Page 29 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Without Brody around, it’s Hannah who does the most to put me at ease, though it could be she’s just trying to counter Olivia’s pointed questions.
What are my plans after this summer?
Am I dating anyone?
Traveling anywhere exciting?
She could be very excited about my life and career.
Or she could be anxious to get me out of town and away from her big brother.
“Tell them about the couple in Italy,” Kristyn prompts after Hannah asks me about my favorite places to visit.
The request doesn’t surprise me. Kristyn always has been a romantic.
“I would love to go to Italy one day,” Olivia says.
“You should go,” I say. “But don’t just go to the big cities. The Italian countryside is amazing. When I was working on this piece about the wineries in the Campania wine region, I stayed in a villa owned by this adorable couple. They were in their late eighties, both of them, but you’d never know it for how spry they were. They were retired by the time I was with them, obviously, but before retirement, they ran this tiny winery, using two particular varieties of grapes that only grow in Campania. They were very good at what they did, but no matter how many times they were approached about expanding their operations, they refused. They didn’t want to sell wine all over the world. For them, they were content to make what they made, locally sell what they needed to meet their needs, and that was that.”
“What happened when they retired?” Olivia asked. “Did they stop making wine?”
“They did. They have five hundred bottles stored in the wine cellar at their villa, and it’s the last they ever made. When they die, it’ll probably be worth a fortune because there are so few bottles. But they don’t even care about that. Money? Fame? Who cares? For them, they were simply content to spend every day together, walking to this tiny marketplace just down the road and buying bread and cheese and fresh herbs for that day’s meal. Cooking together. Singing together. They celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary while I was there. How crazy is that?”
“Sounds like a story Brody would love,” Hannah says, her smile warm.
I scrunch my brow. “How so?”
Olivia is the one who answers. “Are you kidding me? Brody is a total romantic.”
Hannah chuckles. “He’s always going on about settling down and starting a family. Finding the kind of love you just described. He’s a man who knows what he wants, I can say that much.”
Olivia looks at me pointedly, almost like she’s challenging me. “He’ll be an excellent husband someday.”
I smile, unsure if Olivia is trying to convince me or tell me to stay away. It doesn’t help that suddenly my wandering, rootless soul keeps telling me I better settle in, because this place ishome.
“If any of them manage it, it’ll probably be Brody first,” Hannah says. She glances toward the kitchen. “Then maybe he can rub off on his brothers.”
Olivia’s expression softens. “Lennox will be fine, Mama,” she says, her tone gentle. Her eyes flick to me and then back again, but it happens so fast, I might have imagined it. “And the others too.”
“Oh, I know,” Hannah says. “I don’t know why it’s so much harder with these boys. I know they’re grown men, and they have their own lives. And it’s not like I want all the nitty-gritty details.” She gives her head a good shake. “Let’s just say they don’t talk to their Mama like Liv over here does.”
Olivia’s hand moves to her baby bump. “I don’t give you nitty-gritty details. Though, I can if you want me to.”
“Oh, you hush,” Hannah says with a scoff. “I want no such thing.”
Olivia grins. “It was a hot and sultry night...”
“Don’t you do it, Liv.”
“Tyler was out of town all weekend, but then he came home looking scruffy and sexy and—”
“Oh, is that how you want to play it?” Hannah says, cutting Olivia off. She leans forward in her chair. “Fine.The first time me and your father—”
“No! Stop!” Olivia yells. “You win. No more details. I promise.”
Hannah settles back into her chair with a smirk.
Kristyn grins wide, obviously enjoying the banter.
