“Silently, of course.” I combat my bitchiness by looping my arm through his.

“Of course.”

We reach the brownstone a minute later—hello, best commute ever—and jog up the front steps.

I’m all set and ready to bellow my usual greeting, but as soon as I open the door, I hear a cork popping. One of my all-time favorite sounds.

Gemma, Harley, and Jack are waiting for us in the kitchen with champagne and cheers. We all pile in for a big group hug, and after a toast and the clinking of glasses, I pull Jack off to the side.

He runs his thumb over my cheek. “I’m so proud of you, sweet pea. You’re going to kill it.”

I lean up for a quick kiss, head and heart equally bolstered by his continued faith in me. “You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” His brow furrows.

I smooth out the wrinkles with my finger. “Because I wouldn’t take your investment, but I took Nick’s.”

He loops his arms around my waist. “Are you happy, Sadie?”

I bite my lip to control the insane grin threatening to take over my face. “I literally have never been happier.”

“That’s all that matters to me, sweet pea.”

The keys to the storefront are placed in my grabby hands five days before Christmas. The whole group is there with me to celebrate, Gemma streaming the whole exchange on my Instagram. My followers are already asking for renovation updates, and the store transformation is going to be social media gold.

The following couple of days consist of cleaning and painting, two of my least favorite things, but necessary steps in order to be ready for the good stuff that’s to come after the holiday. I do a fair amount of online shopping, trying to find repurposed and upcycled pieces for the store. And I draw up a preliminary plan for the back garden, mapping out what blooms I want to go where. I’m going to turn part of BaBs into a mini greenhouse so I can start germinating seeds in January, and I need to figure out which kinds of flowers will be the best bang for my buck.

It’s a whirlwind couple of days, and I’m happy to take a break with the rest of the crew on Christmas Eve. Christmas itself is one of the few holidays we don’t usually spend together. Gemma heads home to Virginia for the Kwon family celebration. Harley and her parents usually travel out of town the week between Christmas and New Year’s. And Nick’s presence is required at his grandmother’s under threat of losing his trust fund.

For me, Christmas means Chinese food and vintage Real Housewives, and luckily when I present this plan to Jack, he wholeheartedly signs off.