Page 367 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Because we’re at the Asheville airport. On the tarmac. Beside a private jet.
No lines. No ticketing agents. No security checkpoint. Just me, Charlie, and a set of stairs leading onto an actual airplane that is only here for me.
“This is not for real,” I say out loud.
But then Olivia, Flint’s younger sister, appears at the top of the stairs. “Audrey! You’re here!”
Another woman appears beside her. Kate, I think? She’s married to one of Flint’s brothers, but I can’t remember which one. She smiles wide and waves.
I look at Charlie, and he nods, as if he understands he needs to give me a nudge. “This is where I leave you,” he says. “I hope you have a lovely trip.”
Trip?Where on earth am I going? And for what?
“Come on!” Kate calls. “We’ve got places to go, baby!”
Olivia meets me halfway up the stairs and pulls me into a big hug. “How are you? Were you so surprised? Are you so excited?”
“Um, should I be excited?” I manage to say. “I still have no idea what we’re doing.”
“Oh, girl, you should absolutely be excited.” She wraps an arm around me and pulls me onto the plane. Which isnotlike a plane. It’s more like an upscale living room. Leather seats that swivel to face any direction. Sleek wood trim. An actual couch stretching along one side of the plane. Opposite the couch, there’s a table holding a full spread of breakfast foods. Muffins, juice, quiche, five different kinds of fruit.
I look at Olivia. “Is this all for us?”
She nods. “Are you hungry? We’ve been waiting for you, but Tatum over there might eat her arm if we don’t dig in soon.”
“It’s the breastfeeding,” Tatum says. “I’m literally starving all the time.”
“You remember Tatum,” Olivia says. She leans a little closer. “This is the first time she’s ever left the baby, so she might be a little emotional today. She’s married to Lennox, who is two brothers up from Flint.”
I nod, appreciating that she’s including family ties in her introductions. I don’t think I would have remembered everyone on my own.
“And Kate, she’s married to Brody who is next up from Flint. And that’s Lila, Perry’s wife. Perry is the oldest. We love her because she tamed his grump and turned Perry into a big softie.”
“Got it,” I say. “And you and Perry run the farm, right?”
Olivia nods. “Yes! And Tatum’s a restaurant consultant, Lila’s a piano and voice teacher, Kate’s a fancy magazine editor, and we really don’t expect you to remember any of this.”
I smile. “I’ll do my best.”
“I promise we’re a forgiving bunch,” Tatum says, standing and reaching for a plate. “Especially when we’re fed.”
“What about your husband?” I ask Olivia. “He wasn’t at Flint’s that night, was he?”
Olivia smiles, her expression softening. “Tyler. He’s a videographer based in Charlotte, and he travels for work quite a bit, but he doesn’t have any trips planned, so you’ll totally meet him the next time we’re all together. He’s great.”
I don’t miss the way she so easily includes me—like it’s justassumedI’ll be with Flint whenever the family gathers.
I try not to read into it while we all fix our plates, happy chatter bouncing around the plane. It’s hard to believe these women are just sisters-in-law because they sound a lot like my sisters do. Finishing each other’s sentences, teasing each other with good-natured jokes. It seems incredibly lucky that, in a family with four sons, all their wives get along like this.
In an unusual beat of silence, I ask, “So what are you guys going to do if Flint marries someone you don’t like?”
They all stare, their expressions curious, and I suddenly realize how random my question must sound without context. “Sorry. I just mean, you all seem to get along so well. You sound like actual sisters. At the very least, best friends. I just…” I shrug, feeling sheepish. “I was just thinking about how sad it will be if Flint ends up with someone who doesn’t fit.”
Lila shrugs. “You can love anybody if you try hard enough,” she says simply. Her lilting Southern accent makes her words as soft and lovely as their meaning.
“Aww,” Olivia says. “I love that. But also, if he picks someone we don’t like, we just won’t let him marry her.”
Everyone laughs, but the sound quickly dies when a throat clears behind me. “Good morning, ladies.”
