Page 90 of Somewhere We Belong

“So, are you just their neighbor?” Genevieve asked, making me blush.

“Evie,” Camila rolled her eyes. “At least wait a few hours before you start asking questions.”

“I was just creating some conversations,” she said with a shrug.

I chuckled. “I think we are seeing where this goes, but we haven’t told Sol anything because I don’t want her to get her hopes up.”

“That makes sense,” Camila said. “You sure you don’t need help?”

“I’m good.” I smiled as I cut some onions. “Cooking makes me feel less nervous.”

“No need to be nervous, we are all adults, apparently fucking multiple people,” Genevieve said, taking a sip of her glass. “I’m honestly curious how you came into the mix.”

“I think we've always had this attraction and when I hurt myself, they let Sol and me stay with them,” I said, stirring the onions in with the toasted rice. “I think that was the catalyst.”

“That's sweet of them,” Camila said, rounding the island, stirring the beans for me. “Theo talks a lot about Sol, it sounds like they are all smitten with her.”

I chuckled. “I think she's got them all wrapped around her little finger.”

“She seems like a smart girl,” Genevieve said. “I’m surprised she hasn’t caught on.”

“I’m surprised too, but we've been careful and it helped that we kind of hung out before we started seeing each other.” I put tomato paste into the rice. “I know it’s only a matter of time, but I don’t want to break her tiny heart.”

“You're a good mom,” Genevieve said, catching me off guard. “My mom was always looking for the next husband and didn’t think about my sister or me a lot. Not that she ever introduced us, but dating is complicated when you have kids.”

Genevive and I shared a look, and I felt for her.

“Thanks for saying that. It feels like no matter what, I’ll never get the hang of this or no matter what I do, it’s going to be wrong,” I admitted.

“We are always too hard on ourselves,” Camila said. “If a man was raising Sol, he would be praised for being an amazing dad, when a woman does it on her own, it’s expected of her. It’s such a weird double standard and annoying as hell. Just from speaking with her for a moment, I can tell she’s incredible and you are doing an amazing job.”

I didn’t know what to say and why the hell I was so nervous to meet these women. I swallowed the rising emotions.

“Thank you,” I said, as we all exchanged a look.

“That’s what we are here for, sisters-in-law who support each other,” Genevieve said, lifting her glass to me.

“A little early to call me that,” I chuckled.

“Nah, just making a damn good prediction,” she smirked.

And just like that all my nervousness went away as I enjoyed girl time. Not too long after, Iris showed up with Jude and Jude’s best friend Webber. We spent the night talking, eating, drinking and enjoying each other’s company. They felt like family, and it had been so long since I had had a family.

26

atlas

Thankfully,Theo was an early riser. He kept Sol occupied with some morning chores as I snuck in with Nova and held her for a little bit. Sneaking around was proving to be difficult when all I wanted to do was snuggle up to Nova every night.

Someone knocked on the door. “Momma, Merry Christmas!”

We sat up quickly as Nova pushed me and I rolled off before Sol barged into the room.

“Hey, Sweetheart,” Nova said, with a little panic in her voice. “Merry Christmas.”

“I’ve waited and I can’t wait anymore,” Sol squealed. “Hurry up.”

“Sorry, sneaky girl asked for a snack and took off,” Theo said as he walked into the room.

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