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“His new one, yeah. He dropped a lot of money getting this place designed especially for him, Erin, and Gigi.”
He looked out at the house again. “How much does a bar manager make?”
“Well, when Max’s father passed away, he left him an inheritance.”
“It must’ve been substantial.”
“It was,” she said, opening up her door. Beau followed, joining her at the front of the car. Man, his mom’s old Honda looked like a piece of shit compared to the other cars parked in the driveways of the houses surrounding them. “Are you ready?”
Stretching out his hand for hers, they walked together to the door.
A young woman opened the door, her eyes lighting up when they saw Evangeline.
“Oh my god, Vee!” she squealed, wrapping her in a bone-crushing hug. Evangeline laughed, squeezing her back just as tightly.
“Congratulations, Gigi,” she said softly, pulling back to look the girl in the eye. “I’m so happy for you and Max.” Turning to Beau, she said, “Gianna, this is Beau.”
He was shocked when she hugged him too. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
She had?“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too. And congratulations on your engagement. Max is a great guy.”
Gianna’s cheeks flushed with color. “He’s the greatest. Now, come inside. Erin is going to be so happy to see you, Vee.”
As they followed Gianna deeper into the house, Beau leaned in and whispered into Vee’s ear, “Who’s Erin?”
“E-lene!” a small voice cried and his head jerked up. A young girl—probably no older than two—was running toward Vee with her arms open and a look of absolute joy on her face. Vee dropped into a crouch, ready to catch the little ball of energy. She caught her with anoomph, the pair of them toppling over onto the ground. When Vee began to tickle her, the girl shrieked with laughter.
“I see she found you,” Max said, stepping into the room. “Come on, Erin, off Aunty Evangeline.” He hoisted the little girl off Vee then offered her a hand up. Turning to Beau, he said, “It’s nice to see you again, Beau.”
Beau held out his hand to shake Max’s. “You too. Congratulations on your engagement.”
“Thank—”
“Where’s my grandbaby?” someone asked.
“She’s here, Mom,” Max called, turning around to pass the little girl over to a rather stylishly dressed older woman.
“Evangeline, it’s so nice to see you,” she said, placing a kiss on Erin’s head.
“It’s nice to see you too, Mrs. Parker.”
“Erin seems to like you,” he said to Vee.
At the mention of her name, Vee smiled. “She’s a great little kid.”
He stared at her, practically seeing the lives they could have—they could get married, buy a house together, then maybe a year or two later, they could think about having kids. He could already picture Vee playing with their daughter, who would look like her, and maybe later on there could be another little boy to help grow their family. They could be happy.
Theywouldbe happy.
“Would you like a drink?” Max asked. He blinked, realizing Vee wasn’t standing beside him anymore.
“Sure, a drink would be great.”
Max nodded, walking toward the bar where about fifty bottles of different types of liquor were set out on the counter. Pulling open one of the bar fridges under the counter, he pulled out two beers, handing one to Beau.
“Here’s to a long and happy life together,” he said, holding the bottle out to Max.
“And here’s to you making Vee a happy woman again.”
