She nodded. “I think he stole our mailbox, too. There was someone on the security camera who looked like him, calling your name.”
I let out a bark of laughter and stood up. “I’m going to make Rose make up her mind. Either she’s having this wedding and I’m stuck here, or she’s not and I can go find my guys.”
Dad looked up at me, and he looked frail for the first time in my life. “She was a sensitive kid. Always scared, and so delicate. She wouldn’t step away from us. You came out fighting, Violet. You never needed us when you were little. You ran headfirst into the world and… I think we lost our way. You’ve always been strong. You would just go out into the world and survive. It didn’t seem like you needed us. Rose… Rose couldn’t leave us. She’s still so delicate. And look at you. Strong enough to tell us to go fuck ourselves when we deserve it most.”
I was frozen. “I needed you.”
He nodded and wiped his eyes as tears filled them. “You should’ve had us. And maybe Rosie should’ve had less of us.”
Mom clutched his hand as she nodded. “She can’t call the wedding off. Not because of us.”
Forcing myself to move, I shook my head. “If she does, it’ll be her choice. I’ll make sure of it. It’s time we stopped hiding behind our fears.”
Mayor Peters was right behind me when I turned. He held up his hands and smiled. “Heard you’re a woman to watch out for today.”
I winced. “Sorry, Mayor Peters.”
He patted my shoulder. “Nothing wrong with a woman to watch out for, Violet. Especially one as talented as you. My wife is going to spend our savings on your candles.”
Without thinking, I wrapped the older man in a hug and squeezed. “I needed to hear that today. Thank you.”
Running back to Rose’s suite, I prepared myself to give her some tough love. She needed to make up her mind so I could figure out what I needed to do to apologize to my men.
The second Rose let me in, I turned to her. “Alright, sis. You and I are taking off the kid gloves. You’re going to make up your mind about Anthony. Whether you want to marry him or not, I’ll support you. I love you. I’llalwayssupport you. I’m not letting you say another word to me until you go talk to that man, though. Now get out of here. Don’t come back until you’ve figured shit out on your own, without Mom and Dad.”
She yelped as I shoved her out of the room and slammed the door. “Violet! I’m in a robe!”
“Better find Anthony fast, then!”
It didn’t take her long to stop knocking. I sank onto her couch and closed my eyes while waiting for her to come back. I’d had adrenaline coursing through me, and it was fading fast. I pulled my feet under myself and leaned over a bit. As soon as she made it back, I would go to my room and find my phone so I could call my men.
42.
***Violet***
“Moveherfacealittle to the left.”
The buzz of activity around me slowly started to work through the cobwebs of my brain. With the sound came the sensation of things touching my face. I jerked and started swinging my hands in front of my face, terrified there were bugs crawling on me.
“Violet! Violet, stop. Jeez!” Rose’s voice was full of humor as it came closer. When I opened one eye to look up, I saw her looking down at me in full glam makeup with her hair in huge rollers. “They waited to do your makeup until last, but you were still knocked out. They’ve got half your makeup done, and your hair is set to come down any minute. Get up and brush your teeth, because it smells like you ate a box of butts.”
I scowled and sat up. The suite was packed full of people. Bridesmaids were getting ready in every corner, a photographer was snapping pictures, and there were hotel employees rolling in trays of snacks and drinks. I stretched and tried to rub my eyes, but my wrist was caught in the death grip of the man next to me.
“I have worked my butt off to get that eye perfect while you snoozed, lady. No touching it.” He stood up and pulled me to my feet. “I’m coming with you. I don’t trust anyone who can sleep through what you just slept through.”
I stumbled on legs that were dead asleep and ended up leaning on my makeup artist to get to the bathroom. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how I did that. I’m Violet, by the way.”
He chuckled. “Your sister stuck a sticker with your name on it to your forehead so everyone was clear. I’m Vic. Brush your teeth, and I’m going to check one of these curls.”
I winced when I saw my reflection in the mirror and decided to trust the process. Focusing on my teeth, when I looked up again, my hair was a helmet around my head. I gasped. “God.”
Vic patted my shoulder. “Yeah. Your mom picked the hairstyles, from what I understood. I’ll fix it.”
While Vic fixed me, my brain did its best to catch up. “Guess the wedding is on.”
Rose looked over at me. “Wedding’s on and you’re my hero. You also managed to sleep through the stress of the day. We line up for the wedding in less than an hour.”
I tried to stand up, and Vic death-gripped me again. I grunted at him. “I have men to call.”