“I guess you’d call it handsome,” she corrected. “And wealthy. And into you. What else did you find out tonight?”
“So much,” Vivien said on a sigh. “He’s fascinating and successful and caring. But…Peter.”
“Yes, Peter.”
Vivien shot her a look. “They’re such wildly different men. Peter is calm and solid and kind. He’s been in my life for decades. He knows my family. My baggage. He wants to move here, Lacey, and, you know, be with me. As a couple.”
Lacey bolted upright again. “Wait, what?”
“He said that a few nights ago when we went to mini-golf. He wants to be serious. Official. Real.”
“Mom, that’s huge. That’s acommitment.”
“I know,” Vivien said softly, tugging her back down. “And he’d be wonderful. He’s the kind of man I could build a life with. But Danny…”
Lacey groaned. “Oh, Danny. Hapless Handy turned Hedge Fund Hunk.”
Vivien laughed. “Danny is magnetic and I’m drawn to him. I don’t know him well, but I feel like I do. Like I could talk to him all night. He makes me feel…I don’t know…like I’m twenty again. Not sure you can actually put a name to that feeling, but it’s really nice.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Lacey said, leaning on her elbow and propping her head on her hand. “You’re The Bachelorette now.”
“Oh, stop it.”
“Should I bring out two roses?”
Vivien jabbed her and made her head fall off her hand, and they both laughed again, then grew quiet as they lay in the dark.
After a minute, Lacey inched closer. “Can I say something? It’s profound.”
“Hit me, baby girl.”
“You’ve spent so much of your life doing what was expected. Following Maggie’s strict rules. Being Ryan’s perfect wife and top designer. And, all the while, right next to me as the best mother in the world. Through it all, you’ve kept yourself exactly dead last.”
Vivien closed her eyes. “That’s not how it felt, honey. I loved all those roles. Well, maybe not being Maggie’s daughter, but it wasn’t that bad. I had Eli and Crista. But I never felt last in life.”
“It’s your time,” Lacey said on a hushed whisper. “I mean it, Mom. This decade, your fifties? This is when you come first and you get to choose joy now. Whatever that looks like. If Peter makes you feel loved and secure, amazing. If Danny makes you feel feminine and seen, also amazing. You deserve all of it. You deserve happiness.”
Vivien squeezed her eyelids against the sudden tears that prickled behind them. “You’re really wise sometimes, you know that?”
“I have my moments.”
A beat passed. Vivien turned her head on the pillow. “Thank you, honey. I’ll hold on to that advice. Now can I turn the tables?”
Lacey stiffened. “Is this about Roman?”
“Yes. What’s going on there? You’ve seen him several times this past week.”
She let out a long exhale. “Yeah. Well, I’m choosing what makes me happy. It feels…right.”
There was just enough of a defensive note in her voice that Vivien had to wonder if there wasn’t more to this relationship than Lacey was sharing. She knew her daughter…and this one was different.
She just didn’t know how or why.
But she knew one thing. So she reached across the bed and took Lacey’s hand.
“I love you, Lace.”
Lacey squeezed her fingers. “Right back at you, Golden Bachelorette.”
