“Nah. You’re not stopping me, sis. Ha, I’m fuckin’ calling you sis if I want to. Fuck, but you feel as close to me as a sister. I’ve only known you for over half a year now, and I know that you probably hate me right now for speakin’ up….”
He quirked his brow, and Kate snorted because he was not far off. She picked up the napkin from the table to dab her tears away. She hated crying, especially in front of others. She wanted to be left alone most of the time, but Duncan just wouldn’t let it go tonight.
“Right. So as I was saying, we all love you—not only your entire family but mine as well. I think my brother couldn’t find anyone better suited for him than you. He’s one hard nut to crack, but I think you’ve done it. I hope that you two will work it out is all I’m saying.”
“Okay, let’s drop it,” Kayla chimed in. Duncan narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could respond, she continued. “No. I hate seeing Kate cry, and I know for a fact that she hates these kinds of conversations. So let’s eat instead of yapping about it some more. No need to drag this all out. You’ve said your piece, so let’s drop it.”
“Okay… for now, I’ll drop it. But I want to propose a toast then.” He smirked.
Kayla gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes in Kate’s direction, just like Duncan had done earlier. Kate giggled as she witnessed the two of them. Duncan seemed to be satisfied with her mood picking up.
“That’s more like it. So, I want to toast to new beginnings. I feel like now that everything is out in the open, you and Donovan can try to make things work. You love him—it’s written all over your face. He loves you—it’s written all over his studio—” Kayla slapped Duncan’s shoulder. He smirked but continued. “But for real, I know that you two will work things out because you’re both so in love with each other. Sure, there is a lot for you to discuss, but when you really want it, you can make it happen.”
Kayla lifted her glass even higher than Duncan’s and said, “To new beginnings.”
They clinked their three glasses, and Kate couldn’t help but add on a whisper, “To new beginnings.”