Give Me Butterflies (Oaks Sisters #1)

Chapter 42

Millie

Oaks Folks

Dad: Let us know how your interview went, Mills. We’re waiting anxiously.

Dad: Your mother baked a cake for you even though you’re not here.

Mom: Nervous baking. You know how it goes.

Fabes: I’ll definitely benefit from that cake tonight.

Mom: I invited Eva and Theo over for some as well.

Fabes: Nevermind. I’m busy.

Tess: I’ll be there. Maybe Millie can FaceTime us and tell us how it went.

Fabes: We love you, Mills! Call us when you can.

***

Finn’s call wakes me from a deep sleep, and I blink my eyes open, groggily reaching for my phone. The time says I’ve slept

for four hours, and I’m supposed to be ready for dinner at his parents’ right now.

My voice is hoarse when I answer, “Hey.”

“Hi. We’re outside. Are you ready?” His tone is gentle, like he’s talking to a frightened animal.

“No, I’m so sorry. I forgot to set an alarm to wake up. I’ll let you in.”

I slip some leggings on underneath my T-shirt and stop in front of the mirror. My perfect waves from this morning have gone

frizzy and wild. I brush a hand over them as I head for the door.

When I open it, Finn, Avery, and Eloise are clad in their adorable tie-dye shirts. I force a smile across my face as the girls

wrap their arms around me.

Finn shrugs with a bag from the café around the corner. “I guess this got here after you’d fallen asleep.”

A flash of guilt sinks into my stomach. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for needing rest,” he says firmly.

I nod and put my hands on the girls’ heads. “Thank you both so much for my pictures and flowers. I found them this morning,

and they brightened my whole day.”

“You’re welcome,” Avery says.

“Will you wear your tie-dye like us?” Eloise asks. “I want to show Nonna and Nonno what we made.”

“I’d love to. We’ll be a tie-dye team, won’t we?”

The girls smile wide and nod before running into the living room to find Pepper. Finn steps closer, wrapping me in a hug that needed desperately.

Sage.

Strong arms.

Safety.

I bury my face into his soft shirt and breathe him in as he kisses the top of my head. “If you want to cancel, you can. We

could come pick you up for the fun part later.”

“No, I want to go. I can’t be left out of this tie-dye team.”

When I lift my chin, concern etches his face. “I’m so sorry, Millie. Sorry I thought he was a good enough person to bring

in for a second interview. And sorry I brought him back into your life. I never would’ve done that if I’d known. I hate myself

for it.”

I press my fingers into the pinched crease between his brows and smooth it out. “I know you wouldn’t. I’m not upset with you

at all. He tricked you like he tricks everyone else.”

His jaw tightens, but he nods. “Would you think less of me if I kind of want to kill him?”

A smile cracks over my tired face. “No. You’d be in line right behind me. And Lena.”

***

As he drives to his parents’, Finn sets his hand in my lap, a steady weight over my thigh. A grounding reminder that he’s

right there if I need him.

The view outside the window changes to a neighborhood of extravagant houses. Colossal structures, each with its own design

aesthetic, line the road, surrounded by perfectly maintained grass. Sprinklers click in the front yards, and a few women run

down the road ahead of us in the workout gear of suburban royalty.

Finn pulls his car into the driveway of a three-story, Italian-style mansion, with stucco walls and a tiled roof. The house has an almost untouchable beauty, like it’s a little too perfect to be real.

We park next to a carved fountain that’s lit by the warm glow of spotlights. Dressed in our tie-dye armor, we exit the car,

and the girls’ wide, unsure eyes stare at the building.

Finn’s expression softens when he notices their apprehension. He kneels in front of them and puts a hand on each of their

shoulders.

“We can leave whenever you all are ready, okay?” They nod like they’ve gone through this conversation before. “I love you

both so much.” He kisses their foreheads, and we hold hands as we make our way through the courtyard to the front door.

Finn pushes the doorbell, and it echoes through the house. A petite older woman answers the door, nodding to Finn and giving

the girls a familiar smile. They offer a small grin back.

“How are you ladies this evening?” she asks in a kind voice.

“Good, Miss Sally,” Eloise answers.

A woman with long jet-black hair appears in the corridor behind Sally, her heels beating against the tile floor as she approaches.

Her beauty gives a subtle hint of plastic surgery, and I know from Finn that it hides a nasty interior. Like a shiny candy

coating over a raisin.

Her dark eyes assess all of us with her mouth set in a tense line. “You’re late. I told you to be on time.”

Wow. What a way to greet your son and granddaughters.

Finn’s hands slide around the girls’ shoulders, and he pulls them slightly toward his legs. I want a little of that protection,

but he only has two hands, and the girls need it more.

“Yes, we’re a little late, but we’re here now,” Finn says firmly.

Eloise pulls the hem of her tie-dye shirt out and says, “Do you like the shirts we made, Nonna?”

Finn’s mother finally looks at her granddaughter and gives her a belittling wince of a grin. “They’re very special, dear.”

Eloise’s face pinches with confusion, and she grabs Avery’s hand for support.

“Mother, this is Millie,” Finn says, nodding toward me.

She meets my eyes with a critical stare. “Serena,” she says with a nod. “Are you here to help with the girls while we eat?”

“No. She’s my guest. My girlfriend.” Finn’s voice is tense, like he’s barely holding himself together.

He’s never called me that before, and although it’s been a rough day—and seems it will continue that way—that small word sends

a thrill through me.

He catches my eye and winks.

Serena claps her hands loudly, making the girls jump. “Well, dinner is ready.”

We follow her through the entry hall and turn left into a dining room the size of my entire house. A long table that could

seat an army is surrounded by ornate chairs and intricate place settings at the far end.

At the head of the table sits an older man taking a sip of amber liquid in his tumbler. The color of his eyes matches Finn’s,

but even from across the room, I can see his father’s are dull and void of personality.

He tips his chin to us as we all take our seats, Serena on his left, Finn on his right, and the girls along the table next

to Finn.

Serena snaps toward Sally and tells her to bring another place setting. She instructs her to set it up on the other side of

the girls. Ave, El, and I are left to feel like outcasts spread out along the edge of the table while the “adults” form the

end. Finn casts me a look of sympathy, but the alternative is to sit by Serena, and that doesn’t sound fun either.

“Dad, this is Millie, my girlfriend. Millie, this is my father, Richard,” Finn says, waving a hand between us as he sits down.

Richard doesn’t respond to my smile or our introduction. He just looks like a king at the head of the table, surveying the

people below him. I ignore his dismissal with my own, moving to help Avery and Eloise get settled in their seats.

Serena places a napkin in her lap. “Well, tell me about yourself, girl. I should probably know the person my granddaughters

spend time with.”

Girl. It doesn’t sound sweet when she says it.

“Finn and I work together. I’m an entomology curator at the museum.”

Serena snorts and rolls her eyes. Heat warms my cheeks.

“She had an interview today,” Eloise adds, smiling in her grandmother’s direction.

“Lovely.” Her eyes dip to my tie-dye shirt. “I hope you didn’t wear that.”

Her dig doesn’t go unnoticed. “Mother,” Finn growls.

But I try my best to brush it off, just like I always did with Kyle. “No, I didn’t wear this. Although the interview panel

would’ve thought this shirt was so fun, right?” I nudge Eloise with my elbow, trying to send her a little bit of reassurance.

Sally pours red wine into Serena’s glass before coming around the table to serve mine.

Serena’s voice drips with judgment as she says, “Well, I also hope your hair didn’t look like that.”

A gasp leaves my throat without permission. Everyone’s eyes flick to mine, even Sally’s. A little wine drips onto the tablecloth

when her hands fumble.

As I stare into Serena’s icy gaze, my vision blurs, and her face contorts until Kyle’s cold stare peers back at me.

Kyle hated my hair in waves. He told me it was too frizzy. Too messy. Too crazy .

So I straightened my hair. I wore the clothes he picked. I faked a smile when he told me to be happy. I believed him when

he said I was crazy.

And it destroyed me.

I run a hand over the top of my head self-consciously and turn to Finn. His gaze on his mother is deadly. “That is completely—”

“Millie’s hair is pretty,” Eloise interrupts with a big smile. “It’s like mine and Mama’s.” She runs her fingers through the

strands on my shoulder.

Her bright blue eyes connect with mine, and hers are filled with comfort. My chin dips, and I give her a watery smile. Her

sweet innocence casts a spell over my sorrow, drowning out all the terrible things I’ve heard today and replacing them with

her heartfelt sentiment.

Sally and the chef interrupt the thick tension in the room, carrying dinner plates to the table. I pull my attention away

from Eloise to thank Sally as she deposits mine in front of me.

The chef stands behind Richard and introduces her dinner to us. “Ms. Serena has requested a seared duck breast with tamarind-sesame

sauce this evening. Along with that, we have a chilled sprout soup with pancetta, sous vide egg yolk, caviar, and yuzu hollandaise.”

I don’t know what most of that is, but the savory herbs smell delicious, so I paste on a gracious smile. Sally sets the same

plate in front of Avery and Eloise, and I have to stifle a laugh at their bewilderment.

“Mother, were you planning one of the foods we discussed for the girls?” Finn asks tightly.

“They can eat the same thing as the adults, Finneas. If they don’t like it, they can go hungry.”

He clears his throat. “That’s not how I’m raising Avery and Eloise.” Finn’s voice is stern as he levels his mother with a glare. “They’re encouraged to try everything, but they are always offered at least one safe food that I know they like.”

She gives him an identical look, and the room chills as they stare each other down in a battle of wills across the table.

Serena breaks eye contact first, flicking her gaze in my direction. “Is this something you put in his head?”

Finn sets his glass down with a thud , sloshing a few drops of wine across his fancy dinner. “This is something Clara requested. And I will uphold her wishes.”

Serena rubs her crimson-tipped nails across her forehead. “Oh, this again. You take every chance to bring up being the guardian

of my grandchildren. Who’s taking care of them while you’re with Millie ?” She spews my name like it’s sour milk.

The words hit Finn with an almost invisible flinch, but I catch it. Knowing his worries about being a good caregiver for Avery

and Eloise, I’m sure that cut him exactly how his mother intended it to.

Richard finally joins the conversation. “Maybe if Clara had left them with us, like she should’ve, they would be able to eat

like sophisticated children. Instead of sitting in these ridiculous tie-dye ensembles, expecting junk food.”

The entire room freezes for a brief moment. No one breathes.

But then the words land. Finn’s chair scrapes against the wood floors at the same time as mine, the sound like nails on a

chalkboard as it grates in my ears. Both of us stand to defend the girls, who look terrified and disgusted by their grandparents.

Fury laces Finn’s features as he bends to stare down his parents, his fists clenched on the ivory tablecloth.

“How sweet.” Serena’s mocking voice makes my ears ring. “Your little nanny is trying to pretend she’s a part of this.”

“Millie,” Finn keeps his eyes on his mother as he says in a low voice. “Please take Avery and Eloise to the car.”

I nod and help the girls out of their chairs. They walk quietly toward the door, and Sally is there with her arms out for

them. She wraps them in a hug, hidden around the corner from the view of Serena and Richard. Ave and El rest their cheeks

on Sally’s shoulder while she whispers something to them with a sad smile.

Serena snips, “At least she listens. I could never get you and Clara to do that.” I whip my head back in their direction.

“This”—Finn pokes a finger between the two of them—“is exactly why they don’t live with you. I don’t care how much money you

have or how big your house is. None of that matters more than love and compassion and kindness.” He looks like a dangerous

shadow looming over their fancy dinner. I’ve seen many dark glares from him, but I would never want to be on the receiving

end of that one.

His voice is a lethally low tone as he adds, “I don’t care how you decide to live your lives at this point, but we will not

be a part of it, because none of us deserve this treatment.”

“Really?” Serena brushes imaginary crumbs from the tablecloth. “Are you going to run off with that girl ? She gets to see our grandchildren, and we don’t?”

I flinch back from her patronizing tone, fire blazing through my veins.

Finn’s fist bangs against the table, and the wineglasses teeter. “Shut your fucking mouth about the woman I love. We’re done.” His chair crashes to the ground as he turns to leave.

***

My stomach churns in the car, sweat accumulating on the back of my neck. I can’t get the image out of my head of Serena’s

face morphing into Kyle’s.

Her words, her sneers, her casual dismissals. It’s all just like him.

And I want to believe they’re both wrong. I want to focus on the people I care about in this car with me and leave everything

that just happened in their stuffy, oversized prison of a house.

But her words echo in my ears nonstop until they’re all I can hear.