Page 69 of Absolute Certainty
“I can’t stand how cute you two are,” Christian added, peering at the picture from the corner of Ethan’s shoulder.
Declan pretended to wipe a stray tear from his eye. “My babies, all grown up.”
“I’m a year older than you,” Ethan asserted.
Grabbing Ethan’s face, Dec squished it. “Still my baby boy.”
Willa burrowed herself in Sahar’s arms again.
“Do you like it?” Sahar asked.
With full-blown tears in her eyes, she replied, “I love it with my whole heart.”
Sahar held on tighter. “That makes me so bloody happy.”
Another squeeze. “We should start getting ready,” Willa said. She kissed Ethan on the cheek, then reached for her drink from the vanity.
“Sahar, thank Jay for us, please,” Ethan added.
“Will do,” she promised, taking a sip of her own latte.
Once they were inside their dressing room, Willa set the framed photograph in front of her and smiled at Sahar. “I’m seriously obsessed. This is so wholesome.”
“I’m so glad you love it, babe. You deserve the happiest birthday.”
“Between you and Ethan, I’m the luckiest.”
Sahar beamed, remembering the text Willa had sent her this morning about Ethan surprising her with a sold-out vinyl of The National’s High Violet 10th Anniversary Edition. “I still can’t believe he managed to track it down for you.”
“I know. Sixteen record stores? He said he wanted to make sure he checked everywhere before caving and ordering it from a reseller. And then he freaking found it. I could bloody well explode. I still can’t believe he’s real sometimes.”
Sahar gave her friend a toothy grin. “Oh, he’s very real, and I’m going to repeat itagain, but you deserve all of this and more, Wills.”
“Speaking of things we deserve. So, like you’re never going to have to pay for coffee again? Also, please literally text him right now and tell him I say ‘thank you very much.’ I don’t want you to forget.”
Taking a deep breath, Sahar tilted her head. “Wills, he’s so…So—ugh.I don’t know. I also met his sister as I was leaving, and she’s delightful. I feel like a mess. Speaking of, I should try to find her on socials.”
“Oh, I love that. Immediately getting along with a sibling is a good sign.”
“You say that as if it were some official meeting.”
“Might as well have been,” Willa declared, then started pinning her hair back to prep for her wig. Sahar should do the same, but first, she was going to text Jay.
SAHAR
Two things: first, your sister is an absolute doll, and second, everyone says thank you for the drinks. Willa is sitting next to me right now.
She set the phone down and got started on her routine. One Bobby pin, then another, her phone buzzed, but she refused to look at it.
Not yet.
Once she finished pinning her hair back and priming her face for makeup, Sahar glanced at her messages again.
JAY
You’re all very welcome. And I’m glad you think so. Alex would be psyched to hear that.
Sahar opened her Instagram app and searched for her. She wasn’t able to find her with her name and last name, so she went to Aisha’s account tosearch from her list. And there she was, only instead of her last name, there was another: Alexandra Daphne. She was already following Sahar, and Sahar immediately followed back.
