“I can tell you all about it on the way to dinner with my family,” she said. “If you want to join us.”
She gazed up at him, patient and encouraging.
With a grin on his face and love in his eyes, he said, “Of course.”
28
In the end, Violet’s engagement party and her anti-wedding party were proof that sometimes celebrating a breakup could be a lot more fun than celebrating an impending marriage. For one thing, the anti-wedding party had live entertainment.
“If you a bad bitch, lemme hear you say ayyyyeee!” Karamel Kitty shouted into the mic.
“Ayyyeee!” Lily, Iris and Violet hollered, along with Violet’s fashion friends and the members of the Greene family on the dance floor who chose to identify as bad bitches.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Karamel Kitty yelled. Then she proceeded to perform her newest number one single, “Bad Bitch Antics.”
In a last-minute change, Violet was able to keep the same catering and event teams from her wedding. This time, there were black tablecloths, and she convinced Dahlia to dip every flower for the floral arrangements in black. The guests were dressed in black, just how Violet had envisioned. Violet wore a custom black V-neck halter ball gown, and Lily had even bought a new black sleeveless minidress from Aritzia for the occasion.
The new purchase was one of the splurges she’d treated herself to after landing the job at Happy Go Lucky Press. Working with Francesca and Anna would be a dream. A busy dream because they were a small but mighty team. But Lily had the feeling that she would finally learn what it was like to work with people who were invested in her growth and saw value in her work.
Months ago, if you would have told Lily that this would be her life, she wouldn’t have believed it. It would sound too good to be true. But she was allowing herself to bask in the happiness. Because she deserved to.
“I’m going to get some water,” she shouted to her sisters, who were busy dancing and laughing. The sight made Lily’s heart swell. “Do either of you want anything from the bar?”
“A rum and Coke,” Iris said, but Violet shook her head and kept dancing.
Lily made her way to the bar, passing her family and Violet’s friends who’d come together to help turn what had started as a terrible situation into something joyful. She waited for the bartender to mix Iris’s rum and Coke and jumped when she heard someone say her name.
“Hi, Lily.”
She looked over in surprise at Angel, who’d appeared beside her. He looked just as handsome as the first time she’d met him earlier this summer at Violet’s engagement party. But his presence no longer scrambled her brain or made her heart flutter. There was only one person who had that effect on her. And he was standing outside the venue somewhere quiet, giving his first-ever press interview over the phone for his book.
“Hey, Angel,” Lily said. “How are you? I didn’t expect you to be here.”
“I took Violet’s side in the breakup. Eddy wasn’t a good dude.” He shrugged. “Are you still working on books about dictators?”
Lily laughed. “Thankfully, no. How’s the album coming along?”
“Great. I’ve been collaborating with this new producer who—”
Angel abruptly stopped talking. Lily raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. He was staring at something beyond Lily’s shoulder. She turned around and spotted Iris approaching them. Iris looked quite beautiful tonight with her dark plum lipstick and her skintight black lamé turtleneck dress. She’d let Calla stick a black rose behind her ear.
“I think Karamel Kitty’s lyrics are going to give Great-Aunt Portia a heart attack,” Iris said, once she reached the bar. She took her drink from the counter and glanced past Lily at Angel. “Hello.”
“Hey, what’s up, what’s good?” Angel blurted.
“Iris, this is Violet’s friend Angel,” Lily said, trying not to laugh at Angel’s besotted expression. “Angel, this is our other sister, Iris.”
Iris squinted at him. “You’re the musician.”
“Yes.” Angel’s eyes lit up as he eagerly leaned forward. “You’ve heard my music before?”
“No.” Iris sipped her drink and turned to Lily. “Calla’s sitting with Mom. I’m going outside to get some air if anyone’s looking for me.”
Iris walked away, and Lily hid her smile as Angel stared after her sister.
“It was nice seeing you again, Lily,” he said, hurrying to finish his drink. “I have to . . . go check on something.”