Page 131 of To the Chase

She’d quietly shown up for me, over and over. Noticing when my shoulders were tight, coaxing me into taking breaks I wouldn’t give myself, curling up next to me in bed while I stayed up all night reviewing code or rewriting infrastructure after a team lead had left.

She hadn’t tried to fix things for me. Hadn’t told me to look on the bright side.

Shewas simply there. Unfailingly.

Some nights, she sat with me in my home office, watching movies on her tablet just to keep me company. Other days, she’d stop in at Nox to deliver me lunch and ask me to stop working for five minutes to make out with her.

That was my personal favorite form of support.

I’d briefly worried I was now using her as my crutch, but once I’d mentally sorted the differences between my relationships with Sam and Bea, I immediately concluded there was no comparison. Bea was my partner. She didn’t speakforme—she made me want to speak for myself.

“Uncle Sally,” Lacey piped up, regaining my attention, “are you thinking about boring stuff again?”

I smiled softly. “No. Not boring. Important.”

She raised a skeptical brow. “You look like you’re being CEO-y in your brain.”

I laughed. “Well, I’m done being CEO-y for today. It’s time to pick up our girl.”

Lacey clapped her hands. “Yes! Let’s go see Bea’s dress!”

Bea was on her porch, waiting for us when we crossed the street. She laughed when she saw picking her up had turned into a group project.

“All the Gallos are here,” she called. “To what do I owe this honor?”

“We’re here to pick you up,” Lacey sang out.

“We aren’t,” Talon argued. “Only Uncle Sally’s picking her up.”

“She knows, Tal,” Scarlet said, putting her arm around her brother’s shoulders. “Lacey’s just being silly.”

Lacey tugged at my hand, pulling me through Bea’s gate. Bea met us at the bottom of her porch steps, her eyes dancing over everyone before landing on me. Then they lit up like a full moon, big and bright.

“Hello, handsome.”

I stopped moving, the smoke of her voice fogging my brain. My father had no such trouble.

He went straight up to her, brushed a kiss over her cheek, and crooned, “Marilyn in orange. What a sight.” Then he turned and beckoned me over. “The two of you are a dapper pair. Stand side by side so I can snap a picture.”

Scarlet gave my back a shove, finally getting me moving. The second I was within Bea’s vicinity, her warm vanilla scent drew me in. I slid my arm around her waist, the raw silk material of her dress bumpy along my palms.

“Hello, beautiful blue,” I murmured. “Sorry for the delay. You stunned me.”

She pressed her hands to my lapels and smiled. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

“Oh my goodness!” Lacey stood to our side, her hands clutched beneath her chin. “You’re a princess, Bea. An orange blossom princess. I love it so much.”

Bea reached out, pulling her into our embrace. “Thank you, darling. I’m going to tell everyone I run into tonight I’m an orange blossom princess.”

Lacey crinkled her nose the way Bea always did. “Are you kidding me? They’re gonna look at you and know it!”

“Where’s Benjamin?” Talon asked.

My father patted his shoulder. “How about giving the lady a compliment?”

Talon managed to tear his eyes from Bea’s front door, giving her a brief once-over. “She always looks nice, Grandpa.”

“True,” he agreed. “But that’s why you gotta be consistent with your compliments. I’ve never known a lady who gets tired of hearing how nice she looks.”