Page 110 of Flirting with Trouble

Victory beams over her shoulder, her eyes glittering in the moonlight, and my heart nearly explodes. They join Leni, Shea, and the other girls, and they all dance in a hip-swaying, shoulders-shimmying circle. Leni leans in, saying something that makes the others laugh, and Victory’s melodic laughter hits me square in the center of my chest. This is how she was meant to be, happy and carefree with a gaggle of other women who adore her as much as I do.

“Guess it’s just you and me, bro,” Fitz says as he sidles up to me, thumbing out a text.

“And me,” Grant says as he appears by my other side.

“Where’s Stevie?” I ask.

Grant motions to our mother, cuddling the baby on the other side of the patio. “You’ve been attached to that phone all evening, Fitz. Is that the mystery woman you left to meet up with last night?”

Fitz pockets his phone. “Yeah.”

“Is she coming to hang out with us?” I ask. “You know Leni and Raz won’t mind.”

“No. No need to add grapes to the gossip vine. She’s only here for the weekend.”

There’s a touch of disappointment in Fitz’s voice. He has always kept his personal life private, so much so, he usually refrains from texting women when he’s out with all of us, which makes me curious. “You seem into her.”

Fitz watches the girls dance, giving me a half-hearted shrug, but the way his lips quirk up betrays that nonchalance and has me and Grant exchanging inquisitive glances.

“Are you meeting up with her when you leave here?” Grant asks.

Fitz glances at us and cocks a brow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

I chuckle. “Does the mystery woman have a name?”

“Yeah, it’s Jen.”

“Sounding a little dreamy there, bro,” Grant says.

Fitz scoffs.

“As much fun as it is to debate Fitz’s love life, what do you say we crash the girls’ dance party?”

“Hell yeah,” Grant says, and the three of us head over to the dance floor.

Jules squeals, and as she reaches for Grant, Fitz says, “Have no fear, ladies, your dance partners are here,” sparking snarky comments from Keira and Bellamy and laughter from the others. My eyes lock with Victory’s, electricity thrumming between us as I reach for her. “Hey, hot stuff. Lookin’ for a date?”

“Only if he’s tall, dark, and already mine.”

As the evening gives way to night, my father sweeps Victory onto the dance floor, and I accompany my mother for a slow dance. Victory is all smiles, and I wonder what my father is saying to her.

“You haven’t taken your eyes off her all night.” My mother gazes thoughtfully up at me.

“Sorry, Mom. I don’t mean to be rude.”

“You’re not, honey. It’s a good thing, seeing you this happy. You’ve always been a little restless, and that’s probably your father’s and my fault, but with Victory, you seem settled in a way I haven’t seen in you since the first couple of years after you bought the restaurant.”

“It’s not your fault I was restless.”

“It’s okay, honey. We know we’re not perfect parents. We were so young when we had all of you. I love our family, but as you know, being a Silver can be a burden as much as it is a gift. Life got overwhelming for a bit, and I got a little lost when you kids were young. Thankfully, your father loved me and all of you enough to stick around while I got my head on straight.”

“I get it, Mom. You already explained all of that to us.”

“I know, but now you’re journeying into an exciting new chapter in your life, and I want to say I’m sorry to you. I’m sorry for the difficult years and for trying to get you to stay on the island instead of supporting your dreams of growing your business elsewhere. Now that Grant is back and we’re all together, I treasure our occasional family breakfasts, and seeing you at the restaurant and around town. I guess my mama heart doesn’t want to lose more time with any of you, but that’s not fair. There’s a big world out there, and I want you to do what makes you happy.”

“I know you do, but when I open the restaurant, I’m not leaving for good. Even if I do decide to move away at some point, you know I’ll always come back to visit.”

“Yes, I do, but we all know how busy life can get.”