“Okay, fine,” I mutter. “Everything is a little screwy with me right now. But it’s fixable. I’m not going to crash your party with my drama. Now what are we celebrating?”
“What aren’t we celebrating?” Griffin booms. “It’s Big Announcement Day here at Shipley Farms. Don’t feel bad if you missed the memo, because I did, too.”
My sister laughs. “We’re, um, engaged.” She lifts up a hand to show me the ring on her finger.
“Oh my GOD!” I squeal. My joy is real, although a portion of it is due to shifting the conversation away from myself. “Congratulations! That’s beautiful.” I scoot over to look at the ring on her hand. It’s a diamond solitaire in a very classic shape. “So pretty!”
“No, no. Still having woman troubles. Your twin, though. He’s got it all figured out.”
My gaze flies to Dylan, who gives me a sheepish smile. “Check it out.” He lifts Chastity’s hand, and there’s a ring on her finger, too. It’s an artsy swirl of silver—almost like a river—with three stones in it.
“Holy cow, you guys!” Lord, I’m not a crier. But my eyes get misty. “That’s gorgeous. Congratulations.”
“We didn’t mean to upstage May,” Dylan says. “It was a coincidence.”
“Must be something in the water,” Grandpa says.
“Nobody is upstaging anyone,” May chirps. “Want some fake bubbly?” She lifts a bottle out of an ice bucket—it’s a fizzy ginger beer that we keep around for celebrations, because May doesn’t drink alcohol. “Daphne? Rickie?”
“I would love some,” I say. “Let’s have a toast.”
After they pour me a glass, and we toast, I perch my ass on the porch rail near my mom and May. Everyone else drifts away from the porch, talking on the lawn or inside the house.
“Okay, tell me everything,” I demand of my sister. “Did this all happen today? Where did Alec pop the question?”
“Alec made me a nice dinner at home, and surprised me to bits by pulling a ring out of his pocket. I said yes immediately.” May shrugs. “That’s the whole story. But let’s hear about your thing.”
“Is there a photo?” I press. “We’re not talking about my thing. I’m not spoiling your night with my drama. You of all people.”
May narrows her eyes. “Why me of all people?”
Seriously? “I already have the Worst Sister Ever trophy,” I explain calmly. “I’m not looking to add extra bonus points by raining on your parade.”
“Daphne,” my sister gasps. “It was three years ago. Can’t we just move on? I forgave you for that a long time ago. I’m over it.”
“Maybe Daphne isn’t,” my mother says quietly.
I stare down at the ginger bubbles in my glass and say nothing. But she’s right. Three years ago I outed my sister to the woman she was in love with. “I was just evil to you. I have regretted it every day since.”
“Well, I haven’t,” May says gently. “It’s a thing that happened, and then it passed. You were a teenager, for God’s sake. And I’d been pretty hard to live with that year. You just kind of exploded.”
This is all true. “But I still feel icky about it.”
“That’s because you’re a good person,” my mother says. “So maybe you should give yourself a little credit for recognizing when you’ve hurt someone. And then get past it.”
My eyes are hot again. “Okay. I’ll try.”
“I’d appreciate it,” May says firmly. “Or else you’re just going to be polite and distant to me until the end of time.”
“I’m very good at distant,” I grumble.
“That’s why we’re all fascinated by your thing with Rickie,” May says, clasping her hands with obvious glee. “What’s that all about?”
“He’s, uh, a pretty interesting guy,” I say lamely. But how much detail could I be reasonably expected to supply with my mother sitting right here? “He’s fun. He got me to do karaoke in a bar tonight.”
Mom and May burst into surprised laughter.
“What?” I complain. “Lots of people do karaoke.”
“Lots of people who aren’t you.” May cackles. “Is there a video?”
“God, I hope not,” I say, and they both laugh again. “Why are we talking about this when you’re the one getting married?”
“Come on,” May says. “The fact of my marriage is not that big of a surprise. Dylan and Chastity, on the other hand…”
We all glance toward the lawn, where Chastity is standing with Audrey, who’s admiring her ring.