“Then he pulled a freaking ring box out of his pocket and asked if I would spend forever with him.” The way her voice cracks, I can tell she’s on the verge of tears.
Of course, my nose tingles with the tell-tale sign of tears on the precipice. I can’t be entirely certain, but my super-spidey-twin-sense tells me we’ll both lose it before this conversation ends.
God, I’m so freaking happy for her!
Taking a deep breath, I swipe at my eyes and ask, “You really had no idea?” My sister can spot a plot before any of us could ever put it into action.
Shaking her head, her face nearly splits in half with a grin. “Nope. He caught me by surprise.”
How the hell did he pull this off?
“Have you told anyone else?” I ask.
“You first… always…” she reminds me of our mantra growing up. “Want to stick around while we share our news with Lanie and Liz?”
“Are you sure they’re up?” Jax asks, looking at his watch.
“They’ll be up for this,” Sloane and I say in unison, then laugh our asses off as my sisters connect.
One month later…
“Hey, Liz, wanna ride to work?” I ask, grabbing a cluster of grapes from the bowl on the counter. Popping one into my mouth, I moan. “Mmmmm… these are good… Heading that way, if you need one.” Not sure where Lanie found these, but I could eat the entire bowl if I’m not careful.
“Nah, I’m meeting up with friends before my shift.” Snagging a grape from the bunch in my hand, she adds, “Erin’s picking me up.”
Lizzy just finished her freshman year at Portland State. To earn some extra cash, she’s picking up an unexpected shift at Booked at the Beach. Between that and working part-time for a nanny service, it’s hard to keep up with her.
I swear, I’ve barely spent any time with her since graduating last month.
I must find the time and fix this—no excuses.
“I’m so glad you’re all finally here,” Lanie, our oldest sister, interjects, stealing one of my grapes with a sigh. “Summers in Seaside just won’t be the same without us here together.”
“We haven’t missed one yet,” Sloane deadpans, then her tone softens. “Nana may be gone, but her legacy lives on. Trust me. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her.”
“Same,” I add wistfully. I’m sure we all miss her terribly. She was always there when we needed her and never failed to call it like she saw it. She was a hoot. What I wouldn’t give to snuggle under the blankets and watch our favorite movies again.
Sloane pulls me from my trip down memory lane when she adds, “What’s up with the smell, though?”
Wait. What’s she talking about?
After a lengthy inhale, Lizzy chuckles. “No kidding. You and Ryan live here year-round, but it still smells the same as when Nana was alive every time I walk through the door. Just how many air fresheners did she have?”
Lanie shrugs impishly, and I press her to spill whatever she’s holding back. “Yeah… what’s up with that? Did she have a lifetime supply or what?”
Chewing on her lip, Lanie looks to Ryan as if her fiancé will save her.
Odd. What gives?
This house is sacred to all of us. We spent many summer and school vacations here. We stayed with Nana when Dad was deployed, so Mom could earn extra money as a traveling nurse. We loved our time with Nana, and it hit us all differently when she passed.
Lizzy interrupts my thoughts by throwing a grape at our oldest sister. “Geez, Lanie, what’s up with you?”
Ryan chuckles as he wraps his arms around my sister, holding her in place. “In my defense, I didn’t know the backstory or the significance. But when I saw there were only twocartridges left, I wanted to surprise Lanie with more of what I thought were her favorite scent. I couldn’t find them in any stores, so I went to the powers of the internet.”
Lanie’s eyes roll to the back of her head. “Boy, did the internet have powers. This fool thought he was buying just an extra box or two but ended up buying a literal pallet. Wanting to surprise me, he had them delivered to his parents’. Those suckers blocked the driveway,andhe had to get a freaking forklift even to move them into their garage before it rained.”
Gasping for air, I sputter, “Are you serious? How the hell can you mistake a few boxes for a freaking pallet? That must’ve cost you a fortune.”
