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Today, however, that same simple display of Aria’s newest masterpiece and Aurora’s photos is, instead, covered in dicks on one side and baby shit on the other. The sheer ridiculousness of it has a laugh bubbling up from my chest when I pull the door open, and more laughter spills out of the lit space.
Balloons dot the ceiling in phallic shapes while confetti litters the floor in baby bottle cutouts I know are going to stick to the soles of my boots once I step inside and shut out the warm nighttime air.
“Cedar!”Arms are around me before I can make it more than two steps into the studio, the protruding belly of my niece or nephew bumping into my hip and moving me forward another step.
“What the fuck is all this?” I snicker into Aria’s hair that flings around in her excitement and snort when she jerks back to hold my biceps in her hands and keep me hostage.
“More like who...“ My best friend rolls her green eyes but yanks me back to her fuller chest for a crushing hug. “Mac was left unsupervised.”
I laugh and scan the room for the drummer and future brother-in-law. “They here?”
“Oh,” she says as she leans back, takes my hand in hers, and drags me around. “They’re in the back doing shots.” She snickers over her shoulder and stops us in front of a table loaded with enough food to feed the whole neighborhood. “I banished them when Toby lost his brain and offered me a drink. Y’know, before Rex could fucking kill him.”
And that has me snorting as my bestie fills a plate of food and pushes it into my hands as I look around at some familiar faces, some new.
A few of Aria’s regulars fill the space, some of the ones she’s managed to hire in the last few months to help her do the designs and the heavy lifting—which has my eyes searching for the shop mascot that turned out to be a bodyguard sent on Rex’s dime to watch his girl while he was away. As my eyes sweep the space in search of Jonathon, they pass over some of the road crew for As Above that I’ve seen around, but don’t know the names of, and finally land on Aurora’s shiny hair haloing around her grinning face.
To which that grin is aimed at the one I was seeking out.
She’s flat-out crazy.
Shaking my head, I bring my attention back to the woman of the hour and laugh at the second plate of food piled high in her manicured hands.
“Don’t you dare judge me, C. I’m eating for two.”
I snort. “You know twins are hereditary, right?” Aria’s knuckles land right on the ball of my shoulder as I reach to snag a jalapeno popper, and shove it into my face. “Ow.What the hell?”
“You’re going to jinx me,” Aria huffs and finally turns away from the table to find a place to sit and eat for the three humans sharing the same body. “The doctor found no such thing, now quit it. I don’t even like what this one is putting me through.”
I roll my eyes and stand guard over my best friend as she practically falls back into the chair instead of lowering softly simply because she’s so off-center.
I also don’t miss all the eyes that watch her as she moves. The inconspicuous guardian angels that keep her in their sights, even without breaking the conversations in front of them.
And I love that so many people are looking out for her. Like she deserves.
“I hear it enough from my fiancé and hisowntwin, ok?“ She looks up at me with a sparkle of anger mixed with amusement in her green eyes. “So don’t add to the people telling the universe I need a second one in here.”
“Ari,” I snicker and kneel down to speak eye to eye. “If the doc hasn’t found another one in there yet, it’s a little late for a second one to just showup.“ I pluck a fried ball of something I haven’t tried yet and shove it in her face. “Now shut up and feed my nephew.”
Aria rolls her eyes and nearly takes my fingers with the bite.
Hello violence.
I toss another appetizer thing at her cheek and snort when it slaps against her glowing skin and lands right on the plate held in her palm. The laugh that breaks out in response keeps a grin plastered on my face until a certain flash of orange hair floats through the archway leading from the back of the house.
My stomach drops at the knowledge of who generally follows that particular redheaded bodyguard and has my chest tightening.
“My fiancé is going to accost you about another piece.” Aria’s words break through my concentration as I try to both watch for the lead guitarist of As Above andattempt to avoid seeing him at all costs.
“Oh, yeah?” I mutter and nibble on a chicken tender with darting eyes and half-focus.
Because all real focus falls out the window whenever Fin enters the damn room.
And I hate it.
He’s just another reminder of that night all those years ago when I should have left on my own and didn’t.
Aria speaks about the design her rockstar husband is thinking of getting—like I didn’t practically force the last one on him—while I pretend that my stomach isn’t trying to fall out of my asshole when Finland Montgomery strides through the very same archway his bodyguard just breached with enough confidence to draw every set of eyes in the room without even trying.
