said.

“New Truth,” she shouted into the fray of people lingering in the seating area, indoor and out. “I’m calling a New Truth. Let’s circle up.”

“Right now?” Kristen asked, looking up from baby Daphne.

“Right now,” Kelli confirmed. She searched for an ally and found Alice setting down her glass. Kelli took a long breath as Shad came to her side. “This is how the New Truth works.”

“I don’t want to do a New Truth,” Robin said, shooting a look at Duke.

“Too bad,” Kelli said. “Everyone was invited here, and this is important. It involves everyone.” She looked at her husband. “Right, baby?”

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