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"And you?" Sylvie made her way over to me. "Good job showing up." She jumped up on her toes to wrap her arms around my neck.
I lifted her up and spun her around. She felt a little lighter than the last time I'd seen her. "I always show up," I reminded her.
"And I'm always amazed." She smacked my chest, and I just smiled at her. She loved to give me a hard time, but she knew I always came through for her, even if it was last minute and unexpected.
"Where are your kids?" Wren asked Sylvie.
"My husband has the critters for the night. They're making a king cake and watching the parade on TV. They've already been to daytime activities. Nighttime is for Mama." She was laying her Southern drawl on thick and moving her hands to emphasize her words. "Now, this year the Krewe of Honor is doing a chess theme, and you are the pieces. So here ya go." She slapped a blue cape and a crown against my chest. "You're the king." She scowled at me and set her shoulders forward. "Put it on, Mag. No excuses." Sylvie always got these elaborate ideas and went overboard, but it usually ended up being a great time.
"Where's the shirt?" I asked her.
She gave me the disapproving head tilt. "No shirt. It's Mardi Gras. Sexy time." She wiggled her boobs and I looked away. She was wearing a low-cut green dress that was barely held together by the laces in the middle.
"Jeez, Sylvie. Warn a man."
She laughed and turned to Wren, handing her a short purple dress just like hers. "You'll be the queen." Wren looked thrilled as she held up the costume that looked more like a barmaid's dress than a queen's gown. Good lord. Wren in that outfit would kill me.
"Go ahead, now. Put them on." She shoved a crown in Wren's hands and shooed us behind some dressing curtains. "I'm making the brothers the knights." She winked conspiratorially and sashayed away toward Steel and the rest of the team.
I took off my shirt and put on the cape and the crown. I came out and waited for Wren. She rounded the curtain wearing a purple version of Sylvie's dress with leather laces holding the bodice together over her boobs and a short velvet skirt lined with an old-world cotton lace. She had a purple, gold, and green crown on her head and I had to smile. "Good to see you in Mardi Gras colors."
"Does it look alright?" She tugged at the short skirt. The dress also had that same lace around the cuffs.
"It looks stunning." Too fucking good because all the men were going to be after her ass. Wren smiled back at me, and I knew I'd made the right choice bringing her here. Felt good to see the worry wrinkles gone from her brow, even if it was only temporary.
Sylvie came running back up to us. "Ooh, you look great. Here's our throws. I got these beads from a specialty store. See they have little Krewe of Honor horse heads hanging from them and doubloons to match. You put them in this pack and then toss them out to the crowd." She handed Wren a purse with a long strap and shoved all the throws in it.
"How fun." Wren eagerly took the bag and wondered at the cheap plastic trinkets.
Everyone else got made up in their costumes, and I had to admit, Sylvie was right. With the whole krewe together, it looked like the quintessential good-time Mardi Gras float.
"Let's go!" Sylvie ordered us to climb to the top deck of the bus.
"After you, milady." I swung my hand out for Wren to go first.
I took a seat with Julian to my right and Wren to my left. Brandy, Stella, and Fiona were also here with Steel, Helix, and Kane. Celeste and Vander thought the parade was too exposed for them, so they stayed back to manage the business in California.
I didn't see why Kane had to come, but Stella said it was proper to invite him as he might become part of the team someday.
"Still no sign of Gavin?" Julian asked me. He was wearing a shirt under his cape, and I realized I could've just told Sylvie no, but it was too late now.
"Nope. You think he'll come home for Mardi Gras?"
He shook his head. "I never know what Gavin is gonna do next."
"True. Sylvie looks fragile to me. She alright?"
"She didn't tell me direct, but I heard from Jameel that the cancer's back. She's gotta fight it again."
"Fuck." Last year, my sister had cancer in her digestive tract and they were able to remove it. "That why she's going so hard on Mardi Gras?"
"Possibly. Although she was always a nut."
The excitement in the warehouse reached a fevered pitch as someone announced five minutes till the start of the parade.
Wren was vibrating in the seat next to me. She'd seen a commercial of girls having fun in a casino, and now she was the queen of a Mardi Gras float on Fat Tuesday. I wanted to hold her hand, but Julian and Sylvie both thought she was Gavin's girl, and I didn't want to have that conversation on top of a float, so I just put an arm around the chair behind her.
"Like you with Wren," Julian said quietly.
