by Maren Smith
The meanie.
“It all looks so good, I don’t know where to start,” Ari said quietly. The famous singer could be quiet and shy, which seemed crazy, seeing as she used to sing to thousands of people. But her parents and manager had forced her into those concerts. She was happy living in her cabin, with big, scary Bain and creating her own music rather than touring around the country and singing to huge crowds.
Eden, Clint and Kent’s younger sister, rolled into the room, followed by Abby.
“Sorry I’m late,” Abby said, looking a bit stressed. “I was trying to get the bows right.” She was carrying a huge, wrapped silver box with a pink ribbon.
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Charlie said.
“It’s from all of us.” Ellie bounced up and down as Abby handed it over with a smile.
Charlie looked over at Eden who gave her a wink before accepting a glass of pink lemonade from Daisy who was pouring them each some.
She opened up the box, her eyes widening in shock at the gift cradled in tissue paper.
“Oh my gosh. You guys, this is amazing.”
It was a large rose gold frame, but instead of just holding one photo there was a series of photos. All of them black and white. Most were of her and Clint. But the others all featured as well. Some photos were pictures of the ranch. And most of them were photos she’d taken.
“Where? How?” She sniffled, feeling overwhelmed.
“Clint helped,” Abby told her. “He snuck onto your laptop and sent them to me. I got them printed. Ellie and Daisy picked out the frame and everyone helped put it all together.”
“Do you like it?” Gigi asked.
Tears dripped down her face. “I love it. It’s amazing. Thank you so much. I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“Because we’re family,” Abby told her. She came and sat on her other side.
Ellie leaned her head against Charlie’s arm. “Family isn’t always who you’re born into. It can be,” she looked over at Eden who smiled gently, “but sometimes it’s who you make it.”
“You’re our family, Charlie.” Abby squeezed her hand.
“That’s one of the best things about living here,” Daisy added, looking around at them all. “Knowing there are people here who love you.”
“Care about you,” Gigi added.
“And don’t judge you,” said Caley. Ari nodded with a smile.
Eden leaned forward. “So don’t forget we’re always here for you, Charlie. No matter what.”
“I won’t,” Charlie told them, blinking back her tears.
The doorbell rang and Clint’s voice boomed through the house. “I’ll get it.”
Everyone started giggling, breaking the moment. But Ellie still leaned against her and Abby squeezed her hand tight.
And she knew they were right. Family was a choice. And she chose them.
Turned out, Marisol, the girl who came from the spa to do their nails and facials, was an absolute sweetheart. They’d ended up all getting their nails different colors from Ellie’s bright pink to Daisy’s buttery yellow to Ari’s classic red.
Charlie had opted for a very pale pink which she thought would look nice with her wedding dress.
“Would you like jewels on them? Or glitter?” Marisol asked her.
“Glitter?” Caley asked. “I’d like glitter.”
“Ooh, me too,” said Gigi.
Charlie shook her head, though. “I think mine look perfect the way they are.”
If Marisol thought she and her friends were a bit over-exuberant about glitter, she didn’t say anything. She didn’t even blink at the way they often bounced around or how Daisy had stuffed herself with candy until she was now lying on the floor, groaning.
She simply smiled and quietly moved around, doing everyone’s nails while they sat with gunk on their faces from mud packs.
Charlie wondered if Marisol was a Little. But no, she was just being kind and sweet. Didn’t mean anything.
She was so grateful she was feeling better. To think she might have missed all this. She wasn’t usually one to get her nails done or put mud packs on her face. But she was really enjoying this. Mostly because all of her friends were here.
“Shall we put on some music?” Ari asked, moving to the stereo.
Marisol hadn’t even blinked at Ari’s appearance. Either she didn’t know who she was, or she had an excellent poker face.
Ellie clapped. “Dance party.”
Charlie groaned.
“We can’t dance with all this gunk on our faces,” Abby said.
“I can’t even move,” Daisy proclaimed, her hands on her tummy. “Jed is gonna kill me. My ass is toast unless I can process this sugar.”
Charlie looked to Marisol but she didn’t react. She noticed Caley watching the other woman as well. Last thing they wanted to start was any rumors. Especially with Ari being so high-profile. But Marisol seemed really professional.
Gigi brought Daisy a bottle of water and rubbed her back soothingly as the other woman sat up to sip at it.
Marisol was currently painting Eden’s fingers a pale blue.
“Can we rub this gunk off now, Marisol?” Ellie asked.
“Ellie!” Abby scolded.
“What?”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to call it gunk.”
“Oh.” Ellie gave Marisol an apologetic look. “Sorry! Can I take this mud stuff off my face?”
Marisol smiled. “Don’t worry, I call it gunk too. Go ahead. You’ve had it on long enough.”
Gigi came over with a glass of pink lemonade and set it down by Marisol’s knee. She was currently kneeling in front of Eden’s chair.
“Thought you might be getting thirsty,” Gigi told her. She’d already washed her face clean.
The curvy dark-haired woman looked at Gigi with a smile. She had an olive complexion with big, round eyes. She was gorgeous.
“Thank you. That’s so kind.”
“Did you come straight here from the spa?” Eden asked. Eden went to the spa regularly so she probably knew Marisol.
“I did.”
“Did you stop to eat anything?” Gigi asked. “Would you like a cupcake or a cookie?”
“Oh, thank you, no. I’m trying not to eat too much sugar.”
“There’s probably something healthy in the kitchen,” Charlie said. “Clint could find you something.”
“Just don’t let him make you a smoothie,” Eden whispered. “He’s absolutely shit at making smoothies.”
“Eden!” Charlie protested, trying to stifle a giggle.
“The last one he made me had avocado, banana and soy sauce in it,” Eden told Marisol. “I couldn’t even stand the smell of it let alone taste it. Luckily, Zeke poured it in a potted plant when Clint wasn’t watching.”
Marisol gaped at Eden.
“Oh no, is that why that plant in the dining room died?” Charlie asked.
Eden grimace. “Yeah. Sorry about that. That plant was ugly anyway.”
Yeah. That was true.
The others all came back, their faces clear.
“I’m fine. Thank you, though. I really ought to get going before the rain starts. Do you need help washing off the gunk?” Marisol’s lips twitched as she said that. Charlie was the only one left with goop on her face, since Eden had declined the mud pack.
“We’re good. Let me get you some money.” Charlie made to stand, but Eden reached out a hand grabbing onto her. “No, you don’t. This is your party.”
“And your fiancée has already paid me,” Marisol said softly.
But she needed a tip. She frowned then saw Ari giving her a thumbs up. She grabbed something out of her handbag by the door. Charlie settled back. She’d get Clint to pay Ari back later.
“Thank you so much, Marisol.”
“Not a problem,” the other woman said warmly. “Enjoy your wedding. Hope to see you all at the spa sometime.”
She left after saying goodbye to the
others who were all giggling as they set up for a dance party. Everyone knew that Ari would out dance them, but they’d have fun letting her teach them some moves.
“Marisol seems really sweet,” Gigi said.
“She is. I think she works a lot though,” Eden said. “Every time I’m at the spa she’s there and I know she works there most days. Her aunt owns the place. I just hope she’s not exploiting her.”
How could anyone exploit someone so nice as Marisol? She hoped that wasn’t the case either.
“Come on, Charlie, get that gunk off and join the others.” Gigi stood with an excited bounce, reaching out a hand to Charlie. Someone put on a popular song and the others were off, dancing with their crazy moves.
After Charlie had washed her face and settled back on the couch, Ellie opened the big container she’d brought with her. She pulled out bubble wands and confetti shooters. She set one off, shooting confetti over the others as they danced. They all squealed.
Daisy grabbed a bubble wand, blowing through it, sending bubbles washing over Eden and Charlie. Eden tried to pop them all, smiling as she did it.
“Let’s dance!” Ellie moved her arms around in the air. “Ari, show us some moves.”
Arianna gave them all a shy smile. “All right.”
The others all got up except for Caley, Eden and Charlie.
“I have two left feet though,” Caley complained as Daisy held out a hand to her.
“It will be fun. You can just follow along. No one cares. Pretty sure Ellie will do her own thing anyway.”
They all laughed as Ellie twirled with the bubble wand, sending a wave of bubbles behind her.
“Ellie! Pass me some more confetti shooters,” Eden called out.
Ellie grabbed a handful, bringing them over to Eden, who started popping them one after the other.
Clint was going to kill them when he saw this mess. Ahh, well, it was her party. Charlie grabbed a couple, firing them out as the others tried to follow Ari’s moves. As predicted, Ellie went off on her own direction, twirling in another circle.
“Ellie is going to make herself sick,” Eden said.
Charlie nodded just as Daisy came over to grab another handful of candy. Uh-oh. She shared a look with Eden who just grinned and shook her head. “I’m not gonna try to cut her off. You need to go join in. This is your party. I’m happy watching and taking some photos, although I wouldn’t mind some more confetti shooters. Might as well give Clint something to grumble about.”
Charlie giggled, then popped up to grab some more of the shooters for Eden. As she passed them back to her, Eden grasped hold of her hand. Charlie leaned in to hear what she was going to say.
“I’m really glad you’re joining our family, sister.”
Charlie blinked back tears, then she wrapped her arms around Eden’s neck. “Me too, sister.”
“Now go, have fun.”
Charlie raced off into the middle of the dance party. She didn’t know how long she danced for, but she was feeling puffed and sweaty when she noticed Ellie stumble.
“Ellie!”
“Urgh!” Ellie yelled, falling against her. Charlie giggled as she tried to hold her friend up and they landed in a heap on the floor.
“Group hug!” Daisy said and they all dived in.
“Stay there! I’ll take a photo,” Eden told them. Charlie laughed as everyone piled around her.
“Eden, you need to be in here too,” Charlie told her.
“Wait. Wait.”
She turned her head to watch Eden position herself in front of them. Then she held her phone out for a selfie, with herself in the foreground and the rest of them in the background.
“Candy!” they cried together, erupting into giggles once more.
A throat clearing had her turning her head to look back. Clint stood there, hands on hips, a frown on his face but she could see the twinkle in his eyes.
“What are you all doing?” he demanded.
“Group hug!” Charlie told him.
He shook his head. “Pizza’s ready. You all need to get something in your bellies besides sugar. Especially you.” He pointed at Daisy, who was looking rather ill as Caley helped her stand. She nodded her head.
“Right, all of you into the kitchen. Eden, take them with you.”
They all followed Eden out, chatting together and Clint bent down to pick Charlie up.
“Having fun, little darling?” he asked as he placed her on his hip.
“The best, Daddy.”
He grunted, looking around. “It’s a mess in here, want to explain that?”
“Umm. Confetti monster?”
“That so?”
“Yep. He snuck in, threw up confetti everywhere and then ran off. Such a naughty confetti monster.”
Clint just grinned and shook his head as he carried her from the room. “Yes, confetti monsters can be very naughty. So can a bunch of Littles who’ve been eating too much sugar without supervision.”
“Why, Daddy, I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Marisol felt almost at a loss as she walked out of the house. She couldn’t believe how welcoming and kind everyone had been. Sometimes, when she did these private parties, she was treated like a maid, asked to fetch drinks and food. Once she’d even been told to wash the dishes.
But all the women in there had been so sweet. And Ms. Silvers had even handed her a wad of cash as a tip. Just meeting the famous singer had almost rendered her mute. She’d barely managed not to act like a complete dork and stare at her all night.
She wondered if she could hide part of the tip from Rosalind. Was it worth the risk if she found out? Then again, how was she ever going to get away from the other woman if she didn’t have the cash to do it?
She was carrying two containers stacked one on top of the other. She probably should have carried one out at a time. But Rosalind was expecting her back and she didn’t want to be late. She shuddered. She knew what happened when she was late.
Stepping forward, she tried to see around the container to where the step was. She took another step and realized she’d misjudged it as her foot landed on air. She started to stumble forward, the containers slipping out of her grasp.
Oh no!
A firm arm wrapped around her, stealing her breath. She was lifted and set back on the porch. The containers crashed to the ground. Shoot! She hoped she hadn’t broken anything. Rosalind would be furious if she had.
As she was placed back on firm ground, she looked up at the man who had caught her. She wished she could see more of his face, but the only light was coming from inside the house and his face was in shadow. Still, she could tell he was tall and broad. And he smelled nice. A mix of leather and the outdoors.
“You all right, sweetheart?” a husky, pleasant voice asked her.
“Oh… oh yes. Sorry. I misjudged the step.”
“What are you doing carrying around all that stuff? You should have asked someone to help you.” His voice was a gentle scold.
Help her? Why would anyone want to help her? Who would she even ask?
“Oh, that’s okay, I’m used to carrying it on my own. I just misjudged where the step was. It’s not the first time it’s happened. You saved me from another skinned knee, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But I don’t like the idea of you hurting yourself. Next time, you get someone to help you, okay? Little bit like you doesn’t need to be carrying such heavy stuff.”
“It’s not that heavy.” She looked to the ground. Little? Her? He must be talking about how short she was, because there was definitely nothing else little about her.
“Hey, everything okay?” the deep voice asked.
“Oh yes.” She laughed nervously. “I better pick everything up. I hope nothing’s broken.”
She moved down the steps, surprised when he followed her. Both of the lids had stayed firmly on, thank goodness.
“I’m Linc by the way. What’s your name?”
“Maris
ol.”
“Nice to meet you, Marisol.” He stacked the containers on top of one another. “Now, where am I taking these?”
“Oh, you don’t have to carry them for me.”
There was a beat of silence. Even though he didn’t say anything, she could feel his disapproval and his determination.
She relented. “Uh, if you could carry them over to my car for me, that would be great. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“You, uhh, you work here?” she asked. She made small talk all day long. One of the key factors of her job was working out whether someone wanted to chat or they wished for some quiet. If they wanted to talk then she had to drive the conversation where needed. But it seemed when it came to talking outside of work, she was hopeless.
“I do. I’m the ranch manager.”
Wow. That seemed like an important job for a ranch this big. She stopped at her small, beat-up car.
“This is what you drive?” There was that note of disapproval again. It made her cringe.
“Yes,” she said so quietly it was likely he didn’t even hear her reply. She opened the trunk and he stuck the containers inside.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to insult you. It’s just that even in the dark I can tell this car needs some work.” He ran a hand along the side of it.
“It’s my aunt’s,” she confessed. Even though her aunt never drove it. She had a brand-new Range Rover. “I’m just borrowing it.”
Linc made a low noise that she couldn’t decipher.
“Thanks for carrying my stuff and for, uhh, rescuing me before.”
“No problem,” he replied easily. “You ever need a knight in shining armor. Or a hero in cowboy boots, you know where to find me.”
She forced herself to laugh, knowing he was joking.
But a hero in cowboy boots was exactly what she needed.
Chapter Nine
Charlie stood nervously outside the church.
This was it. Her big day. Her stomach was tied in knots, her heart racing. She thought she might throw up.
Calm, Charlie.
Abby and Ellie stepped up on each side of her. Each of them clasped hold of one of her hands.
