Page 34 of Staying Selfless

“Tricks aren’t going to work on her. She’s smarter than that. You’ve got to understand that Mary grew up with two brothers, then raised two sons. She’s a straight shooter, but she’s also the best, and you guys are practically the same person.”

“Not at all!” Shock covers Ali’s face. “I don’t think we’re anything alike.”

“Okay,” I laugh. “I can’t wait for you to figure that one out.”

I noticed Mary and Ali’s unmistakable similarities pretty early on. Besides their petite frames and dark hair, they both have a fire to them. They don’t hold back, saying what’s on their mind, filter excluded.

“Have you told Marc how you feel yet?”

“No,” she sighs. “I almost did that night we went out in Chicago, but then I got nervous, and then I got drunk.”

“Alison Bertoli. Nervous over a boy,” I tease. “Has he said anything?”

“Nothing.” Her tone is completely defeated. “I mean, is that really a surprise? With how much Mary dislikes me, I should probably kiss that idea goodbye. I know how much Marc wished his family liked Lauren, and he’s not going to want to put himself in that situation again.”

“You should give him a little more credit than that.”

“He wants what you and Maddison have. He said those exact words to me.”

“He did?” I ask in surprise. I knew that Marc thought highly of Eli’s and my relationship, but I didn’t realize he saw us like that.

“Yeah,” she brushes me off. “Isn’t that what everyone is looking for? Their soulmate.”

“You believe in soulmates? You don’t even believe in boyfriends.”

“No. But if I were to believe in soulmates, I think they would look a lot like you guys.”

I give her an understanding smile. I, too, don’t know if I believe in soulmates, but I believe in Eli, and that seems like the same thing.

“Marc likes that you get along so well with Jack and Mary, and he wants that in his relationship too. Which is clearly not me.”

“Hi.” Eli pokes his head through my open doorway after a quick knock.

“Hi.” I can feel the smile form across my lips. I’ve been anxiously waiting to see Eli after finding out how many meetings he got yesterday. I couldn’t be happier for him, and I can’t wait to find out the details.

“Am I interrupting?” he asks, not breaking his stare from me, wearing the same goofy grin that I am.

I look to Ali before she shakes her head to tell him no.

“I brought you coffee for your first day.” Eli walks into my room, carrying a to-go carrier with four hot cups on it.

“Okay, you angel,” I add with an impressed smile as Eli hands me my daily caffeine fix.

“Where’s mine, Maddison?”

“We all know you don’t drink coffee, Bertoli. So, stop complaining. But here’s a green tea.” He hands her the second cup from his tray. Ali stays silent, wearing a smug smile.

“You’re welcome. Damn. No wonder why my stepmom doesn’t like you,” Eli playfully adds.

Ali takes a sip of her tea, trying to hide the amusement on her face as she holds up her middle finger for Eli to see.

“Thanks, baby,” I offer for the both of us as Eli swings his arm around my shoulders, kissing the top of my head.

“What are those boxes?” His eyes land on the two giant moving boxes sitting in the middle of my room.

“They’re the things I kept from the storage unit. I just brought them up from my car last night.”

“You can’t keep them in here.” He sinches his brows. “They’re taking up half of your room.”

---