Page 85 of Some Like It Fox

I pull back, keeping my hand on her shoulder. “It’s sad, actually, how much she missed, not knowing us.”

Jake nods. “Right? I’m awesome.”

Finley’s troubled eyes glance around the table. “I got all the moments she lost. I was the one you snuggled with when you were sad. I got to share all your firsts, first days of school, first dates, first heartbreaks, and I got to hear all the silly things you said and did when you were little.”

Piper taps her finger on the table. “Like how Jake made you wipe his butt until he was five?”

We all laugh.

Jake shrugs. “Seriously, that was an awesome time in my life. I’d pay for someone to wipe my ass for me now.”

Mindy wrinkles her nose. “Gross. I don’t remember very much about her. I remember her being sad sometimes, but that’s about it. Oh, and the necklace.”

My ears perk up. “Wait, the phoenix necklace?”

She nods, her brow furrowing in confusion. “Yeah, how did you know?”

“I’ve seen it.” I move over to the box, digging into it until I find the necklace that slipped down to the bottom. “Here. You should have it.”

“Are you sure?” She takes it from my outstretched hand and looks at it for a second, and then holds it up. “Does anyone else want it?”

“Maybe we can take turns, like the sisterhood of the traveling phoenix,” Piper says.

Mindy hands it to her for inspection.

Jake pouts. “What about me?”

Finley narrows her eyes down at the necklace. “It is kind of masculine.”

Jake puts out his palm. “Let me see. I’ll wear something pretty, I don’t care.”

They continue talking, and Mindy squeezes my shoulder, moving to my side to sort through more trinkets from the box.

For the first time in months, I take a deep breath. A giant weight that had been pressing on my shoulders, a heaviness disappears like a puff of smoke brushed away on a breeze.

I need to tell Atticus.

The urge washes over me like a tidal wave, powerful and fierce. More than anything, I want to share my relief, the good news, the offer from Silvertongue that I didn’t tell him about earlier. There is no one else I’d rather be with, to share my triumphs and losses.

The thought is immediately followed by panic.

I’m an idiot.

I’m so in love with him.

ChapterTwenty-Four

Atticus

“You made it.” The brightness of Taylor’s grin wraps around my heart and squeezes.

Tracking her down amongst the crush of people swarming the event was next to impossible, especially in the dark, despite the lights bouncing off the stage and dots of illumination lining the venue.

I finally locate her, far enough away from the stage that the music isn’t quite as deafening, but close enough that there are people swaying and dancing nearby.

I’ve been working all day since we got a group of kids in yesterday and finally finished all the camper activities only an hour ago.

I spent the entire day distracted, wondering how things were going, hoping the plan I set up for us tonight would work out. I texted Taylor a couple of times, but I’m not sure she’s had a chance to glance at her cell phone, let alone reply to texts. When I arrived, I had to ask a member of her staff, dressed in all black with one of those walkie-talkie earpieces, to help me narrow down her location.

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