Page 26 of Accidental Love

As Lily hugged me, I relaxed. I’d slowly started getting used to being hugged by anyone other than Liam. We were led into the kitchen, where we were greeted by Liam’s father, Adam, and his sister, Julie. The room smelled great and instantly had my stomach growling.

“So…how was Barbados?” Adam asked after we said our hellos. Next to me, Liam groaned, rubbing his forehead.

“It was good,” I answered, trying hard not to blush. Liam’s father sent both of us a knowing smirk, and Lilly did too, before grabbing a dish on the counter and heading to the dining room.

“Jenna, you look great,” Julie said a minute later before her mom could butt in with a remark of some kind.

“Thank you! So do you.” I still couldn’t help but feel like a fat dwarf next to her. She was dressed in thigh-hugging blue skinny jeans and a cute Victoria’s Secret sweater. It also didn’t help she was wearing high heels, making her taller than me by quite a bit. No wonder she was a Victoria’s Secret model. I bet everyone felt that way when they watched the VS Fashion show every year.

“Are you going to tell them?” I asked, leaning closer to her as Liam moved away to help his mom.

“Yeah, I am. I’m just super nervous. I want to tell them before telling the agency that I am done. The hospital wants me as soon as possible.” she whispered to me.

“Julie, don’t worry. It will be fine. Plus, I am here if anyone acts out.” I sent her a soft smile before Lilly called us to come eat.

Dinner passed by pretty quickly as we all ate and talked. Lilly did mention the wedding, but Liam and I successfully changed the subject before she got too into it. We hadn’t really talked about it, but I thought both of us were feeling that we should put the wedding off for a little while, at least for now.

We all sat there after eating a great-tasting meal. Everyone but me sipped on their wine while I drank my water. The conversation was slowly fading out, and I kept glancing at Julie, waiting for her to tell her news. After the fourth look I gave her, she shook her head vigorously at me.

“Would you please excuse Julie and me for a second?” I asked, standing up and placing my napkin in my seat. Giving Liam a peck on the cheek at his confused look, I dragged Julie into the kitchen and shut the swinging door behind us.

“Julie, now is the time to say something.”

“Jenna, I can’t! Maybe I will tell them in a few years. You know, after they notice I’m not in commercials or something,” she said, nodding at her idea. “By then it will be too late.”

“Jules, they will understand. It is not like this is their dream for you. They want you to be happy. Plus, it isn’t like you are becoming a stripper or something. You are going to be a nurse! That is a great job! You have to trust me on this.” I stared at her as she bit her bottom lip, thinking about it. Gulping, she nodded at me.

“Okay, let’s do this.” As we turned to head back in the dining room, Julie laced her arm through mine. I didn’t mind because I knew she needed the support. Pushing through the door, we went around to the side of the table so everyone could see us.

“Hey, everyone. Julie has something she wants to tell you,” I announced, giving her arm a squeeze. At this, Liam and his parents turned their full attention to us.

“So um…as you know for the past few years I have been taking classes at NYU,” Julie started to say. When I gave her an encouraging smile, she continued, “I’ve been taking classes to be a nurse, and a few weeks ago, I got offered an internship at a hospital. I am going to quit modeling and do it.” We stood there silently as all three took in what she had just said. Finally, Lilly broke the silence, jumping up from her seat.

“Jules, that is amazing!” she yelled as she practically threw herself at her daughter. I barely had time to unlace my arm from Julie and step to the side.

“Why did you hide this from us?” Adam asked, coming to hug his daughter too.

“I was afraid you guys would be mad,” Julie admitted, her eyes glazing over.

“My sister is going to be the best damn nurse there ever was.” Liam said before grabbing his sister in a tight hug and twirling her around. I held back a giggle at his cheesy line. He was such a loser.

“Have you told the agency?” Lilly asked. I tuned them out as they started asking Julie questions. I stepped back and away to give them some privacy. I barely made it a few feet before a heavy arm wrapped itself around my waist and brought me backwards.

“You knew about this?” Liam asked softly in my ear.

“I did. She didn’t want me to tell anyone until she said something herself,” I said.

“I’ll have to punish you for keeping this from me.” He didn’t sound mad. In fact, he sounded amused and teasing.

“And if I resist?” I questioned, a small smile starting to form on my lips.

“You won’t be resisting,” he stated. With a quick nip at my earlobe he pulled away from me, leaving me a hot mess.

The next few hours consisted of Julie informing us about the internship and Lilly saying how proud she was of her. The conversation steered away from that to Lilly and Adam telling me stories about Liam and Julie as children. Just like all siblings, they both had to made remarks about one another. As they bickered, I smiled sadly at how close the whole family was. It made me wonder if my mother was close to her new daughter. For the sake of my half siblings, I hope she was.

When we noticed the time, it was close to 9 o’clock at night. Time had flown by since we’d arrived, and I couldn’t help but feel sad that we were leaving. I could stay and hang out with Liam’s family forever. They made me feel at home, and never failed to keep my included in their conversations. I was slowly becoming a part of their family and it couldn’t make me happier.

“Bye! Drive safe and let us know when you get home,” Lilly said after she pulled both Liam and I into hugs.

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