Page 22 of Until I Have You

All the members are of a certain tax bracket and expect the most at all times.

“I appreciate everything you do for the club, Nate.”

Nate gives me a sparkling smile.“And?”

“And I want nothing to do with working for the club.”

He collapses onto the couch with a heavy sigh.“Worth a shot.”

“Why are you being so pushy about it, anyway?”

“Dad’s idea.”

“Dad?No way!”

Dad has definitely turned a corner since he met Sonia.He used to be obsessive about the club.After all, the Lyons Club is our family’s legacy, dating all the way back to the seventeenth century.

Now, he’s slowed down a bit, what with two new babies and a wife.

But he’s still Edwin Lyons, still owner ofTheLyons Club.He has a philosophy of doing things, and that philosophy is often “If you want it done right you have to do it yourself.”

Nate nods.“I know, it surprised me too.”My brother scratches a hand through his hair.“But he thinks it’d be good for me to get a bit more work life balance since we’re trying to have a baby.”

I shake my head, my mouth ajar.

Life moves fast, that’s for fucking sure.“How’s that going to work anyway?Are you going to mix up your sperm in a vial and just see which one gets there faster?”

Nate narrows his eyes.“You’re not funny.”

“I’m just asking!You’re the only person I know who is in a throuple!”

Nate gets up.“I’m leaving before you ask anything else annoying.”

“I just don’t want to be surprised when the baby looks like Mason instead of you!”

Nate walks away without turning around, waving a hand over his shoulder.“Bye, Abigail!”

Being the annoying little sister has its advantages.

I always know how to push buttons so that my annoying big brother will leave me alone.Even if deep down what I really want is what he has already.

He found his place in life, is doing something he loves, and has found his people.

I return to the application on my computer, try to focus up again.

I need to get this in asap, so I don’t waste another day feeling like a useless heap with an overly expensive degree.

I start typing up my personal statement on a document, repurposing old applications to fit with the new so that the Ireland Coastal Marine Institute feels like I have written all of this explicitly for them.

It’s all just a big game, a useless one.Busy work.

Halfway through my third paragraph, a laugh I recognize floats through the club to me.

I look up.I was so focused I didn’t realize Theo fucking Wallington just walked in through the members-only entrance.

I thought his company in the UK went kaput.Surely, he doesn’t have the tax documents to be a member here.

But he’s dad’s best friend.Nepotism exists everywhere, I suppose.

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