She nods, still trying to catch her breath.
I press my forehead to her back. “You did so good for me, Kitten.”
I pull away, adjusting my tie like that might somehow fix the chaos between us.
“We should… clean up,” Mya mutters, exhaling a shaky laugh, tugging her dress back into place. “Before Dre passes out in the hallway.”
The faint humor cracks something open in my chest. She’s closed herself off again.
But as she turns toward the door, there is a truth that slams into me like a sucker punch.
Mya is mine—but only for now.
I shove the thought away before it can root too deep.
38
MYA
It’s Brianna’s fourteenth birthday, and Worth’s house is a cacophony of noise.
And every passing minute brings me closer to the moment where my worlds collide.
It’s now been four months since Worth and I got married—four months of settling into this strange, beautiful in-between where nothing feels entirely real and everything feels deeply personal all at once. My parents, however, have been snow-birding out of the state since before the wedding, and have been spared from the immediate chaos of my very unexpected life choices.
But they’re back and are coming over today. They want to see with their own eyes that I’m okay. That I’m happy, and that marrying my boss wasn’t a spectacular lapse in judgment.
I’ve been pretending I’m calm about it, but my stomach has felt like a shaken soda can all morning.
Tiana’s playlist is blasting from the kitchen speakers, balloons are taped to every available surface, and I’m holding a tray of pastel cupcakes that look like they belong in a bakery window instead of Worth’s kitchen.
“Careful!” Tiana yells from the living room, where she’s helping Brianna test out a foot bath. “Don’t you dare ruin the frosting before the guests arrive!”
“I’m not even touching it!” I retort.
“You’re breathing too close to it.” Tiana turns to Brianna who is messing with the green clay mask covering her face. TJ swats her hand away.
“Beauty requires discipline, young padawan.”
I laugh, setting the cupcakes down beside the mountain of pink towels and nail polish bottles. “Please don’t turn Bri into a skincare Jedi.”
Tiana winks at me. “Hey, she asked for a spa day. I’m just delivering luxury. Do you know how hard it was to get the Glow Haus estheticians here for free?”
When I first told Tiana about Brianna, I should’ve known they’d hit it off instantly. My sister has this uncanny ability to charm kids on sight. Within ten minutes of meeting, she’d made Bri her honorary little sister and had her giggling like they’d known each other for years.
“You didn’t have to do that, TJ. Worth could’ve paid.”
She waves me off like I’ve just insulted her religion. “Please. Exposure is currency. They should be thanking me.”
Brianna bounces in her seat, beaming. “This is the best birthday ever! Thank you, Tiana and Mya!”
My chest warms. Bri looks so happy—and seeing that smile almost makes me forget that this is temporary.
Almost.
Worth’s deep voice cuts through the noise. “You two really outdid yourselves.”
I turn and nearly forget how to breathe.