Page 13 of The Best I Never Had

“It’s my niece’s,” she says. “She lives a couple blocks away, and you’re about the same size. I’m sorry it’s wrinkled.”

Wrinkled, but otherwise flawless, if a bit short on my tall frame. It hugs my hips beautifully, and the light material swirls a few inches above my knees, soft and flirtatious. Addy runs her hand down the back, letting out a soft sigh.

“It’s beautiful,” I say, and Diana turns around to look at me. “Thank you.”

“I knew it would fit perfectly,” she says, towing me to the little primping area, complete with vanity and padded benches.

Diana’s a tall woman, but even she can’t comfortably reach my hair with my three-inch heels that put me at six feet. She encourages me to sit, then plants the toiletries bag on the counter, fishing out a comb. She wets the teeth and works it through my icing-covered hair without a word.

I let my eyes drift shut at the soft way she’s working it through my curls. Addy and Diana start chatting, but I let their words fade into an incoherent jumble as I enjoy the tenderness. It’s a beautiful feeling, being pampered by someone else, and something I haven’t experienced since before my mom lost herself to her addiction again. Diana gathers my mass of hair, making quick work of pulling it back into an elaborate fishtail braid and draping it over my shoulder.

I twist my head to see the side angle. “That’s incredible!”

“I always wanted a daughter,” she says with a conspiratorial look in her eyes that racks me with guilt. I hate lying when she’s been good to me.

I catch Addy’s reflection in the mirror. She’s looking at Diana with such open longing that it feels like a knife to the gut. She glances away a second later, blinking down at the toiletries as she packs them away for Diana.

“Thank god for Addy,” I say, and Addy’s head whips up, catching my eyes in the mirror but leaving too quickly for me to catch the emotion in them.

“Yes,” she says, wrapping one of her arms around Addy’s shoulders. “And you’ve brought Thea back into my son’s life.”

“Diana,” I start, my tone placating, as I shoot a nervous glance at Addy.

“You two were just…” she trails off, waving a hand in front of her eyes before turning her attention back to my braid.

“Whoever ends up with him will be very, very lucky,” I say, meaning every word. “Should we get back out there?”

Diana’s lips twist in an indulgent smile that tells me there’s plenty more to come, but she nods and lets me lead the way out. When we enter the room, we split off. She heads over to her mother holding court in her gorgeous gown, and Addy drags me straight for Harrison, who’s talking in a group with Owen and a handful of people around our age.

Owen catches my eye and mouths, You okay?

I nod, and another tug on my hand from Addy has me stumbling the last foot into the group.

“Baby,” she says to Harrison, bouncing on her toes. “This is Tia! I mean, I guess you already know her, but still!”

Harrison throws his arm around Addy’s shoulder, giving her a light kiss on the forehead as he chuckles onto her skin. “When you said Tia all those times, I assumed that was her actual name.”

“It might as well be to me!” She giggles and smiles up at him like he hung the moon, before turning to the rest of the group. “This is my sister, Thea. Thea, these are Harrison’s cousins.”

She lists off names like she’s known them for decades, and I can imagine the flashcards she probably forced Harrison to make so she didn’t mess anything up.

One of the younger cousins I recognize but can’t name steps forward. He lifts my hand to his mouth, brushing a kiss over my knuckles. “The lovely Thea. We’re so excited to have you back with us.”

I’m not conceited enough to believe this kid’s actually excited about me being here. This is the Ellis dynamic, each cousin teasing and poking to see who can get the biggest reaction. I’m just their latest prop.

Owen snatches my hand away from him, and the graze of his fingers sets off a tingle through my arm in a way his cousin’s lips can’t touch. “Nice try, Gabriel.”

He raises his hands. “What? A man can’t shoot his shot?”

“No,” he practically growls, and even though it’s an act for his family’s sake, the single, low syllable affects me more than it should.

“Come on, Owen,” another cousin says. “Just because you couldn’t lock it down doesn’t mean the rest of us shouldn’t try.”

Addy chuckles nervously and leaves Harrison’s side to squeeze between me and Owen, wrapping her arm around my waist. She opens her mouth but can’t get out whatever she wanted to say before the cousins jump back in.

“Pretty sure Thea isn’t interested in dating children,” Owen says with a half smile that shows just how much he loves this, the give and take with his big family.

“I’m not a child!” Gabriel says with the petulance of the child Owen accused him of being. “I’m twenty-two.”