A Leap of Faith by T. Gephart Read Free Book Online

got to go with Alex, but I understood the desire to keep him to myself, to make him mine and not share him. This came from the selfish part of me, the irrational part, but I knew that I couldn’t keep him locked away. His star shone too brightly to be hidden; it needed to be shared. It was part of his makeup; he was intrinsically wired for this. It was part of the reason I loved him. He was nothing short of breathtaking on stage, he mesmerized me, captivated me and even after seeing him play countless times, he still gave me butterflies. No, I could never ask him to give this up, it would mean changing who he was and I would never do that.
    Hannah and I were bonded by this connection. The men that we loved were loved and adored by many. I finally understood how she had “put up” with all the skanks, hoes, stalkers and hangers on - our men were worth it. They were worthy of our love and they did nothing to betray our trust. They returned to us, it was our beds they slept in at night, it was our name in their hearts. The fame, the attention, it was a small price to pay.
    In my attempt to lighten the mood around our impending departure I had decided to throw Hannah a baby shower. Not a traditional shower where a bunch of women clucked over each other and told horror stories of their labours and deliveries, but a celebration of this little life who would soon be born. I wanted James to be there, I wanted him to be a part of this too. Hannah reluctantly agreed, I think in the end she was too polite to turn me down, that and James’ enthusiasm over the idea had her convinced.
    It was a coincidence that the date we had planned ended up being this evening, the very day that we had finalized all the dates for the tour. I hoped that tonight would at the very least distract her for an evening and allow her to forget about us leaving. I wanted to do this for her, I wanted to give her one night where she saw how much support she had from the family and friends who would love and care for her until James returned.
    I had arranged everything. Decorations had been delivered this afternoon and set up, a catering company was taking care of all the food (miniature versions of everything in keeping with the theme) and I had even hired a bartender to mix virgin cocktails. If Hannah couldn’t drink, neither would we. I had also scheduled a visit to the Day Spa for Hannah so that she would be out of her house while it was being over run by my trusty helpers setting up her party and that she would feel pampered and relaxed this evening.
    One thing I did want to make was cupcakes, little blue and pink cupcakes that we could use as party favours. Of course I could have purchased them but I liked baking and it made me feel like I was still connected with my former self. The one who would rather spend her money on fancy shoes and handbags rather than fancy food or desserts, hence why I taught myself to cook.
    “How many boxes of this stuff do we need?” Taylah asked, her voice pulling me back into the present and to the task at hand.
    “Ummm 4 I think, I want there to be enough,” I responded as I watched Taylah struggle with separating the cupcake cases.
    “Can’t we just buy them? Magnolia Bakery isn’t far. I’ll drive ,” Taylah offered, her smile flirting on her lips.
    “No, I want to make them. It’s not that hard. Trust me, it will be fun ,” I laughed. Her inadequacy in the kitchen only made her more adorable.
    We emptied the required ingredients into the mixing bowl and turned on my Kitchen Aid. It amused me no end that the item Taylah had purchased purely for decorative pur poses was now being used for its intended design.
    “Ok, line the muffin tray with the cases. That way when we pour in the batter they will retain their shape.” I directed Taylah over the hum of my mixer while I checked to see if the oven’s temperature was set correctly. I still struggled slightly with Fahrenheit verses Centigrade - seriously the rest