Our first stop is at the Magic Wand Salon. Beauty chairs and fancy vanity mirrors make up one side of the salon while the other half is an entire store designed like a princess’s closet. Hundreds of girls sift through the racks, riffling through ballgown dresses and accessories fit for royalty.
Cami takes off toward the shop, leaving Lana and me behind with Rowan and Zahra. Compared to my brother’s plain navy suit, Zahra wears a bright yellow dress that complements the brown tones of her skin and hair.
“Cal!” Zahra throws her arms around me.
Lana looks at the two of us with raised brows.
I clear my throat. “Hey. Long time no see.”
“Iris and I have missed you at the last couple of brunches. This one is a complete bore.” She nods in Rowan’s direction. Rowan glares at her, which only makes Zahra beam.
“Is this Alana?” Zahra’s brown eyes glitter as she checks out Lana.
I introduce the two of them.
Zahra pulls Lana into a hug. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“You have?”
Zahra pulls away. “Oh, yeah. Get a few mimosas in Cal’s system and he won’t stop talking about you.”
My cheeks heat. Lana stiffens, the muscles in her back going rigid.
“Mimosas?” She glances up at me, a storm brewing behind her eyes.
“I’m not sure there will be many more mimosas in my future.” I offer Zahra a tight smile.
Rowan, sensing the need for a topic change, thank God, offers his hand to Lana. “Nice to see you again after all this time.”
She shakes it with a wrinkled nose. “Ugh. Still stuffy as ever, Galahad.”
Zahra’s wide eyes bounce between Lana and my brother. “She knows your middle name?”
“Oh, I know a lot more than that.” Lana laughs.
Rowan blushes, and it’s quite the sight. I wish I got it on camera solely for future entertainment purposes.
Zahra leans forward. “I’d love nothing more than to pick your brain and learn all about baby Rowan.”
My brother shoots me a look. “Tell your girlfriend I can revoke those VIP passes as quickly as I handed them out.”
“I’m standing right here, so feel free to tell me yourself.” Lana waves with a small smile.
Damn. Getting turned on by Lana putting my brother in his place is a new level of fucked up, and I’m dying for more of it. Even Rowan’s eyes glitter at her comment. If there is anything my brother respects more than submission, it’s those willing to stand up to him when he is wrong.
“Iris is totally going to love you.” Zahra wags her finger at Lana before breaking out into a laugh.
“Look what I found!” Cami rushes back over to us, balancing two different tiaras on her head, holding three princess dresses in her arms, and wearing two different plastic heels on her feet.
“You can only pick one outfit.” Lana plucks the dresses out of her hands and holds them up for her to choose.
I’m quick to steal them out of Lana’s hands and pass them over to Zahra, who is going to do Cami’s makeover. “We’ll take them all. Have the store send everything Cami wants up to our room.”
Lana shoots me a look. “You’re spoiling her.”
“And I’m loving every second of it.” My smile widens.
She rolls her eyes. “You can’t buy her everything she wants.”
“Why not?” Cami grins as she not-so-sneakily adds a third pair of costume heels to the growing pile in Zahra’s arm.
“Camila.” Lana puts her hands on her hips.
“Mommy.” Cami matches her mother’s stance, earning laughs from everyone but Lana.
Cami catches something out of the corner of her eye and takes off toward the costume jewelry area, dragging Zahra behind her. Rowan busies himself behind the check-in desk, leaving Lana and me alone.
Lana lets out a long sigh as she watches Cami from across the room.
I wrap my arms around her from behind and tug her body against mine. “I plan on spoiling you just as much later,” I whisper in her ear. “All night long if you want me to.”
She shivers. “Is that a promise?”
“Depends on if you’re going to let me treat Cami to whatever she wants today.”
She pouts. “You’re not fighting fair.”
“I’d rather not fight at all.” I tuck her hair behind her ear before brushing my fingers down the slope of her neck. “Especially when I could fuck you instead.” I kiss the sensitive spot below her ear before letting her go.
We only have a minute to spare before Cami and Zahra come back to drag Lana away. She gives me one last look over her shoulder before Zahra tugs her in the direction of the beauty salon, leaving me standing all by myself.
Lana lifts Cami into one of the chairs while Zahra holds up the different dresses against Cami’s torso. I laugh at the two extra ones the sneaky girl added to the selection.
Rowan walks up next to me. “So, you’re dating each other again?”
“Yes.”
His cheek hollows from how hard he gnaws on it.
I give him a once-over. “Spit it out.”
He releases a heavy breath. “I’m worried about you.”
My head tilts. “Why?”
“I know she’s the reason you went back to drinking the last time.”
My muscles turn to stone beneath my shirt. “I’m not going to fault her for my issues, and you shouldn’t either. If I chose to relapse, it’s on me, not her.”
“I don’t fault her, but I can’t help being worried either way about the two of you potentially getting back together. You were never the same after you went back to Lake Wisteria two years ago.”
My hands tighten into fists. I never spoke about going there in the first place, so Rowan had to find out from someone. “Who told you?”
His eyes dart toward the salon chair where Zahra stands behind Cami, curling her hair. “Declan.”
“He knew?”
His Adam’s apple bobs from his thick swallow. “You know how he is.”
“An overprotective ass with no concept of privacy?”
“It comes from a good place.”
“Does it? Because it feels pretty damn invasive and oppressive from my point of view.” All my life, Declan has done the same thing.
He sighs. “At the time, Declan was desperate to figure out what was wrong because he wanted to fix it for you.”
I scoff.
“Why do you think he had a buyer set up to purchase the house?” Rowan’s question comes out of nowhere.
“Because he didn’t believe that I could sell the lake house.”
“No. He wanted to save you from any pain you would experience by having to go back to Lake Wisteria after the last time. It was his way of trying to help you.”
My lips part.
“It’s the same reason he threatened the trust Mom left you and forced you into rehab the first time.” Rowan shakes his head with a sigh. “If you stopped for a second to ask him why he does things, rather than assume the worst about him, you’d both spend a lot less time fighting.”
“He’s still an asshole who says stupid shit.”
“Of course he is. But I also know he is working on apologizing, which he never used to do before he married Iris. So maybe you should give him a chance to learn from his mistakes instead of ignoring him out of spite.”