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Leah

Leah promised herself that she wouldn’t cry.

Tears gave her the heebie-jeebies, and she avoided them as much as possible.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, today was hard for her.

That wasn’t true. She knew the reason behind the heaviness she’d carried around since this morning.

When she decided to do something different with her hair, she hadn’t expected to see her sister’s face staring back at her.

Leah ran her fingers through her newly straightened hair that hung past her shoulders and down her back.

Usually, she wore it natural and curly, but tonight’s occasion called for something different.

When Leah first saw her reflection in the salon’s mirror, tears instantly sprang to her eyes.

She looked like an older version of Nova.

Or maybe it seemed that way because her sister had been on her mind lately.

The anniversary of Nova’s ... Leah still had trouble saying death since Nova was never found.

She usually resorted to disappearance . Not that it was any better, since it all meant Nova was gone.

After all these years, her heart still ached for one of their sister talks and to hear Nova’s high-pitched laugh that used to annoy her.

It sucked that it was hard for her to remember the sound of Nova’s voice.

It had been fifteen years, and the pain of losing Nova was just as present today as it was back then.

Whoever said time healed all wounds obviously never had a sister like Nova.

It was impossible not to feel that kind of loss for the rest of your life.

But in a few minutes, she’d have a houseful of guests to celebrate her husband’s success.

Leah lifted her eyes and fanned away the tears that threatened to ruin hours of cosmetic magic.

That couldn’t happen because tonight had to be perfect.

As a therapist and a realist, Leah didn’t often look for perfection.

However, if she had to sum up her life here lately, she’d say it was as close as it could get.

She had a wonderful husband and great stepdaughter.

The only things that could make her life better would be to have her sister and her dad, as well as the baby she wished she could give her husband.

But, of course, none of that could happen.

“Nope! You’re not going down that road tonight either. Tonight is all about Quinton and his success. No negative memories.” She wagged her fingers at her reflection.

A tap on her bedroom door pulled Leah away from her pep talk and her vanity table.

She stood in the bathroom doorway when her bedroom door, which was already cracked, opened wider.

Leah gasped when her seventeen-year-old stepdaughter, Skye, stepped into the room.

Leah couldn’t stop the chuckle when Skye attempted to walk, holding out her arms like she was on a tightrope and trying to balance.

“Before you start ... Don’t,” Skye warned. “And how am I supposed to walk in these things?” She pointed down to the kitten heels, which was a compromise between her and Leah. Skye wanted to wear her black-and-white Converse, but Leah shut that idea down real quick.

Leah couldn’t stop staring at Skye. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to conceal the squeal that was anxious to burst through.

Skye pursed her glossy lips. “I look ridiculous.” She scowled down at the fitted black dress.

“What are you talking about? You look amazing,” Leah gushed, closing the gap between her and Skye.

If Leah had Skye’s athletic yet very shapely body, she’d barely wear clothes. However, Skye wasn’t a dress kind of girl. She was a jeans-and-T-shirts-or-hoodie kind of girl.

“Why do I have to wear this?” Skye whined. “Tonight is about Dad. Not me. Who cares what I look like?”

Leah picked a piece of lint off Skye’s dress. “I care what you look like, and so does your dad. And tonight, you look amazing.” Leah tilted her head. “And you know I don’t give out compliments all willy-nilly. Those must be earned.”

Skye rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know.” She lowered her head. “Can I at least put on my ballerina slippers? I’m not going to make it in these heels.”

“I’m insulted that you called those heels, but, yes, you can wear the ballerina slippers.”

Skye wasted no time holding on to the wall while bending and pulling off the shoes. “What time is Dad coming?” She arched her neck toward Leah.

Leah looked at the gold-and-diamond watch on her wrist. One of the many gifts that Quinton insisted she had to have. “In about forty-five minutes or so. Go put on your shoes so we can go down and entertain our guests.”

Leah stuck her feet in her six-inch peep-toe stilettos and, for a second, thought about following Skye’s idea of wearing ballerina slippers instead, but that wasn’t going to happen because her man deserved to see her looking top-notch.

Leah turned to the floor mirror that sat in the corner of their bedroom and assessed herself.

When Quinton saw her, she needed him to be just as blown away as she had been with Skye.

So, even with her toes throbbing, she plastered on a smile and hoped she looked more elegant than she felt.

With each click of her stilettos on the hardwood floor, Leah felt a growing sense of achievement, her doubts melting away with the increasing sounds of muffled conversation and laughter from the living room where everyone had gathered.

Leah was in the middle of a conversation with Quinton’s secretary, Ms. Janice, when her cell phone dinged.

“Okay, everyone, that’s Mario. They’ll be pulling up soon, so let’s get ready,” Leah announced to the room.

The air was thick with secrecy and excitement as they all waited for the door to open.

“Surprise!” the room erupted as soon as Quinton walked in.

His wide eyes and open mouth were all the proof Leah needed to know she’d pulled it off.

She’d managed to do the one thing she hadn’t been able to do in the three years they’d been married: plan and execute a surprise party.

Quinton claimed to be the know-it-all king.

He bragged that nobody could pull anything over on him.

And he had been right—until tonight. Leah finally got him.

Her husband was surrounded by a roomful of people, but all Leah saw was him. Six two and two hundred pounds of pure muscle. Who would’ve thought she’d one day refer to him as the man of her dreams? Certainly not her.

In high school, she couldn’t stand him. The obnoxious football player who thought the world was created for him. Plus, he had been off-limits. Quinton’s eyes and heart belonged to one girl back then, and it wasn’t Leah.

She observed Quinton navigating through the crowd of enthusiastic well-wishers. He made his way to the center of the room where she stood, quietly appreciating the man who’d introduced her to true love.

“Honey.” Quinton’s deep voice sang through clenched pearly white teeth. His light-brown eyes, the same ones he’d passed on to Skye, burned into her.

“Surprised?” Leah asked, taking two glasses of champagne from the waiter who’d approached.

“This is too much.”

“Too much? For the man who just won the Insurance Agency of the Year award for the second year in a row? I think not.” She winked.

“ Just being the operative word here. How did you pull this off in a few days?” He looked around the room at his friends and associates.

“A few days? Baby, I’ve been planning this since last year’s ceremony. There wasn’t an ounce of doubt that you’d win again. I mean, you’re the Quinton Boudreaux.”

Quinton’s caramel skin tinted crimson. “Well, to be fair, I couldn’t have done it without them.

” He nodded toward a few of his best employees, whom Leah made sure to invite, but not without threatening to do bodily harm if they ruined the surprise.

She knew none of Quinton’s success would be possible without them.

“And you, Mr. President, are the leader of that group.”

Quinton leaned down and pressed his soft lips against hers just as someone approached them.

“Get a room,” Harper, Leah’s best friend, teased.

“We have five upstairs, thank you,” Quinton pointed out.

“Whatever. Congratulations.” She held up her wineglass to Quinton.

“But, um ... I know we’re celebrating you, but I think your wife and that dress are the real stars.

” Harper stepped back and admired Leah’s red wrap dress that clung to her body.

Leah had her mom to thank for her slim waist and round hips.

“Tell me about it.” Quinton bit his bottom lip and slid his eyes up and down Leah’s body. “Baby, if you only knew what you were doing to me right now.”

“And that’s my cue.” Harper threw up her hand and rushed away.

Quinton and Leah laughed. He pulled her close to his side, and they stood, like the power couple Leah knew they were, and watched as everyone mingled in their formal living room.

At first, she wasn’t sold on having the party in their home.

It still had the new-house smell. She and Quinton spared no expense decorating and furnishing all six thousand square feet.

She didn’t know how she’d react if she saw even a speck of dirt on the Persian rug for which she had waited a whole year.

The smart thing would’ve been to remove it, but when everyone walked in and raved over it, she was glad she’d left it in place.

Quinton excused himself and went to chat with a few gentlemen on the other side of the room. The music thumped outside, pulling Leah along with most of the inside guests toward it. Their backyard was the reason she finally decided to have the party there.