“Oh wow,” Kylie said, moving forward to hug Daphne. “It’s so good to see you! How are you?” She wrapped her arms around Daphne and held her tight for a moment, pleased to see that Daphne no longer felt brittle underneath her grip, and that she actually hugged Kylie back.
“I’m doing great,” Daphne said as they pulled away. “And I should probably introduce you to Wesley. He’s my life coach slash bodyguard slash slap-my-hand-away-from-bad-things guy.” She gestured at the Goliath behind her.
Kylie eyed the man. He was well over six feet tall, had a body like a pro wrestler, and looked rather . . . strict. She offered him her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” He scanned the room and moved protectively closer to Daphne, which Kylie thought was rather sweet. It was nice to see someone looking out for her for a change, instead of leading her down a bad path.
“So,” Kylie said, “I’m surprised you’re here in NYC.” She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, hating that it’d been a few weeks since she’d colored her hair and her ends weren’t as vivid as they could have been. She’d just been . . . busy. When she wasn’t working, she was running around the city with the ladies of their Ladies Night Table. She and Maylee had grown exceptionally close and traded recipes back and forth.
And when she wasn’t with the ladies? She was with Cade. Glorious, wonderful Cade. Cade, who had a crazy schedule between charities and foundations and his businessArcher Industriesand going overseas for ambassador programsbut who always managed to find time to make her feel pampered and loved and utterly, completely adored. Sometimes she went with him on his trips, but after three dry, obscenely boring medical conferences in a row, her eyes started to cross and she stayed home. When he was gone, though, her phone exploded with pictures and texts . . . and she reciprocated. They lived through texts and phone calls until he got homeand then they spent the entire night in bed, loving and reconnecting.
It was wonderful. Perfection, even. And seeing Daphne looking and feeling better? Instead of making her wary and jealous, she was just really happy for her that she’d found some measure of peace.
“Well, I’m working on a new album,” Daphne said. “The label suggested Christmas songs. Something low-key that doesn’t require a ton of touring.”
Kylie blinked. “You don’t want to tour?”
“She’s not ready to tour,” Wesley said protectively.
“Oh.”
“I’m not,” Daphne said with a grimace. “The day-to-day temptations are still hard for me to shake, but it’s getting easier.” She patted her stomach. “And I’m eating like a pig since Wes here won’t let me smoke.”
He gave Daphne another one of those stern looks, but Kylie thought it looked a little . . . adoring, really. “Smoking’s the gateway drug to smoking other things,” he chastised. “You can have carrot sticks if you need something for your mouth.”
“Hear that?” Daphne teased. “He thinks I’m a rabbit.”
Kylie couldn’t stop smiling. Daphne just looked so happy, so at ease with Wesley at her side. Healthy, too. “Cade’s in town right now. He’d love to see you if you’re free tonight.”
“Oh.” Daphne looked surprised for a moment, and she glanced at Wes. “We do have tickets to the show, but I’d rather see Cade, honestly. Do you mind, Wes?”
The beefy guard crossed his arms. “Do I look as if I’d mind missing a drag show?”
Daphne patted his arm cheerfully. “I won’t answer that.”
The thing with Daphne? She was just as charming and funny as Cade had always sworn she was. Now that she was clean, she was fun to be around. Kylie had brought her home to surprise Cade, and had been genuinely touched by the tears in his eyes as he hugged his longtime friend. They’d had dinner at home, and instead of drinking wine and sitting by the fire, they’d had hot tea (Wes’s orders) and Cade and Daphne caught up, sharing stories of their childhoods and some wild auntie stories with Audrey and Reese’s new baby.
Eventually, they hugged again and Daphne left for the evening, promising to have dinner again next week since she was in New York City for the foreseeable future. And Kylie was left with the dishes and a lot of swirling thoughts in her head.
“You’re quiet,” Cade said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind as she stood at the sink.
“Just thinking about Daphne and you,” she admitted. “Think about it. You could have waited six months and had the Daphne you always wanted. Do you regret not waiting for her?”