Page 13

Magnolia Steel

My phone buzzes on the countertop, screen lighting up with a familiar name and an even more familiar photo—Violet, grinning wide with a glass of red in one hand, and with the other, flipping off the camera.

So Violet.

I smile, and swipe right before the second ring. “Hey, stranger.”

“Well, well,” she says, her voice crackling through the speaker. “Still have all your hair, I see. I guess wedding planning hasn’t broken you yet. How’s that going?”

I let out a long exhale and lean my hip against the kitchen counter, cradling the phone so I can see her face better. “Fast and furious. Wedding planning is a beautiful tornado made of tulle and deadlines. A bit overwhelming.”

She snorts. “So… basically perfect.”

I laugh, because yeah—she’s not wrong. “I have a dress. At least that much has been accomplished.”

“You don’t have any ole dress. You have the perfect dress. ”

I grin at her. “Yeah, I do love my dress. It took a few tries and a minor identity crisis, but it’s the one.”

Her voice softens. “Of course it is. You’ve always had an eye for beautiful things.”

I’m so glad Alex brought Violet to Sydney. I don’t think I could’ve said yes to the dress without her here, giving me that quiet little nod that said, You’ve found the one.

“Tell me about the flowers.”

I groan. “The planner is pushing for white ranunculus. I want white hydrangeas and pale pink roses. You know they’re my favorites.”

She grins. “And what does your beloved say about the flower saga?”

“I tried to talk to Alex about it, but he’s not interested.”

“To be fair, he’s a man. I’d have questions if he cared about the floral pieces.”

But even as we laugh, even as the rhythm of us settles in again… there’s something soft beneath her smile. A hesitation.

I don’t know what it is yet—but I sense it coming.

Violet twists her lips, trying for casual but not quite landing it. “So… Gabby told me you two had a little heart-to-heart.”

I raise a brow. “So much for her intense privacy policy.”

“She said you were gracious, which I translated as you didn’t rip her a new one.”

I laugh. “I was civil.”

Violet blinks. “Civil, huh?”

“She offered me my job back.”

That does it—Violet full-on cackles. “Of course she did. You and Alex are the golden couple that saved her struggling Australian branch. You’re the PR dream she didn’t deserve.”

I swirl the last sip of coffee in my mug, watching it settle. “Yeah, well. She may want redemption, but I’m not handing out second chances.”

A knowing expression flickers across Violet’s face. “Never expected you to. That’s one of the first things I learned about you. Once someone breaks your trust, you’re done. And you don’t look back.”

I nod. “She apologized, and I believe she meant it, but that doesn’t mean I forget. I’ll always want the best for her, but I’ll never work for her again.”

Violet lifts her wine glass toward the screen. “To clean breaks and better beginnings.”

“Amen to that.”

Violet swirls the wine in her glass, but her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes this time.

“What’s going on, Vi? You’ve gone quiet.”

She hesitates, gaze drifting off for a second before landing back on me. “Ever since I got back to Charleston… something is off.”

“Off how?”

She leans back in her chair with a sigh. “It’s as if I’ve stepped back into a version of my life that doesn’t quite fit anymore.”

I recognize that look on her face, the something’s missing ache behind her eyes.

“It’s more than that, though,” she adds, her voice softening. “It’s not just a vibe. It’s this constant ache telling me I left the best parts of me somewhere else. Two parts, actually.”

“Two?”

She huffs a laugh. “You and Elias.”

That draws me up straighter. “Elias, huh?”

“I have a crazy idea.” Her smile turns shy, but the glimmer in her eyes says it’s real. “I’m considering putting in for a transfer. Soul Sync Australia has open positions.”

She pauses.

“I may want to move to Sydney.”

I blink. “Wait, do you mean full-time? With bags and furniture and feelings?”

Violet laughs. “Yes, full-time. With bags. And possibly feelings.”

Her eyes search mine through the screen. “Are you really happy there?”

I don’t hesitate. “I’m beyond happy. The life I’m building here isn’t just some fairy tale I stumbled into. It’s real. I’m rooted. Challenged. Loved. But I’d be lying if I said that being this far from you didn’t hurt.”

Violet doesn’t speak right away. She doesn’t have to. I see it in the way her smile shifts, in the way only your best friend can hear what you don’t say out loud.

“That’s been the hardest part. Everything else, I’ve figured out. But missing you?” I shake my head. “That part doesn’t get easier.”

Violet’s lips curve, a little sad, a little hopeful. “Then maybe we do something about that.”

“Do you think you could leave your whole life behind and start fresh in a different country?”

Violet leans back, eyes flicking upward, thinking.

“I had hoped that sleeping with Elias again would scratch the itch I had. But it wasn’t casual—not for me.

Being with him in Sydney was good. It felt right.

” She pauses, tracing the rim of her glass with one finger.

“But how will I ever know if he’s the one if I’m not with him to explore our connection? ”

“Have you told him you’re considering moving?”

She winces. “Absolutely not. He’d assume I’m doing it for him.”

I lift a brow. “You would be doing it for him.”

Violet groans. “Exactly. That might freak him out. I don’t want to ruin what we had—or what we could have—by making it weird. What if he thinks I’m chasing him across the globe because I’m some lovesick lunatic?”

“Or maybe he sees you as a brave, emotionally mature woman who knows what she wants and goes after it.”

She narrows her eyes. “I liked it better when you were just choosing between hydrangeas and ranunculus.”

I smile. “Do you want me to feel things out with Elias for you?”

Violet perks up. “Ooh. A secret mission?”

“Exactly, using spy-level skills.”

Her grin is quick and real. “Full-on interrogation mode but in the most subtle way?”

I smile. “All right. I’ll casually grill my soon-to-be brother-in-law about his long-term romantic intentions without making it sound like I’m on assignment.”

She points at me through the screen. “Exactly. Perfect.”

I shake my head, half laughing. “But no pressure or anything.”

“None.”

Violet’s lightness fades as her smile falters, and she sighs. “I’m tired, Mags. Of swiping left and right, of awkward small talk, of first dates that make me wish I’d just stayed home with sushi and Netflix. I’m one more awful date away from getting twelve cats.”

“Please don’t do that. You deserve someone who feels like home.”

Her gaze softens. “That might be Elias. I’ve never felt this before.”

A beat of quiet, then she laughs. “Wouldn’t it be kind of perfect if our babies were cousins?”

My chest tightens with affection. “You don’t know how much I would love that.”

Violet lifts her glass. “To big moves and even bigger what-ifs.”

I raise my mug of cold coffee in return. “To new chapters.”

We end the call, and I set my phone down, my heart full. Maybe Violet coming to Sydney won’t just change her life. Maybe it’ll complete mine as well.