Page 77 of Love on the Vine
“Oh no! He’s speechless. I think we broke him,” laughed Ben as he slapped me heartily on the back, nearly knocking the wind out of me. I imagined the force of his fist against my chin if he found out what I’d been up to with his daughter.
Right now, I’d welcome it. It was exactly what I deserved.
“You gonna invite us in?”
“Of course, yeah, come in.” He pushed past me, lowering his sunglasses dramatically to take in the house and garden and whistling like he was checking out a pretty girl.
“Damn, Jake!” said Ben. “You were holding out on us. Look at this place! If we’d have known you owned a whole damn villa, we’d have come sooner, right, Ma?”
Only then did I notice Janet standing in the shade of the linden tree. She threw her arms around me, her floppy white hat crushed against my shoulder. “It’s so lovely to see you, Jake. I hope we’re not interrupting. I told Ben he should call, but he never listens to me, as you know.”
“I seem to remember something like that.” I tried to smile, and I wondered if it was possible to feel any shittier about myself.
“So where’s my little girl?” Ben asked.
Turns out it was possible to feel even shittier.
“She’s not a little girl, Ben,” Janet reminded him, removing her hat and running her fingers through her short gray bob. “I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate you calling her that in front of Jake here.”
“Hey, Jake. Do you have a pool?” asked one of the twins. With their identical Fortnite T-shirts and dark sunglasses it was impossible to tell them apart.
“Yeah, around back.”
“Yes!” they cried in unison and bumped fists, reminding me of all the funny stories Olivia had told me about them, stories I wouldn’t be privy to anymore.
As my shock wore off, I realized I had to warn Olivia before her family descended upon her. “I’ll go get Olivia.”
“We’ll find her!” cried Twin One. “We’ll hunt her down, tackle, and shackle her.” Twin Two cackled like a cartoon villain,and before I could stop them, they spun out in the gravel, their hands held in pistol shapes.
Hoping to rescue her before her brothers could make good on their threat, I hurried to the cottage, banging on the door until Olivia threw it open. Her eyes were even redder and puffier now, and if I hadn’t been in such a goddamn rush to head off her brothers, I would probably have gotten on my knees right then and begged her to forgive me.
“I don’t want to talk right now, Jake.” Her voice shook.
“I know. I just want to warn you that your family is here.” At that very instant two wiry bodies jumped out on either side of me.
“Ha ha!” they cried as I snagged them both by the shirt collar before they could ambush their sister.
Olivia stared at her brothers with a horrified expression on her face. Then her eyes met mine, and she slammed the door in my face.
Chapter 26
OLIVIA
Iclosed my eyes and leaned against the wall, hoping this was nothing more than a grief-induced hallucination. But the shouting and the banging on my door made it impossible to ignore the fact that my brothers were outside right now hanging off Jake’s arms like a pair of furious wasps.
More familiar voices joined my brothers’ outraged grunts—Kirsten’s soft cry of dismay, and then Dad’s booming laugh as he came upon the scene. No, this was no hallucination. My family was right outside my door.
“Liv, you in there?” A forceful knock sounded against the door.
“Getting out of the shower. I’ll be out in a few minutes,” I called, rushing into the bathroom and opening the faucet. I splashed cold water on my face and leaned against the counter trying to catch my breath as the voices moved away.
After a few minutes of deep breathing, I’d calmed down enough to face them. Throwing on a pair of sunglasses so Kirsten wouldn’t notice my splotchy face, I headed toward the terrace. Dad was spread out on a lounge chair by the pool (oh God! If he only knew what I’d done there), while Kirsten and my grandmother sat under the pergola and the twins spun around the pool like copper-haired dervishes.
“There she is! There’s my little olive branch.” Dad hopped up and swallowed me in a big bear hug. As much as I wanted to pull away from his embrace, I also wanted to bury my face in his shoulder and sob. At least I could pass my tears off as happiness to see them.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him when he finally set me down.
“Don’t you remember I told you I was planning a surprise for you?” He spread his arms out. “Well, it’s us!”
