Isabelle
I looked around as I passed by each of the shops on the street. Killian had to leave early which meant so was I. It felt nice to have a breather after everything that has gone on within the last week.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't still upset about what happened with the woman who birthed me. However I can't allow myself to dwell on it, it just wouldn't be good for me. Besides, just because she's a horrible person doesn't mean my father was.
"Izzy!" I heard my name called from behind me.
I turned around, spotting Scarlett who was hurrying her way over to me. There was a smile on her face as she approached me.
"Hey Scar." I greeted her.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Just taking a walk." I shrugged as I answered her. "I don't really have anywhere in particular that I'm planning to be."
"Perfect." There was an instant mischievous look in her eyes. "Come with me, I've been meaning to talk to you anyway."
I raised a brow as I wasn't sure about this. "Where are we going?"
She gave a low sigh as she picked up on my apprehension. "Just to Amethyst, mom asked me to meet her. Come with me."
"Okay." I agreed, causing an instant smile on her lips.
If Kaydence is involved then I figured that I'm safe. She usually keeps Scarlett in check, no matter how difficult Scarlett can make it.
She grabbed my hand and proceeded to pull me behind her as she led the way to the store. I was only a few stores down so she didn't have to drag me very far. She opened the door and we stepped inside.
She continued to lead the way to the back room of the building. Kaydence looked up from her desk as we entered. Her friend Julie sat across from her, clearly they were in the middle of a conversation when Scarlett decided to barge in.
"Isabelle." Kaydence smiled, not bothered that we just interrupted her. "This is a pleasant surprise, I take it Scarlett brought you here?"
"How'd you guess?" I chuckled.
"I saw her walking as I made my way here." Scarlett chimed in. "I figured we would want her involved in this anyway, gives us an extra brain to help us plan."
I couldn't help but feel confused as she still didn't tell me why she needed me in the first place. "What are we planning?"
"Sterling's birthday." Scarlett responded. "It's this weekend. Mom and I want to throw him a surprise party."
I hadn't forgotten that his birthday was coming up, I was just waiting for him to bring up any plans. I thought it was a little odd that he hadn't yet but now it makes sense. It's hard for him to talk about a party he knows nothing about.
"I was planning to come to you on my own." Kaydence got up from her desk, her stomach was pretty big now that she's nearing the end of the pregnancy. "I know a lot has happened and I wasn't sure how the progress has been, he's been private about it. You don't have to help if you don't want to, but I wanted to give you the option."
"Of course"! I smiled.
There's no way I was going to miss out on a surprise party for Sterling. This is his first birthday since I came back, it's kind of a big deal to me. It may sound stupid but I want to help make this one count, like I'm making up for all of the others I had missed.
"Awesome." Scarlett was clearly pleased with my answer.
I looked between the three women. "What have you guys planned so far?"
"We've planned to have the party at the mansion." Kaydence began to go over everything. "Scarlett's been in charge of getting the invites out, Julie and I have been working on how we want to set up and decorate, Rose has taken over the majority of the food. I know that you enjoy baking, I was wondering if you wanted to make some of the baked goods for us."
"I can do that." I nodded as I agreed to take on the offer. "What time are you planning to have the party start?"
"Six in the evening." Scarlett answered. "Figured we could do the food around seven."
I thought for a moment, trying to calculate how much time I was going to need. I could make him an entire cake depending on how many people have been invited. I could also get a lot of cookies done in one go.
"How many people?" I need to get a sure total.
"We've invited about thirty people." Scarlett informed me of the number. "I'm only waiting on five more to get back to me on whether or not they'll make it."
"Okay." I thought for another moment, then I looked over at Kaydence. "Is it possible for Damon and Killian to help get me out of work Friday without Sterling getting suspicious. I'll need to have the day to go shopping and to get everything baked."
"Of course." Kaydence smiled. "That shouldn't be a problem at all."
We continued talking a little longer about the plans they had already together. Once everything was set Kaydence had to get back to work so Scarlett walked out of Amethyst with me.
"Anything else planned for the day?" I asked as we stepped outside of the store.
"No." Scarlett shook her head. "Hey, why don't we go do a little shopping? You'll need a little something for this party won't you?"
"What's wrong with the clothes I have?" I raised a brow.
"Nothing." She responded. "You've got a great sense of style, but it could be fun to go shopping and get something new for the occasion. Don't you think so?"
I mulled over the idea for a moment. She's not exactly wrong, it would be nice to get something new for this.
"Okay." I exhaled a low breath. "Let's do it."
"Awesome." A pleased smile crossed her lips as she grabbed my hand and pulled me along to another store.
I don't know how much shopping she plans to do but I can already feel that the rest of my day just got full again.