Chapter 20
VICTORIA
Istood on the sidewalk outside my building with my overnight bag on my shoulder and watched a black SUV pull up. Callum got out of the passenger side to open the door for me. I couldn’t believe he convinced me to actually go to New York with him. I was nervous. I hated being nervous.
The SUV took us to the private airport. Again, not surprised, but it didn’t help my nerves. I had been on private jets before. More times than I could count, actually. The novelty had worn off before I was ten. But that was a different life and a different version of me.
The interior was exactly what I expected from a family like this. Cream leather seats arranged in clusters. A polished wood table along one side. Soft lighting and a television mounted on a wall that separated the cabin. A flight attendant greeted us.
“Window or aisle?” Callum asked as we moved through the cabin.
“Window,” I said.
He gestured me toward a cluster of four seats near the middle of the plane. Drew had already claimed the seat across the aisle. He nodded and said hello but there was something on his phone that had his full attention.
A woman appeared. “I’m here!”
She looked at me and her whole face lit up. “Victoria!”
I looked at Callum. He smiled at me. “Victoria, meet my sister, Cleo. Cleo, go easy. You’re a lot to handle.”
She waved him off. “It’s so nice to have another woman in the family.”
In the family?
The engines started and the plane began to move. I watched the Los Angeles sprawl fall away beneath us through the window.
“You okay?” Callum said quietly, close to my ear.
“Perfect,” I said.
Once we leveled off, the flight attendant brought coffee and a spread that was significantly more impressive than anything an airline had ever offered me.
Fresh fruit. Pastries. Yogurt with a little jar of honey beside it.
I helped myself to a croissant and tried not to be obvious about how much I was enjoying it.
Drew was in the front half of the cabin, still sulking or staring at his phone. Callum patted my leg and got up. “Be right back.”
He disappeared up front and sat next to his brother.
“So, tell me how you ended up working for Betty,” Cleo said. “I’ve met her once before but I doubt she remembers.”
I gave her the abbreviated version. Cleo listened and nodded.
Cleo had the kind of energy that was warm and inclusive. She was the sort of person who made you feel like you’d been friends for years within the first five minutes. I liked her immediately.
“I love my brothers. I would die for every single one of them. But I grew up completely outnumbered and I have been actively recruiting women to our side ever since. I am so glad you’re here.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
She refilled her coffee and settled back in. I got the sense she was just getting started.
“Okay, I should prepare you for New York.”
“Prepare me?” I asked nervously.
“The family. It can be a lot.”
“I know the broad strokes,” I said. “You, Mandy, the cousins.”
She laughed. “Okay. So. Mandy married Briggs, my cousin.”
I waited. “Mandy is the event planner.”
“She’s a wedding planner for the stars, yes.”
“Did you introduce them?” I asked.
She laughed. “Technically, yes, but I am not responsible for their marriage. They got blackout drunk in Vegas and got married.”
I blinked. “Really?”
“Yep. Neither remembered it, but they just did it again. It worked out beautifully. They’re disgustingly happy. But no one expected that from Briggs, the ultra-serious family attorney.”
“It sounds sweet.”
“As for the other cousins?” She sighed. “Adrian is the oldest. He runs the company for the most part. He married Elizabeth, who is an incredible designer. They recently had their first baby. Little boy named Buck, after his grandfather.” A sad smile crossed her face.
“He was a really special person. The whole family felt his loss. Still does. Naming the baby after him was Elizabeth’s idea and it was exactly right. ”
“That’s special,” I said quietly.
“And then Sebastian just had his wedding. He married Bernadette. That one was a proper wedding, very beautiful, very planned in advance, nobody was drunk when they said the vows.” She paused. “Although the reception got a little out of hand. That’s a whole story in and of itself, though.”
I laughed. I was going to need a spreadsheet. Or a family tree. Possibly both. “I’m going to have to write all of this down,” I said. “There’s going to be a quiz at some point and I’m already losing track of names.”
Cleo laughed. “The key is the names. Once you have the names down, everything else falls into place. There’s Dash and Krista as well. I think they’ll be there. They travel a lot.”
Drew and Callum joined us. Drew was a funny guy. I liked him and getting to know him explained a lot about the fire alarm situation. It was very him. He was one of those guys that was unapologetically himself.
The plane touched down in New York just after two in the afternoon.
I hadn’t been in the city in a long time.
A black Suburban was idling at the edge of the tarmac.
The back door swung open before we’d even reached it and a woman climbed out who I immediately recognized from the photos Cleo had shown me on the plane—Mandy.
“Finally,” she said, throwing her arms around Cleo first and holding on for several seconds. “I have been dying. Do you know how long it’s been?”
“Six weeks,” Cleo said into her shoulder.
“Six weeks,” Mandy repeated like it was a prison sentence. She pulled back and looked at her and then her eyes found me. “You must be Victoria.” She said with a friendly smile.
“Hi,” I said. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you and this monumental project you guys have created.”
She hugged me. I wasn’t expecting it. I stood there for a second with my arms at my sides before I recovered and hugged her back.
“I’ve heard so much about you,” she said.
A man climbed out of the driver’s side and came around to collect our bags. He was tall and attractive and there was definitely a family resemblance. He shook hands with Drew and clapped Callum on the shoulder. “Briggs,” he said to me, extending his hand. “Good to meet you.”
“Victoria,” I said. “You too.”
Mandy looped her arm through mine and was steering me toward the SUV. “How was the flight? Did Cleo talk your ear off? She talks constantly on planes, I don’t know why. Something about altitude.”
“I do not,” Cleo said from behind us, indignant.
“You absolutely do.”
I laughed and loved their easy friendship. I’d been anxious the entire flight, rehearsing introductions in my head and worrying about whether I’d seem out of place. But Mandy made the anxiety dissolve before I’d even gotten in the car.
We piled in, Drew claiming the front seat before anyone else could think about it. I ended up in the middle row between Mandy and Cleo, which felt like being sandwiched between two forces of nature. Callum folded himself into the back row.
“How are you feeling?” Cleo asked Mandy, nodding at her midsection.
“Tired,” Mandy said. “And hungry constantly.” She patted her little baby bump. “Briggs has been making me breakfast every morning.”
“We’re going to Mimi’s townhome,” Cleo said when I looked out the window. “It’s huge and empty. She’s going to love the company.”
The drive took just under forty minutes. I listened and participated in the conversation when necessary. I was just happy to be a part of it. Briggs parked in front of a townhome. It was much bigger than I expected and then I remembered who I was dealing with. No basic townhome would do.
It probably looked like a clown car with all of us piling out. The men grabbed our suitcases and we started up the walk. The front door opened and a woman appeared in the doorway. She was elegant with no effort at all. She was probably in her early sixties but looked younger.
Mimi.
“There they are,” she said, opening her arms.
Cleo went first, then Mandy, then Drew, who picked Mimi up slightly when he hugged her and made her laugh.
Callum was next and I watched him hold her for a moment longer than the others.
I didn’t know what they were saying with that hug, but I sensed a connection.
She pulled back and lovingly patted his cheek.
Then her eyes found me.
“And you must be Victoria,” she said.
“Yes, ma’am.” I stepped forward and shook her hand, and she covered it with both of hers.
“I’ve heard very good things,” she said. “Come inside. Dinner will be ready in an hour. I thought we’d eat early. I know there’s a lot to talk about.”
The inside of the house was everything the outside promised.
High ceilings and warm wood floors. Family photographs covered an entire wall of the hallway, framed in mismatched frames that looked very homey.
I slowed down as I passed them. Decades of a family documented in snapshots.
Children and holidays and various events.
The doorbell rang before Mimi had even finished giving us the tour. She excused herself with a smile. I heard the front door open, followed immediately by the kind of noise that told me the rest of the family had arrived.
Callum led me back to the foyer just as the man I knew was Adrian walked in. Thank God Cleo had shown me pictures of everyone. Behind him was Elizabeth holding their baby boy. The baby was awake and looking around at everything.
“Sorry we’re late,” Adrian said. He kissed Mimi on the cheek and handed her a bottle of wine. “Traffic on the bridge was ridiculous”
“You’re not late,” Mimi said. “You’re exactly on time.”
We went through the introductions and the doorbell rang again.
“He’s beautiful,” I said about the baby.
“He is,” Elizabeth agreed. “He also hasn’t slept more than three hours in a row since he was born, so he’s very lucky he’s cute.”
I laughed. I liked her immediately.
Sebastian and Bernadette walked in. Bernadette was very pregnant. Sebastian had his hand in the small of her back in a protective gesture I didn’t think he even realized he was doing.
He shook my hand. Bernadette hugged me, which surprised me again. I was starting to realize this was simply how these people operated.
Dash and Krista were last, arriving slightly breathless. Krista was glowing in a way I recognized now, having just seen it on Bernadette. She caught me noticing and smiled.
We put our bags away and rejoined the family in the huge dining room. Baby Buck was being passed from person to person. Someone had opened wine. Briggs and Sebastian were debating something in the corner. I sat at the table with Callum on my right and Cleo on my left and just soaked it all in.
I had been to countless dinner parties and holiday gatherings that required seating charts and name cards. I knew how to navigate a room full of strangers. I knew how to make small talk and ask the right questions and laugh at the right moments.
But this was different.
Nobody was positioning themselves in relation to anyone else. The noise in this room was natural. A family catching up. People who loved each other talking at the same time because there was too much to say and not enough hours to say it in.
I felt an ache in my chest.
Cleo leaned over. “Overwhelming?” she asked softly.
“No, not at all. It’s beautiful.”
She looked at me and seemed to understand exactly what I meant. She clinked her glass against mine.
Dinner was served family style, enormous dishes passed around the table. Mimi had made what appeared to be an entire season’s worth of food. Roasted chicken and a pasta dish with a sauce that smelled amazing. Bread that was still warm. A salad with fresh ingredients.
The conversation moved along from babies to Dash and Krista’s new house to the best family car.
I was included in every conversation. Callum was attentive, making sure I had whatever I needed and refilling my wine glass.
I couldn’t help but feel like I fit in better with these strangers than I ever had with my own family.