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“You make it so easy, sometimes, Caitie.” Everly laughs, and I bristle. Not many people can get away with calling me Caitie. Everly is one of the few. “It’s an idea. My cousin Lilah called me yesterday. She’s agreed to do a short stadium tour. It’s going tobe her last one for a while. She’s getting tired and wants to spend some time home... But first, her label wants her to spend the next six months touring the world, and she wants us to design every costume for the show. Every dancer. Every performer. Every costume she wears. And she wants to kick it off in three months.”
“Holy shit,” I whisper. This is huge. Lilah is basically the biggest pop star in the world. My hands itch for my pencils already. “Where do we start?”
“I was hoping you’d say that. Lilah will be coming in for a meeting at ten this morning. You ready for this?” she challenges, and my skin prickles with excitement.
“Are you?” I counter, and Everly nods as I hand her back her sketchbook, suddenly wide-awake and brimming with excitement. “Am I pulling any fabric samples for the meeting?”
“Purple is the only input she’s given me.” She hands me one of our swatch sample books. “Go get inspired and bring you’re A game. She wants it all. Gowns and dresses. Short. Long. Tight. Flowy. It’s to promote herSixteen Dressesalbum.”
“What’s the name of the tour?” I ask as I pull out my phone to capture a few notes and ideas I already have.
“The Captivating Tour.”
Callen
I’ve had concussions that didn’t mess up my head the way it is today.
Thank fuck we don’t have to be at the practice facility for a few hours.
Yeah. . . it’s gonna be a shit day.
I throw on shorts, grab my sneakers, and chug a vitamin water, ready to go for a run and sweat the whiskey out of my system, right along with a certain five-foot-four blue-eyed beauty when my phone vibrates in my pocket.
I consider throwing it across the fucking room when I see who it is.
Nattie
Hey, little brother. Heard you talked to Dad last night. How are you doing?
Leave it to Nattie to mother-hen me when even my mom hasn’t done that today.
Murphy
He’s fine, Nat. Don’t baby him. Dad is going to be fine. We’re all fine.
Nattie
None of this is fine, Murph.
Cooper
How about you all stop saying fine. It makes you sound psychotic.
Declan
Fighting about it isn’t going to help, guys. Dad’s gonna get through this, and we’re all gonna help him do it.
Nattie
I don’t doubt that, Dec. I just wanted to check in on Callen. And maybe to remind him we haven’t told the kids yet. So maybe don’t mention anything to them. Okay?
Callen
Really, Nat? The kids? Most of your kids are in their twenties. And Dad asked us not to say anything. Did you really think I was gonna run my mouth?
Sometimes having such a big age gap with my siblings isn’t the worst thing.
This isn’t one of those times.
