Page 29

“I would have.”

“Mm. And now it’s my turn.”

“What do you mean?”

“To step backin.”

Addison closes her eyes and nods. “I want you to be happy. I want you to be sure.”

“No one is happy all the time,” I say. “And no one can be certain what lies on the other side of a second.”

Addy opens her eyes and looks at me.

“I am certain ofyou—of us.” I move to sit on Addison’s lap and kiss her lips softly. “It’s a fabulous idea.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Mm. It’s funny because it’s emotionally trying—and it’sreal.I’d be a fool to pass up the chance to bring it to life with you.”

“Thanks, Em.”

“I only told you the truth.”

“We should probably call the kids, huh?”

I wink. “No need. Mom said she’d keep them for the night. She’ll drop Noah off after she takes Hannah and Vicki to school in the morning.”

“Maybe we can convince them to move with us,” Addy says.

I laugh.

“I mean—the free babysitting is?—”

“Addy?”

“Hm?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Addison grins, leans close, and obliges my request.

“You know what we haven’t done in a long time?” Addison asks.

I lift a brow.

“Trivia.”

I shake my head, pull myself from Addy’s lap, and hold out my hand.Let’s see if she remembers Paul Newman brought Twilight to life long before any vampires emerged.I suppress a giggle.I love trivia.

CHAPTER FIVE

addy

For years,I’ve heard people reduce Emma to surface-level descriptions. There is no denying her beauty and sex appeal, but those attributes only scratch the surface of what makes her truly captivating. It’s the genuine way she carries herself, radiating authenticity through every smile and word. Despite her fame, Emma remains humble and uncorrupted by conceit. Surprisingly, she doesn’t see herself as sexy or beautiful when looking in the mirror. But it isn’t because she’s self-conscious about her appearance; it’s simply not something she places importance on. In fact, she laughed off her first gray hair. A popular talk show host’s joke about the lines around her eyes made me want to punch him. “Now we know what happened to Dorothy when she left OZ,” he quipped, earning a loud laugh from Emma. “I guess there are no wizards or Botox in Kansas.”

We met in our late twenties at the height of Emma’s fame. I am continually amazed at how individuals in the public eye are devalued and reduced to objects. Too many women have experienced the emotional distress it unleashes. Treating women as dolls to be posed at will, the conventional concept of beauty is nothing short of absurd. Emma is nothing like that. She often jokes about how people would react if they saw her inher casual sweatpants, with her hair tied back, a mix of drool, paint, or mud stains on her shirt, and a clump of King’s crap stuck to her foot. Those are the moments when Emma truly shines. That is until I’m reprimanded for King’s mess in the yard.

Emma turns to me and cocks her head curiously. “Addy?”