Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
OLIVIA
“Holy fucking shit, Liv.”
“Right?” I grin at my older sister Amelia’s reaction, doing a sassy spin to show off my sparkly gown.
I knew it was mine the second I saw it in the fancy Shadyside boutique a few weeks ago.
The deep green is perfect for Christmas, and the sweetheart neckline and thin straps do incredible things for my boobs.
The gold shoes I bought to match are completely ridiculous and were a freaking fortune, but I love them so much.
I didn’t think I would get the chance to wear any of this once Jeremy asked me to cater the gala instead of just being a guest, but he somehow managed to hire a second caterer to oversee the actual day of the event.
All the cooking is done, so now it's mostly just the set up and execution, and I don’t mind handing that off, especially if it means getting dressed with my sisters.
“Oh my god, yes. You look fucking amazing.”
Sliding up to her, I wrap an arm around her waist so we’re standing side-by-side in front of the massive gold mirror Molly set up in one of their guest rooms so we could all get ready for the gala together.
“I’m really glad you’re here, Ames. I know you and Elliot have your hands full, so it means a lot that you guys made the trip. I’ve been missing you lately.”
Amelia lays her head against mine. “I’ve been missing you, too.
There’s nothing in the world that would have kept us from this.
Pam and Rob are thrilled to have Clara for the weekend, and the idea of three nights alone in a hotel room with El, with no toddler yelling for breakfast at five thirty in the morning? It’s a fucking dream.”
I laugh, thinking of Amelia’s incredible in-laws, and how much they’re probably spoiling her and Elliot’s eighteen-month-old daughter right now.
“You look happy, Ames.” And she does. Her eyes sparkle when she talks about her husband, Elliot Wyles, and their daughter, practically radiating contentment.
She has a really beautiful life in Boston with Elliot, his three brothers and their wives and kids, his parents and his grandma.
The brownstone they all live in and the thriving app development business she started.
It makes me think of Brian—of the kind of life we might have together.
What it would look like to raise kids alongside Molly and Gabe and their friends.
To take our kids to visit Boston and have Amelia’s kids here with us.
I know it’s too soon for that kind of thinking, but god, I like it. I like it a lot.
“I really, really am. It’s absolute, utter chaos most of the time, but I love it.”
“I bet Pam is really in her element now that everyone is having babies.” I grin, thinking of Amelia’s hilarious, irreverent, mother-in-law.
She laughs, tucking a piece of hair back into her loose bun. “You have no idea. She has basically installed herself in the brownstone since Jo and Jordan had their second last month, and with both Hannah and Evan pregnant again, Pam is living her very best grandma life.”
“Looks like your sisters-in-law are doing the most to give her as many grandchildren as her heart desires,” I laugh. “You and El planning on doing your part anytime soon? I bet Clara would kill as a big sister.”
“As a matter of fact…” Amelia turns to me, massive grin on her face, and I know. Tears spring to my eyes before she even finishes speaking.
“Ames…”
She shrugs, beaming, her own eyes glossing over with tears. “Baby Sullivan-Wyles number two will be making his or her appearance at the end of the summer. It’s super early, but no way could I leave without telling you.”
“Sisters reunited!” Before I can say anything else, Molly comes whirling into the guest room in a cloud of bright pink silk, brown hair curling wildly down her back, wrist full of bangles, and bottle of champagne in hand.
“Soph and Ellie are finally asleep, the babysitter is on her way, and I’m ready for some serious partying with my girls.
Hang on,” she says, studying us. “Why are there tears? No one should be crying when they look as amazing as both of you do right now and when all three of us are finally together again.”
Amelia and I look at each other and laugh and then we both turn to Molly. “I’m pregnant,” Amelia says happily.
“Oh my god, same,” Molly squeals, launching herself at us and folding the three of us into a tight hug.
“Wait, what?” Amelia asks, pulling back. “Seriously?”
Molly laughs. “Extremely seriously. I literally found out yesterday. Gabe keeps walking around with this perma-grin, and I’m just all, let’s throw caution to the wind because three can’t be that much harder than two, right?”
“So the champagne?” Amelia asks with a laugh.
Molly grins and turns the bottle around. “Is actually super fancy sparkling apple cider. That’s how I was going to tell you, but this is so much better than that!”
Molly does a little dance in her strappy silver heels, and the emotion comes hot and fast. Too fast for me to be able to shove it down.
“I’m so happy for you both, and I just love you so much,” I say, my voice breaking on the last word.
I don’t know whether it’s all three of us together for the first time in a couple of months, thoughts of Brian and our maybe someday future, or the fact that I’m about to leave Pittsburgh for six months alone in Italy, but suddenly my tears are spilling over before I can stop them.
“We love you too,” Molly says, wrapping her arms around me. Amelia hugs me from behind, and for a second the three of us are tangled together, and it’s everything I need.
“Want to tell us what’s wrong?” Amelia asks. “Because I think maybe these tears are about more than babies.”
“You think?” I say through a watery laugh.
They both step back, and Molly sits on the bed, pulling me down next to her.
Amelia sits on my other side, and they each take one of my hands.
“I don’t know.” I shake my head, blinking hard and trying to avoid ruining my makeup even more than I already have. “I just have a lot going on.”
“It’s not the gala, is it?” Molly asks. “Because you’ve been prepping and cooking for days, and your menu is incredible.
You even came up with a signature cocktail, which is a new thing for one of these events.
Trust me; I know. I’ve been to like twenty of them at this point.
You’ve done all the hard parts. Jeremy hired an amazing staff for tonight, and everything is going to be perfect. You just have to enjoy it.”
“Strangely, no. Even though I’ve never cooked for an event this big, the gala is, in fact, the last thing on my mind.”
“Is it Italy?” Amelia squeezes my hand. “Six months is a long time to be away, but you’re so ready. You’ve earned this, Liv. You’re going to be amazing.”
I take a long, slow breath, trying to get my shit together.
I know Brian and I decided not to tell Gabe about us until after the gala, but if I don’t tell someone, I think I might explode.
And these are my sisters. If not them, then who?
“It’s kind of about Italy, in a tangential sort of way.
” I pause, looking at Molly and then Amelia before I spill my big secret.
“I sort of…started seeing someone a few weeks ago.”
“I knew it!” Molly exclaims, beaming at me. “You’ve been weirdly hard to pin down the last couple of weeks. I knew something was up.”
“Same,” Amelia says, bumping my shoulder with hers. “You’ve been super evasive every time I ask you what you’re up to. That screams new relationship to me. So, who is it? How did it happen? How did you meet? Tell us everything.”
“Of course you both did.” I laugh. “So, the thing is, I didn’t have to meet him, because I kind of already knew him. It’s Brian. I’m dating Brian.”
“Brian?” Amelia asks. “Like, Gabe’s best friend Brian?”
“Jeremy’s Brian?” Molly leans forward, eyes wide, her entire expression giving tell me everything, and I can’t help but laugh again.
“The very same one. The night of that big, unexpected snowstorm a few weeks ago, I was at Fireside meeting Jeremy, and stayed afterwards to do some work. The snow got bad fast, and Brian was there, so I ended up crashing in one of the spare bedrooms in the loft so I didn’t have to drive home.
We had a kind of weird moment before I went to bed, and I kept thinking about it.
Of course that meant I couldn’t sleep, so I raided his kitchen to make cookies because, snow.
He apparently couldn’t sleep either, and one thing led to another, and all of a sudden, he was kissing me in his kitchen in the middle of the night.
That led to more, and we’ve been hanging out a lot since. Like, every day a lot.”
“Oh my fucking god, I love this so much,” Amelia exclaims. “My little sister with the hot, broody older man. Have you slept with him? Was it amazing? He seems like the kind of guy who would know his way around a woman’s body.
All that intense focus. I bet he would be really… thorough.” She gives me a sly grin.
“I’ll say,” I mutter, feeling my cheeks heat.
“No way,” Molly says, pointing at me. “We need details. So, so many details. No holding back.”