Page 35 of Saving Graces
Kinsey couldn’t stop laughing.
“Oh, I bet you fought her so hard. ‘Please, Savannah, there’s an economy seat on Spirit leaving at 5AM that may or may not make it to Vermont and I’m dying to be on it.’”
“Shut up and drink your literal champagne,” Cassidy said, giving her a dirty look. Kinsey toasted her.
“Are you excited to see Lane?”
A real smile emerged from Cassidy this time. “Yeah. Also nervous? I don’t know why.”
“Because you looooove them,” Kinsey teased.
“Mm.” Cassidy smirked a private smile that was a surefire sign she was also thinking about getting laid. Kinsey was jealous, but not in the slightly twisted up way she had been before. She was jealous that Cassidy was about to spend her winter break getting hot and sweaty, while for Kinsey… well, it had been a while.
Cassidy drifted off into her own thoughts and Kinsey gazed out the window, thinking for approximately the eighty-thousandth time of the last time she’d had sex. Rosalie had thrown a spanner in the works before Kinsey had the chance to find out for herself if the heat of that green gaze and the confident sass of Rosalie’s bedroom talk would have translated the way Kinsey imagined it would. The way Rosalie kissed had been potential enough.
Ugh.
“You good?”
Kinsey hadn’t realized she’d said that last bit out loud until Cassidy glanced up. She shrugged and nodded and just like that, the jet landed.
Outside downy snow carpeted the ground and Kinsey tipped her face up, smiling as flurries kissed her cheeks. She loved Nashville, but last winter had made her itch for a proper frost or the sight of big fluffy snowflakes falling outside her window.
A luxury car waited for them on the tarmac and suddenly not even the snow could cool her nerves. They wound through a frosted forest, the car tires crunching over freshly fallen snow. Just outside of Burlington the driver took a right hand turn from a back road, to pause as an intricate set of imposing gates parted to allow them entry. When the trees finally opened up after what felt like several minutes of driving, Kinsey just about died.
The gorgeous dark stone mansion, glittered with white on the roof and sills, lush evergreen vines catching snow drifts up the walls. Warm light glowed through the windows as the afternoon sky turned to dusk. Behind the house Lake Champlain shone in the fading light and the snow-capped mountains stood sentry beyond.
The car stopped at the front door and Kinsey tumbled out behind Cassidy while the driver retrieved their bags. She shivered but smiled as she inhaled the fresh, icy air of true winter. Then she looked up at the house and her excitement turned back to nerves.
“Do I curtsy when I meet her?” she hissed and Cassidy rolled her eyes and marched forward into the house.
“Hey!” Cassidy straight up yelled as she walked into the foyer.
There was the sound of footsteps and by the time Kinsey had blinked, Cassidy was being bent back and kissed within an inch of her life by Lane and by the sound of her surprised gasp, enjoying every second of it. Kinsey stood by awkwardly for a second, then shuffled to their left, glimpsing gleaming floorboards and the warm glow of a log fire in the house beyond.
“I swear they’re like this even when she’s been gone for a day,” came a dry voice and there, two feet in front of her, appeared Brynn Marshall, tall, dark and gorgeous and Kinsey nearly passed out.
“I’m Brynn,” Brynn said, entirely unnecessarily and greeted Kinsey with a swift cheek kiss and an attractive grin. Kinsey found herself slightly too starstruck to say anything coherent but thankfully Cassidy and Lane had untangled so there were hugs and greetings all round.
“Come through, they’re in the kitchen,” Brynn said and they traipsed after her.
Kinsey wanted to photograph the living room as they passed through it. She’d add it to a Pinterest titled ‘Cozy but Luxurious’ and when she was a zillionaire she’d hire Savannah’s decorator for sure. The gorgeous, black, Steinway grand piano in the corner drew her eye before Brynn led them through the expansive dining room and into the kitchen.
Copper light pendants glowed golden against the gloom of the winter cold outside. The room looked straight out of a lifestyle magazine, except that it was clearly in full use, flour everywhere, the oven on, something bubbling on the stovetop that smelled delicious. And pausing in the middle of pulling out wine glasses was a small blonde woman in jeans and a sweater, and a face that had been on a poster in Kinsey’s room since she was fifteen.
“Hey!” cried Savannah Grace, her face lighting up. She pulled Cassidy into a hug. Then, just like that, she was hugging Kinsey too. On a cold winter’s day she smelled like summer; honeyed with a hint of jasmine. Savannah pulled back and looked at Kinsey, with what were now ridiculously familiar blue-gray eyes, sparkling in the soft gold light. “So lovely you could join us,” she said, her voice warm. “Do you weary travelers want a wine?”
“Well it was a hard trip,” Kinsey managed and felt approximately twelve-feet tall when Savannah laughed. The singer handed her a glass of something red and she took a grateful sip. She wasn’t any kind of wine expert but it sure as hell wasn’t the house red at her local bar.
Brynn excused herself to check on the children and Lane, Cassidy and Kinsey all leaned against a section of counter to sip their wines, Lane’s fingers curling around Cassidy’s hip. Savannah went to the fridge and pulled out various fancy cheeses and started to grate them.
“Why are you cooking?” Cassidy looked disturbed and Savannah snorted like some kind of regular goofy mortal.
“Luis needed a night off to see his mom, so we thought we’d try and recreate his amazing pizzas.” She gestured to the four big trays of homemade dough rolled out and covered in toppings. “I can cook you know. I’m actually really good at it.” When Cassidy remained doubtful Savannah rolled her eyes and looked for a second very much like someone’s older sister. “Don’t worry, I’m being supervised,” she sighed.“Ros is here.”
“She is?” Cassidy’s eyes lit up. It was wild seeing the two of them in the same room, Kinsey’s cute bandmate and her sister the megastar.
“Yeah, she’s braving the cold to go find us fresh herbs like some kind of hunter-gatherer.” Savannah turned to Kinsey. “My best friend is staying,” she explained.
