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in and stepped out into the hall, preparing to be yelled at again. I journeyed through the house, listening for voices, but heard none.
     
    “Santos?” I called.
     
    Nothing.
     
    In the kitchen, I grabbed a water from the fridge and went to the sliding doors that opened to the back yard. There, Santos was talking to Scott and Liv excitedly.
     
    Scott looked older. His jawline was more pronounced, his muscles more visible in his chest and arms. He must have been working out. Olivia no longer had the baby face she did, but instead looked like a woman. Her hair was shorter, falling just below her shoulders, but her smile still lit up the place. She and Scott held hands, their bodies naturally attuned and leaning into each other.
     
    I wondered what it would feel like to have that, but it also scared the hell out of me.
     
    Sliding the door, I walked into the fresh air. They all turned at the sound, Scott and Liv smiling like it was Christmas morning.
     
    “Sadie!” Olivia screamed, running at me and throwing herself into my arms. She knocked the towel off my head with the force, almost sending me to the ground.
     
    “Hey, Liv.”
     
    Her face was huge with the grin she held, her eyes dancing in the fading sunlight. “I’m so glad you’re back!” she squealed. Olivia was much more of a girly girl than I was, and her squeaky, excited voice reminded me of that.
     
    “I missed you, too,” I chuckled. I hugged her back fiercely. I’d forgotten how much I really did miss her.
     
    She finally released me, her grin still spread wide, and stepped back. Scott was in my space in an instant, taking me in his large arms. “Sadie,” he said.
     
    “Scottie,” I said back.
     
    He held me close, engulfing me in his presence. “I’m not mad,” he whispered in my ear. “But you know I’m always here for you, Sadie. No matter what.”
     
    His words touched my heart, stirring emotions once again. When did I become such an emotional disaster?
     
    He pulled away and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Now, Juniper and Mark will be here soon, and you can tell us all about this vigilante sorceress we’ve heard so much about.”
     
    Lowering my head, I grinned in pride. My accomplishments were great, and I heard the happiness when he spoke of them. How they’d all known it was me, I wasn’t sure, but it made me feel good.
     
    We headed inside, where Santos and Liv worked to get dinner ready. It was weird, seeing them working so closely and easily together. Santos barely knew her when I left, and now she was a part of the family.
     
    Soon to be a legal part of the family.
     
    “So, graduating and a wedding, huh?” I asked while we waited for our friends.
     
    Liv turned and wiggled her brows. “You know it!”
     
    “What did you major in?”
     
    “Art History,” she replied. “I want to teach and I figured it would go well with Scott’s paintings.”
     
    I glanced between them questioningly.
     
    “I’ve been featured in a few galleries,” he said like it was no big deal.
     
    “What?!”
     
    Liv turned, looking at him with such a proud, loving look that my own heart swelled for them. “He’s been featured in ten galleries and has been selling paintings online,” she explained. “Definitely more than a few.”
     
    “Scottie,” I beamed. “I’m so proud of you. I always knew your painting would go somewhere.”
     
    He shrugged sheepishly.
     
    “What else? How’s the dress shop?”
     
    Santos and Scott exchanged uncomfortable looks. Scott nodded his head at me, as if telling Santos to go ahead, but he shook his head quickly.
     
    “What is it?”
     
    “We closed it,” Liv answered, rolling her eyes at the guys. “No one was here to run it, because we all got so busy with school. So, Anna sold off all the supplies and it’s a studio for Scott now.”
     
    “Oh,” I answered. I was happy Scott had a place to paint, but no dress shop? Grandma had run it since I was a little