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CHARLIE WANTED TO CRAWL under the table. Olivia rose from her chair with her cheeks blooming bright red. She regarded her brother with eyes squeezed to narrow slits. She broke the silence, speaking slowly, with barely controlled anger. “What did you say?”
“Josh told me about the baby,” said Spencer, jutting out his jaw.
“He what?” Olivia whipped her head around to spear Josh with a vicious glare. “You told him I was pregnant? That’s how you explained it?”
“I did not! That’s not what I said.” Josh jumped to his feet and leaned threateningly across the table toward Spencer. “I never said that—you tell her the truth.”
“You didn’t say it outright, but... but you implied it,” argued Spencer, the certainty having left his voice.
“I did not.” Turning a pleading face to Olivia, Josh said, “I didn’t. I promise I didn’t.” His cell phone made a noise, and he paused to check it, letting an expletive slip though his lips. “I have to go to the hospital. Olivia, you’re probably going to get called in as well.” He started for the door.
“But, I’m not on call.”
“It’s a bad accident. Over twenty patients brought in already. They’re going to need you.” He tossed the words over his shoulder as he headed for the door.
As Josh predicted, her cell phone vibrated, and she groaned when she read her message. “Josh, wait up!” she called, following quickly behind him. “I’m not pregnant!” she yelled back at the table before she disappeared.
Spencer sank into his chair, and a stunned silence fell on the table.
Hannah’s laugh rang out, breaking into the quiet. “Oh, Spencer. You are in so much hot water. You’d better not turn your back on Olivia tomorrow night.” She laughed even harder when Spencer’s face turned red.
“But... but I thought that’s what Josh said...” Spencer sputtered.
“Good grief, Spencer! Really? You’ve got to be kidding. They’re like siblings.” Hannah’s face was incredulous.
“But he asked her to marry him,” Emily argued.
“I know, but that’s some kind of a joke or something. It can’t be for real,” Hannah insisted. “Even if she really had been pregnant, Spencer shouldn’t have said it out loud in front of everybody.” She shook her head with a doleful expression. “I’m just sayin’.”
Charlie’s head was reeling. She couldn’t help the leap of joy in her heart knowing Olivia wasn’t carrying Josh’s baby. But it didn’t explain why Josh was trying to get her to marry him. Maybe he was using Olivia as an excuse to avoid Charlie. The timing was awfully coincidental with her return to New York City. But he seemed really determined to marry Olivia, even though Hannah insisted they were like brother and sister. He might dislike Charlie now, but he wouldn’t marry Olivia out of spite. Would he? No, the only explanation was they had much deeper feelings for each other than anyone realized. Although, it still didn’t explain what Emily had said about a custody battle.
“So...” Derek said, with a rise of color to his face, “Can I see you again?”
“See me?” Charlie asked, startled out of her contemplation.
“Yes. You know. As in, go out on a date?”
“A date?”
“Charlie, you sound like a parrot,” said Emily. “Derek, you’ll have to excuse my sister. This is her first night out in a long while.”
“Where’s she been hiding?” he joked.
“We usually keep her locked up tight.”
Charlie slugged her sister on the arm. “I was caught off-guard when you asked about dating. I figured no one in law school had time to date.”
“We’ve got three weeks of freedom,” Lance chimed in. “We have to squeeze in all the action we can get in a short amount of time.” He casually put his arm around Hannah’s shoulder.
“How old are you, anyway?” Spencer asked Lance, staring at his arm until he removed it.
“I’m twenty-nine. Why do you ask?”
“Because I think you’re too old for my sister.” Spencer’s gaze was unrelenting.
“That’s none of your business,” said Hannah, arching her brow. “You’re already in trouble with Olivia. Do you want me on your case, too?”
“Eight years difference,” Spencer insisted. “That’s a lot.”
“We’re not getting married, Spencer. We’re just going for pizza.”
As they continued to bicker, Derek spoke in a soft voice. “So can we go out on a date? I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t planning to deal with dating while I was in law school.”
“Lucky for me you haven’t started school yet.” He winked.
Charlie groaned, but she couldn’t keep a straight face. “Okay. What did you have in mind?”
“Wednesday night? Nice dinner somewhere?”
“No, because I’m going to insist on paying half, and that’s not in my budget.”
“I don’t mind paying. I’m the one who’s asking you out.”
“It’s a long story, but trust me, I can’t let you pay. And no kissing, either.”
Derek pushed his lower lip out in an exaggerated pout. “But I’m suffering after a long, hard semester of studying in law school. Not even one little, tiny kiss?”
“Nope,” said Charlie. “I’m up for Chinese takeout and a rented movie, with no kissing. Take it or leave it.”
“I’m taking it. And just to get a jump on things, I have tickets to a musical on Saturday night. Can you go?”
“Sorry, I’m going skiing next weekend. We’ll be gone a week.”
“All of us are going,” said Hannah, almost bouncing with excitement. “On Steven’s jet! And he’s paying for the whole thing!”
“Steven?” asked Derek. “Your rich stepfather?”
“Yes,” said Charlie. “He’s taking our family and Spencer’s sisters, too.”
“Sounds like a great guy,” said Derek. “What did you say his last name was?”
Hannah started to respond, “Gher—”
“I didn’t say his last name,” Charlie said, cutting Hannah off.
Derek squinted at Charlie again. “Steven Gherring?”
Charlie moaned and hid her face in her hands.
“That’s it! I knew I’d seen you in a magazine. Your picture was in an article about Steven Gherring with his twin sons.” A self-satisfied smile emerged on his face. “Why didn’t you want me to know?”
“I don’t like attention.” Charlie twisted her mouth sideways. “I didn’t want anyone at Columbia to know.”
“We won’t tell anyone,” said Lance. “And New Yorkers are cool about celebrities, anyway. No one will bother you about it.”
“Seriously, no one will know or care,” said Derek. “It was just driving me crazy. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out where I’d seen your picture.”
“Usually my hair is in a ponytail,” said Charlie. “I don’t normally look like this.”
“No, it’s usually inside a hat,” Emily said.
“It’s getting so long I can’t get it all inside anymore,” complained Charlie. “I need to cut it.”
“No, don’t cut it! It’s beautiful.” Derek eyebrows twisted in a stricken expression.
She can’t cut it now,” Emily declared. “I bet her she couldn’t go without cutting it before she graduated from law school. Charlie took the bet, and she’s too competitive to lose.”
“So obviously, your stepfather doesn’t share his money with you, since your budget only allows for Chinese takeout,” said Derek.
“It’s not that he won’t share his money,” Emily explained. “He’s very generous. But, we were both raised with too much pride to feel comfortable taking handouts, so we try to be independent.”
Spencer squeezed Emily’s shoulder and chuckled. “Yes, between the Best Dating Rules and the Best family pride, we almost didn’t get together.”
“Best Dating Rules?” asked Derrick.
“We don’t need to get into that.” Charlie sent Spencer a warning glance, but he ignored her.
“Best—that’s Charlie’s last name, Emily’s maiden name. And their dating rules are extensive and complicated.”
“Spencer,” Charlie growled, “that’s enough.”
“But I think it’s only fair I know the rules,” said Derek.
“I know them,” said Hannah. “My sisters and I learned them when Spencer got engaged to Emily.”
“Not now, Hannah,” said Charlie. “The number one rule is a guy has to earn the right to learn the dating rules.”
“Okay. We’ll keep them a secret for now.”
“You’ll tell me over pizza, right?” Lance whispered to Hannah.
“I heard that,” said Charlie.
But Hannah giggled, giving him a little nod, at which Lance winked at Derek.
Evidently,” Charlie remarked, “no one in Spencer’s family can keep a secret.”
*****
IT WAS FIVE A.M. BEFORE Josh got an opportunity to talk with Olivia at the hospital. He handed her a cup of coffee as they sank into adjacent chairs in the break-room, bleary-eyed and exhausted.
“One of those kids...” His voice cracked, and he couldn’t continue.
“I know.” Her voice was soft and full of sympathy. “He was only nine. Same as Jace. It was so sad.”
He heaved a shaky breath. “Sometimes I think I can’t keep doing this job. It’s great when you can save a life, but I hate when I feel powerless.” He realized his fears extended beyond the emergency room. He would soon be responsible for two lives, and he wouldn’t be able to protect them from every possible danger.
“I know what you mean.” They sat quietly for a few moments, staring at the bare white wall across from them.
“About tonight,” he said. “I promise I didn’t tell Spencer you were pregnant.”
“I know. And right now, all of that seems unimportant. This kind of puts everything in perspective.” Her voice dropped off. Only their breathing made a sound until she broke the silence with a chuckle. “But Spencer is gonna pay for making that comment in the restaurant, and he knows it. I bet he’s scared to death to go to dinner at the house tonight.”
“I almost feel sorry for him.”
“So... You get the kids today? And it’s okay if I don’t see them until Monday night?”
“Yes. I want a chance to spend time alone with them, anyway. I’m off work until Tuesday. Although, I could always get called in for something like this. I guess I’m going to need some backup.”
“You know, Josh,” she spoke in an earnest tone, laying her hand on his arm. “When you finally come clean about all this, your family will help you.”
He started to object. “I don’t have—”
“We’re your family. All of us. Spencer, Emily, Mom and Papa, my sisters, Brad. And you know Anne and Steven would do anything for you, as well. So don’t say you don’t have family.”
“Thanks Olivia.” He swallowed a huge lump. “Your family has been really great to me. And the Gherrings, as well. But I hate to be a burden.”
“But that’s just it. You’re family. You’re not a burden.”
“So you’re finally agreeing to marry me?” He bit back a grin, and she sent a pleading look to the heavens.
“Seriously, I want to help you, but I don’t want to get married. Could we just pretend to be married until after you get custody?”
“No, it has to be legal. I could risk losing them for good if someone found out we lied.”
“Then Josh, do me a favor. Go home and be honest with yourself—really honest. I saw how you looked at Charlie tonight. And how she looked at you.”
“She wasn’t looking at me like that—she doesn’t have any feelings for me.”
“So you aren’t denying you’re still in love with her?”
“It doesn’t matter how I feel about her. The kids are all that matter. I can’t waste time chasing after Charlie. I’ve pined over her for two years, and I’m totally out of time.” He sat forward and took her hand between his. “I promise I will be totally faithful to you the whole time we’re married. You don’t have to worry about me having feelings for Charlie or any other woman.”
She pulled her hand away. “Josh. You’re missing my point. You’re right. You really are running out of time. What did you do to pursue Charlie for the past two years?”
“Nothing! She wanted me to leave her alone, so I did.” He collapsed back in his chair. “You don’t understand. I hurt her when I was pushing her to give me a chance. I even made her cry. So I left her alone and waited to see if she’d come to me. But she never came. I told her I’d be waiting, but she never came.”
“And what if she loved you, but she didn’t know how to tell you?”
“She could have said something any time. She had two years.”
“Maybe she was afraid.”
He shook his head. Somewhere during the two year hiatus he’d given up making excuses for Charlie’s lack of communication. “No way. Charlie’s not afraid of anything.”
“Except opening herself up to being hurt. That’s the one thing she’s afraid of. You can’t understand it, because you’ve never been rejected. You just walked right up to her and proclaimed your feelings. But she’s not like that.”
“But I did get rejected. Charlie rejected me.”
“And how did it feel? Did it hurt? Now that you’ve been rejected once, aren’t you a little bit afraid of being rejected again?”
“It’ll never happen again. I don’t intend to let myself fall in love again.”
“There, you see... You do understand her. She’d been hurt before and made the same promise to herself, before she ever met you. But I talked to her last night, and I think she’s in love with you.”
Josh’s chest compressed at her words. No. He couldn’t get his hopes up again. “Look, Olivia. Even if you were right—and I’m not saying you are—Charlie is so skittish. I haven’t got another two years to talk her into marrying me. I need to get married next month. That’s why it needs to be you.”
“But you’re admitting you’d like to marry her? And not just for a year?”
He scowled. How had he let Olivia twist his words around? “I’m not admitting anything.”
“Oh, yes you are.” Olivia laughed.
“I am not!”
“You could just ask her,” Olivia suggested. “I mean, just ask her to get married to help you out. The same way you asked me.”
“She wouldn’t do it.”
“How do you know? Granted, it isn’t a very flattering proposal. But she might say yes. What do you have to lose? Then you’d have a year to convince her to stay married.”
It was true Charlie still responded to him physically. He’d sensed it holding her in his arms on the dance floor. But it was only a physical reaction. If there were emotions behind it, she would have said something long ago. After all, he’d told her he’d be waiting for her. And he had waited. And waited. The time for waiting had passed.
“No. I won’t do it.” Josh ground his teeth.
Olivia stood up with her hands on her hips. “Then you can consider our engagement-to-be-engaged officially off. If you won’t even try when there’s a perfectly good alternative, I’m not going to try either.”
“You can’t do that—the kids are coming today.”
“I’ll still come and spend time with them after work this week, just like I promised. But I’m not getting married in January. So lucky you—now you don’t have to explain our engagement, because there isn’t one.”
“But I’ll lose the kids for sure.” He struggled to control his rising panic. “You can’t do this.”
“I certainly can. If you can be too stubborn to even approach Charlie about this, then I can be stubborn enough to flat-out turn you down.” She marched away with stiff shoulders.
“Olivia!”
She disappeared around the corner, without a single glance in his direction. Josh sank into his chair. Olivia was his last hope, and now she’d turned him down. He would lose the kids for sure. He’d felt certain she’d agree to the marriage if he could only convince her there was no other option. But that seemed to be impossible. She’d made up her mind Charlie would accept his proposition without any basis in fact. It was hopeless.
Unless... An idea formed in his head. What if Olivia sees for herself Charlie and I are like oil and water. Surely she won’t be able to deny how impossible a relationship would be between Charlie and me when she watches how we clash every time we’re together. And then she’ll agree to marry me. Maybe during the ski trip...
*****
CHARLIE COULD FEEL the tension in the room. Spencer was extremely solicitous with Olivia, asking her multiple times if she liked her meal or if she needed a refill on her drink. She regarded her brother with an inscrutable expression, responding politely with monosyllabic words. Their parents were oblivious to the tautness of the atmosphere, chatting mostly about the latest pictures Grace and Brad had posted online. Hannah had obviously given Claire a report of the previous night’s events, because both were barely stifling their giggles as they watched Spencer squirming.
Charlie whispered to her sister, “Has Spencer figured out what he’s going to say to Olivia?”
“I don’t know. He’s pretty nervous.”
“I hope his little slip-up doesn’t spoil things between Josh and Olivia. I could tell at dinner he’s really smitten with her. Couldn’t you?”
“Yeah. When he said, ‘We’re still in this together, aren’t we?’ It broke my heart.”
“Me, too. And she really blew him off. Of course, I can’t really judge, can I? I did the same thing to him.”
“Yes, but he was a different guy back then. I bet if you had known he was really going to change, you two would be together now.”
“Don’t say that! I don’t even want to think about the possibility when Josh is in love with Olivia. Let’s just concentrate on getting them together—whatever it takes.”
It seemed the usually fun-filled Sunday night dinner stretched painfully long. Her nerves were on edge by the time Connie and Joe Marshall finished their desserts and retired to watch television, leaving the kids with cleanup duty.
As soon as the coast was clear, Spencer cornered Olivia, his face contrite. “Olivia, I’m sorry. I really am. I must have misunderstood what Josh told me. But honestly, I was only speaking up because I love you, and I was worried about you.”
She pulled up one corner of her mouth and regarded him with her arms crossed. “My dear brother.” The sarcasm dripped from her tongue. “There are several problems with your argument. First, you believed I could be pregnant. And not only that, but you also believed Josh could be the father. And you said something about it in public!”
“I didn’t believe it, at least not at first. But he kept talking about doing the right thing and being a father. And he was trying to rush the wedding and all...”
“I see.” She tapped her foot on the floor in a steady rhythm.
“It would help if you explained it,” Spencer said.
“Perhaps, but I’m not ready to. Let’s discuss how you accused me of being pregnant, not privately, but publicly, in a restaurant, in front of people we’d only just met.”
“I’d rather not discuss it.”
“I bet you wouldn’t! Let’s just say I’m prepared to forgive you, but you should be prepared to serve a long penance. I’m still pondering all the ways I’m going to let you make it up to me.”
“I’m prepared to write your thank-you notes for you after the wedding. Surely that would make up for it.”
“There’s not going to be a wedding.” Olivia made the declaration with the same nonchalance she displayed when announcing dinner.
“But why not?” asked Charlie, as she strained to control her shaky voice. “Josh didn’t tell Spencer you were pregnant. It’s not his fault this happened.”
“Oh, I know that. But he’s not in love with me.” Charlie squirmed under Olivia’s meaningful regard.
“So why does he want to get married, anyway?” asked Hannah. “You’ve been saying you’re going to explain it ever since Grace’s wedding, and you haven’t done it yet.”
“I think it’s Josh’s story to tell,” said Olivia. “Maybe he’ll explain it on the ski trip.”
“But Olivia, I think he’s in love with you,” Charlie argued. “I really do. I’ve seen how he looks at you. It’s like his life would be over without you. He’s really devoted.”
“That’s not what you saw, Charlie.” Olivia made the assertion with a confident tone. “He thinks he needs me, but he doesn’t. And need isn’t the same as love. But it doesn’t matter, because I’m not in love with him. And he knows it.”
Charlie restrained herself from arguing further. She had no right to tell Olivia to act differently than she’d behaved herself. Now Josh was going to be hurt all over again.
Unless... Unless she could change Olivia’s mind. Steven said Josh was joining them on the ski trip. Perhaps during their week in Colorado, there would be an opportunity. She could even enlist her mom’s help. The thread of a plan began to weave in her mind.
*****
“UNCLE JOSH?”
“Yes, Jace.” Josh was wrestling with Chloe, who was squirming and screaming in objection to putting on a diaper.
“No! No dy-pee! I not a baby!”
“Yes, you are,” said Jace. “You’re only two. You’re a baby.” At this, Chloe began to cry in earnest.
“Jace, you’re not helping,” Josh growled. “What did you want?”
“I wondered when Aunt Olivia is coming back.”
“She’s coming over tonight.”
“Good.”
“Why? Do you like her better than me?” Josh quipped.
“She’s nice. She brought cookies. Hey, Uncle Josh?”
“Yes, Jace.” Josh struggled to pull a clean shirt over Chloe’s head.
“What do you do at the hospital?”
“I’m a doctor in the emergency room.”
“Oh! Do you poke holes in people’s throats and stick straws in? I saw this show on TV, and the doctor stuck a straw in this guy’s throat, and there was blood and everything, but then the guy started breathing through the straw! Do you do that?”
Josh finally succeeded in sliding the shirt down and forcing Chloe’s arms through the sleeves. Upon her release, she immediately took off at a dead run for the entertainment center. Josh caught her just before she crashed into the glass cabinet doors.
“So do you? Do you put straws in people’s throats?”
“Uhmm, no. I don’t think I’ve ever done that.” Josh gently placed the wriggling girl on the floor in front of a huge pile of oversized Legos.
“Awww.”
Josh couldn’t help being amused at Jace’s sad puppy dog face. He tried to think of something that might impress his nephew. “But a guy came in today with a broken leg, and his bone was sticking out.”
“Cool! Was there blood and everything?”
“Yes—lots of blood.” Josh smiled. “You’re not afraid of blood?”
“No way. I like it. And my friend at school, Gavin—sometimes when he’s sitting at his desk, blood will start running out of his nose. And sometimes it drips on his shirt and stuff. And he gets to go to the nurse. And one time I got to go with him because he was holding his head back, and he couldn’t see where he was going.”
“That’s pretty awesome,” said Josh. “If you like blood, maybe you might like to be a doctor some day when you grow up.”
“No. I’m going to be a jet pilot,” he said, plopping on the floor to join his sister. Chloe proceeded to scream in protest every time her brother picked up a Lego.
Jace was quiet while he concentrated on building for a few minutes, ignoring his wailing sister. Then he asked, in a small voice, “When am I going to see Nanny and Poppy?”
Josh’s throat tightened. He didn’t want to be the one to tell Jace his grandparents had rejected him in favor of his sister. “I’m not sure. Maybe after the ski trip.”
“Tell me again about going skiing,” Jace said, as he chewed on his cheek. “I told my friend today I was going to fly on a fancy jet, but he said I was lying. He said that’s only on TV. He said I was making it up. Is it really true?”
“It’s really true. It’s a private jet. It will just be our friends on the plane.”
“And who are your friends again? Who’s coming?”
“Our friends,” Josh corrected. “They’re your friends, too. So it’s Aunt Olivia and her three sisters, Aunt Grace and Aunt Hannah and Aunt Claire. Also, Uncle Brad, Uncle Spencer, Aunt Emily, and Aunt Charlie.”
“And they’re all old like you?”
“Well, maybe not quite so old as me, but they’re grown-ups.” Josh stifled a laugh.
“And there’s kids, too?”
“Yes. Mr. and Mrs. Gherring have two little boys that are two years old, like your sister.”
“But they don’t have a little boy who’s nine?”
“No, I’m afraid there’s not another nine-year-old. But you’ll have lots of fun, I promise.”
“That’s okay. Jeffrey’s nine, and he’s kind of mean. I’d rather play by myself.”
“Who’s Jeffrey?”
“He’s the other boy who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Delaney. But I’m not going to stay there. Right? I’m going to live with you?”
“That’s right. I want you to live with me and Aunt Olivia, when we get married. But I have to get the judge to approve it.”
“And Chloe, too?”
“I hope so.”
“That’s okay, I guess.”
“You don’t want to have Chloe live with us?”
“I guess I miss her sometimes, but she’s a girl,” he said, as if this fact explained everything. “And she messes up my stuff all the time.”
“But you want to grow up with your sister. That way, someday, when you’re grown and married—”
“Ewwww! Married? To a girl? Ewwww!”
Josh chuckled. “Okay. You’ll just have to trust me. You want to grow up together with your sister.”
A knock sounded at the door. “Is that her? Is that Aunt Olivia?”
“I bet so. You want to answer it?”
He jumped up to open the door. “Hi! Hi! Hi! Do you have cookies?” Chloe ran to greet Olivia as well, pushing Jace away from her and clinging to her leg.
*
OLIVIA SURVEYED THE chaotic apartment with amusement. Only a few days and the kids had wreaked havoc on his normally tidy place. “Yes, but they’re for after dinner. What are we eating?”
“Spaghetti,” said Josh, with a groan, stretching his arms over his head. “It’s almost ready.”
“Are you tired already?” Olivia teased. “It’s only six thirty.”
“Yes, but today was the first day I had to work at the hospital and take care of the kids, too. I’ve been up since five a.m.”
“Better get used to it,” she called in a merry voice as he disappeared into the kitchen.
Olivia picked up Chloe and twirled her around while she giggled.
“Do me! Do me!” demanded Jace.
“I’ll try, but I’m not very strong.” She pretended to strain to pick up Jace. “Ughh! You’re so big! I can’t do it.” Then she raised her eyebrows, “But you know who’s really, really strong, and can pick you up and swing you around for hours without getting tired?”
“Who? Uncle Josh?”
“No. Your Aunt Charlie. You haven’t met her yet, but you’re going to love her. And I’ll tell you something else if you can keep a secret.”
“What?” he said, wiggling with excitement.
She whispered in his ear. “Aunt Charlie’s the one who made the cookies.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and she can climb rocks and mountains, and she goes whitewater rafting and she teaches kids how to ski.”
“Really? Is she going to teach me how to ski?”
“I bet she will,” said Olivia, grinning smugly.
“Is she pretty, like you?”
“Awww!” She ruffled his hair. “You’re so sweet. Yes, she’s even prettier. Her hair is curly like mine, but even longer.”
“I have a lot of aunts, now. I never had any before...” His face fell, and tears sprang to his eyes. “Before Momma and Daddy died.”
Olivia felt her own eyes glistening. She bent down to hug him, and he threw his arms around her, holding tight to her neck. She picked him up and held him tight, wishing she could squeeze away his pain. Then she started spinning him around, faster and faster. Soon his tears began to fade, and he dissolved into giggles as she got dizzy and collapsed with him onto the couch.
“Hey! You said you couldn’t pick me up.” His brows furrowed over his green eyes.
“Yes, but you hugged me and gave me super powers. I’m almost as strong as Aunt Charlie, now.”
“What about Charlie?” Josh spoke behind her.
“Oh, you startled me.” She ignored his suspicious glare. “Jace and I were just talking about all the aunts he has now.” She felt the blood rush to her face. She’d been caught already. She’d have to be more cautious or Josh would undermine her efforts.
“Aunt Charlie’s really strong,” Jace declared. “And she climbs rocks, too.”
“I see. That’s good to know.” Josh regarded Olivia with one eyebrow raised. “But did you know your Aunt Olivia is a nurse, and she’s going to be a doctor? I bet she can tell you all sorts of good stories about bloody things.”
“Really? I like blood and stuff. Have you seen somebody’s bones sticking out before? Or maybe a broken neck?” Jace asked, cranking his head sideways to demonstrate.
Olivia pretended to sniff the air. “Do I smell dinner? I’m starving. How about you, Jace?”
“Where’s Chloe?” asked Josh, as Jace dashed for the kitchen.
“I don’t know. She was just here. I don’t hear her.”
“Ah ha!” said Josh, scooping her up, with Olivia’s purse clutched tightly in her hands, while the remaining contents spilled onto the floor. Josh waited while Olivia rescued her belongings, much to Chloe’s dismay.
“I know what you were doing,” he said. “And it won’t work. I can’t marry Charlie.”
She shrugged. “We’ll see.”
“No we won’t see. You’re the only option.”
“Well I already turned you down. So the way I see it, you either have Charlie or no option.”
He shook his head, carrying Chloe into the kitchen. “It won’t work. It’s not an option. End of story.” He paused at the threshold, speaking over his shoulder. “And stop trying to influence Jace.”
He disappeared into the kitchen, and Olivia smiled to herself. Grace and Brad were due back tomorrow. Once she told Grace what was going on, Grace would know just what to do. Josh wouldn’t know what hit him.
*****
CHARLIE WAS BURIED in pillows... almost. There was one small space open around her face. Micah and Ellis were giggling while tossing pillows on top of her prone body as she lay on the floor.
“So Grace and Brad are coming back from their honeymoon today?” she yelled.
Her Mom’s voice came from the other room. “That’s right! I bet they had a great time. Will you see them?”
“Probably not. They’ll be crazy busy getting ready to leave again on Saturday for the ski trip. Are you guys packed?”
“Ha!” Anne laughed. “When do I ever pack ahead of time? But I bet Emily’s already packed.”
Charlie chuckled. “She’s packed. And she sent me a packing list.”
“Actually, can I borrow that packing list?”
“She probably sent you one in an email.”
“Oh... I haven’t had time to check it in a while.” Anne came out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee. “Come on, Steven. Let’s get out of here before the boys decide to bury us, too.”
Steven emerged from the kitchen wearing a confused expression, until he saw the ever-growing pile of pillows. He laughed. “You see, Anne? I told you there were too many throw pillows in this place. At least the boys finally found a good use for them.”
“They’re for decoration,” objected Anne, heading toward the door. “Thanks for coming so early, Charlie. We’re going to be mostly out of touch all day. But text me if there’s an emergency. Okay?”
“Don’t worry. There won’t be any emergencies. Have a good day.”
Charlie soon gave up all hope that the boys might fall back asleep due to the early hour. So she led them into the kitchen to find some breakfast. “We’ll eat first and then get dressed. Maybe we’ll play outside if I can find your coats and hats and gloves.”
“Outside!” said Ellis, jumping up and down. Soon Micah was also jumping, and the two continued to bounce until they bumped heads, starting the first round of tears for the day.
“Oh,” said Charlie. “Did you bump together? Let me kiss it. Show me where.”
Both stopped crying and rushed to get their promised kisses. Charlie kissed their heads, and as had become their custom, she kissed their necks and tummies until they laughed from the tickling.
She heard a knock. “There’s someone at the door. Let’s go see who’s here.” The boys ran ahead of her as she moved to open the door. The penthouse elevator only operated if the occupant knew the code, so she expected to see Emily waiting outside the apartment.
Instead, she found Josh.
