Chapter 25: Booze Brunch Sunday

"Girl, that man is so fine!" Sarah hummed as I floated into my backyard. Just moments before, I had walked Grant to the front door, and he kissed me so profoundly that I about kicked everyone out. Now, I stared at my little pod of people with a goofy smile on my face.

"You have no idea," I said with a satisfied sigh as I plopped down beside Ellie on my outdoor wicker sectional couch. Ellie giggled and propped her feet on the edge of my propane fire-it table.

"You two look happy together, but I agree with Seth; his shirtless abs are way sexier than that face-shot poster." Ellie mused as she grabbed the outstretched mimosa Seth held out for her.

"He kissed her and paraded our little Letty around the arcade when she schooled him at table hockey." Seth wiggled his eyebrows.

"Violet!" Ellie smacked my shoulder, "You didn't take that sweet man to the arcade to test him, did you?"

I shrugged, gulping my peach mimosa to avoid answering her. Sarah sat forward in the wicker reclining chair with a grin, "You beat his ass, and he was happy for you?"

I nibbled on my lower lip, trying not to grin ear to ear at the memories; "I won multiple times, then we made a bet, and I won again. Instead of getting mad, he lifted me up and made it seem like I won the Stanley Cup or something."

Seth chuckled, "That man cheered so loud I was certain that he had finally kicked Letty's ass, but it was the opposite."

"I guess that is good, so are you dating?" Ellie eyed me while she sipped on her mimosa.

"Yes. We had that talk and are exclusive." I lounged back and put my feet into my sister's lap. Her nose turned up as she pushed my cold toes onto the cushion beside her. "I'm a little nervous about how much travel he does because Ben also traveled a lot. I never found evidence that he was cheating on me—"Ellie went to say something, but I held up my finger, "except for the one you showed me, but let's be honest here; Ben and I were separated, so maybe it's not exactly cheating."

"It's still cheating. Plus, that man was a financial drain on you when he was supposed to make good money. So where did all that money go? "Sarah shook her head, making her springy dark curls bounce. Seth made an audible gulping noise, and I stared at him.

"You know something, don't you?" I asked.

Seth sat down on the long side of the couch and shrugged, "If I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you for safety reasons."

Everyone's eyes turned to stare at Seth now. If it was for safety reasons, that was code for illegal things. He realized we were all looking at him and cleared his throat, "So I met a guy."

I rolled my eyes at my cousin, debating whether to let him off the hook or not. Sarah laughed, "When do you not meet a new guy?"

Just like that, we fell into the typical chatty fun that these brunches were designed to be. I listened to Seth as he animatedly told us about his crazy one-night stand, successfully making Sarah's dark skin glow with a deep maroon blush and Ellie plugging her ears and singing la-la-la. I checked my phone to see if I had any messages. When Ben and I were married, I usually had about 15 messages and two missed calls at this point, or it would be dead silent; instead of all that, Grant had sent me one message with the view from his new hotel room. It overlooked the downtown area so that you could see the rink's building in the background.

**Grant:** All checked in! I hope you are having fun.

I couldn't help but grin. He truly wasn't upset about my plans or that we were apart. The more time I spend with this man, the more I realize exactly how unhealthy my relationship with Ben was. A hand touching my bicep brought me back to the people in front of me. Ellie watched me closely, her expression gentle yet apprehensive: " How many calls and messages?"

It suddenly dawned on me that she thought I was talking to Ben. I smiled, and I felt proud of my new relationship, "It's a message from Grant,"

Ellie's eyes widened slightly while Sarah's focus turned to me, "Just one?"

I smiled, "Yep. He let me know he got to his hotel and to have fun."

Both Ellie and Sarah smiled back at me with a knowing glint in their eyes while Seth grabbed the champagne, "Thank god for that man and his fine ass."

We laughed as Seth refilled our drinks, which were more champagne than juice at this point. It felt good to be happy for the first time in years. Why I thought at any point that I didn't deserve to feel this way, to have someone who actually liked me for me, to have wonderful friends surround me or to be successful in my career, was beyond comprehension. A small nugget of self-doubt crept up my throat, making me feel like maybe this was a honeymoon phase and the other shoe would drop at any second. I tried to eliminate that doubt, but it wouldn't leave me entirely.

Sarah's serious tone brought me back to the conversation and out of my head, "Letty, settle this debate for us!"

I chuckled, "I'm all ears."

"Stickhandling skills are indicators of bedroom skills?" Seth gives a suggestive wiggle with his eyebrows.

"I can only speak from my extremely minimal experience of one hockey player, and the answer is yes," I sheepishly replied, eliciting uproarious laughter from everyone. I took a deep breath and allowed myself a moment to appreciate where my life was now. I needed this goodness after the last few years of loneliness. I hadn't realized how isolated I had made myself until this moment. We chatted for hours and caught up on so many things that I had missed out on because I had been so busy catering to Ben's needs that I was never present with the other people in my life. Seth grabbed my hand, and I looked at him with teary vision. "Thank you for sticking by me." 

"You can't push me away hard enough, Cuz. I'm like a boomerang, always sneaking back to you." Seth smiled gently. His eyes searched mine for something. I couldn't tell what he was searching for, but after a few breaths, he asked in a shallow voice, "How is it?" 

I shook my head in disbelief, "It's so easy with Grant. He just accepts things but doesn't do it in a way that makes him a doormat. He doesn't put me down or shame me for liking things I like. There is no guilt or ulterior motive in anything that he does. Seth, I like him a lot. I feel happy and safe, which is crazy for only knowing him for a few weeks, right?" 

Seth glanced at my sister and Sarah as Sarah recounted the story about her dress ripping at a charity gala she was doing a story on. He grabbed my hand, licking his lips nervously, "I'm glad he is treating you so well. He seems like a good guy, but if you ever need me again, I'll be there." 

My eyes flick to the girls, confirming they are still distracted, then return to Seth, "That won't happen again. Ever." 

Seth's penetrating gaze roamed my face until he was satisfied with what he saw in my features, "If it ever does, let me know. I'll take care of it. You wouldn't let me last time, but you won't be able to stop me this time." 

I nodded my head, not trusting my voice. Seth had been there for the lowest point of my marriage, and I would never let myself be that low again.