Chapter 14
Fourteen
Thursday night, Liv kicked off her flip-flops and claimed her usual spot on Phoebe’s sofa. “I think the last time we hung out like this was on St. Patrick’s Day.”
Between their work schedules and personal lives, every time one of them suggested getting together lately, someone was always busy.
And when Liv reached out earlier in the afternoon, she’d assumed one of them would already have plans for tonight.
She’d been floored when Phoebe and Emma texted back that they were both free.
After adding a pitcher of sangria and a veggie platter to the already crowded table, Phoebe claimed the other end of the sofa. “No, you both came over when the newest season of The Fortunate came out.”
“That’s right, we did.” She didn’t know how she could’ve forgotten that.
They’d binge-watched the entire season in one night.
After roughly three hours of sleep, she’d catered a baby shower and had fallen asleep in the driver’s seat of the delivery van.
Thankfully, it had been after the shower ended and the van had been safely parked.
Still, it had been embarrassing to be woken up by someone banging on the window.
Emma sank into the oversized armchair she used whenever they gathered, crossing her legs. “Well, it’s not my fault. I’m not the one who is always busy.”
“Refresh my memory, but who’s been going to their boyfriend’s lake house in New Hampshire every other weekend for the past two months?” Phoebe asked.
“Definitely not me. I don’t remember the last time I left the state.” Liv grabbed a carrot stick and dipped it into the homemade hummus Emma brought with her. “And I know it wasn’t you, Phoebe. That only leaves one possibility.”
Although it meant seeing her less, Liv was happy Emma and Brian’s relationship was going well.
“Fine. I’m not around as much as I was in the winter, but I’m free a lot more than either of you lately.”
“I’ll have more free time in a couple of months.” As a professional photographer, late spring through early fall was Phoebe’s busy season.
“How many weddings are you working this weekend?” Last weekend, Phoebe had done the photos for two weddings, as well as a young woman’s senior pictures.
“Just one on Saturday afternoon. Fingers crossed the bride is easier to work with than Gina was last week. Two of her bridesmaids were even worse. You would’ve thought it was their wedding. Emma, be glad all you had to do was drop off the flowers on Saturday.”
While she hadn’t been an easy client, Gina hadn’t been the most difficult Liv had ever worked with. But it sounded like Phoebe’s experience with her had been worse.
“If I’d known Gina was going to be such a pain in the butt, I wouldn’t have suggested she call you.”
Phoebe waved a hand, dismissing the comment. “A job is a job. You know that. If we only worked for clients we liked, we’d both still be living with our parents or working a second job.”
Her friend made an excellent point. “True. And after spending time with one of her bridesmaids, I’m not surprised they were difficult.”
“Which one? There were six of them.”
Liv had been too busy prepping and serving meals to count how many people made up the wedding party, but she knew there had been more than a few women walking around in the same lavender gown as Theo’s girlfriend.
“Brianna.”
Rolling her eyes, Phoebe added food to a plate.
“Ugh, she was the worst of the bunch. She always needed to have a say in how I positioned her in a photo or where I took the picture. She acted like I was doing a photo shoot for her modeling portfolio. How did you end up spending time with her? Did you lose a bet or something?”
“She’s dating Matt’s brother Theo.”
“That makes sense. I thought the man she was with resembled Matt.”
“I forgot Matt’s brother visited,” Emma said.
Phoebe’s phone chimed, and she flipped it over to check the text message. “Aaron says hi,” she said as she typed a reply. “Is Theo as unpleasant as his girlfriend?”
Liv shook her head. “He seemed like a nice guy. I got the impression a few times that he wasn’t all that happy with Brianna.”
“If she acts the same way as she did on Saturday around him, I don’t blame him.”
“He did say his parents and brother don’t like her.”
“How many siblings does Matt have?” Emma asked as she refilled her glass with sangria.
“Just two younger brothers. Theo and Aiden are twins.”
“It’s never a good sign for a relationship when the family doesn’t like you.” If anyone would know that, it was Phoebe. Her former mother-in-law’s constant criticism had played a role in ending her short marriage.
“Theo didn’t seem to be worried about it. But I wouldn’t be surprised if, when Matt calls me, he tells me they split up.”
She’d talked to Matt twice since he left yesterday morning for Virginia, once when he’d arrived at his hotel and then again this morning. Since tonight was the couple’s joint bachelor/bachelorette party, she didn’t expect to hear from him again until sometime the next day.
“So, I know you only met Matt’s brother, but does that mean things between you are getting serious? Brian and I were together for almost four months before I met his family.”
Liv tried not to think about the conversation she’d overheard on Theo’s first night in town.
“How long were you and Aaron together before you met his family?” Emma asked Phoebe before Liv could respond to her question.
“Probably about five or six months, but Aaron’s parents were in South Carolina for the winter when we met, and his siblings are scattered around the country.”
Liv picked her fingernail and tried to mentally prepare herself for her friends’ reactions.
“Yeah, I think we’ve moved out of the casual dating phase. He wanted me to go with him this weekend to the wedding, and he’s not going back to Florida. He plans to stay in Orchard Harbor.”
Emma smacked the arm of her chair. “Didn’t I tell you he might do that! You need to listen to me more.”
“When did he tell you that?” If the tables were reversed, she’d be wearing a similar expression to Phoebe’s.
“The day we went to Smugglers’ Cove.”
Phoebe’s hand paused over the charcuterie board. “That was like two weeks ago! Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
Shrugging, Liv added some cheese and veggies to her plate. “It seemed like an odd thing to say in a text message, and there never seemed to be a good time for us to get together.”
Emma picked up her phone. “Odd, I always thought this device allowed you to call people and have a conversation. Maybe you have to pay extra for that capability now.”
“You guys know I don’t love talking on the phone.” Liv could talk to her friends all day long in person, but she hated long telephone conversations.
“Are there any other exciting details that you haven’t shared with us?” Phoebe asked, finally selecting the food she wanted from the spread on the table.
“Well….” Liv raked her teeth across her bottom lip and considered the conversation she’d overheard between Matt and his brother.
“That’s a resounding yes.”
Phoebe nodded. “I agree with you, Emma. She’s holding out on us.”
She’d opened her big mouth. Her friends would bug her until she shared, so the sooner she got it out in the open, the faster they’d move on to a different topic. “I overheard Matt telling his brother he plans to ask me to move in with him.”
“You do realize you should’ve started this whole conversation with that, right?” Emma asked.
“He hasn’t done it yet. And just because he said that, it doesn’t mean it will be soon.”
Phoebe exchanged a look with Emma before turning her attention to Liv. “If he told his brother last weekend, then he plans to do it soon. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought it up now.”
“Phoebe’s right. When he asks, what are you going to tell him?”
She wished she knew. One second, she planned to say yes, and the next, she intended to tell him she wasn’t ready. “I haven’t decided.”
Other than Phoebe and Sylvie, her college roommate, she’d never lived with anyone except her family. Moving in with someone seemed like a huge step in a relationship.
“That’s understandable. You haven’t been together long. Aaron didn’t move in with me until April.”
It was more like Aaron hadn’t officially moved in until April. In reality, though, he’d been spending more nights at Phoebe’s house than his own for a long time.
“When I decide, I’ll let you both know.”
“How does Owen feel about you and Matt being together?” Emma asked.
“He’s fine with it.”
“I’m glad he is. Do you remember how mad my brother got when I dated Ian in high school?”
“Emma, it had nothing to do with Ian and Jarrod being friends. Your brother never trusted anyone you went out with in high school, and he’s still overly protective now.” While Liv knew Emma’s brother only had his sister’s best interest in mind, she’d go crazy if Owen acted in a similar manner.
“Liv’s right and you know it,” Phoebe said, pointing a carrot stick at her friend.
They’d spent enough time talking about her. She wanted to hear about what was going on in her friends’ lives. “Now that you have the 411 on my life, what’s new with you guys?”
Phoebe didn’t have to be asked twice. “Aaron’s going to propose soon.” The smile on her face could light up the entire town on a starless night.
“How do you know?”
“Did he tell you that?” Liv asked at the same time.
“No, of course not. I wanted to borrow a pair of his socks, and I found an engagement ring in the drawer. It’s gorgeous too. In two weeks, we’re going to Cancun. It was his idea, and he planned everything. I think he’s going to do it then.”
One thing she could say about Aaron was that when it came to Phoebe, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.
“Any chance we can get a sneak peek at it?”
Liv had been about to ask the very same question.