Page 4 of Terms + Conditions
“Yeah, what are we whispering about?” Finn joins us. He kisses her temple before he plants another one on her lips. It’s sweet—sickeningly sweet—and a tad gross, but I’m happy for them.
Their relationship came as a surprise to me but not to the rest of the family. Finn and I have been best friends since high school, but he and Michaela always seemed to hate each other until two years ago. At first, it was strange to think about—my best friend and little sister together—but after getting over the initial shock (and finding her half-dressed at his place one morning), with some help from Elizabeth, I got over it. Hard not to when you see how they are with one another. Finn says he didn’t feel that way about her when we were younger, but I wonder if he’s just kidding himself. Michaela, too.
“Are we telling secrets in here?” Alex, Nick’s little brother, joins us from the dining room. He’s dressed in an orange Garfield the Cat onesie.
“Nick and Josh were whispering about something,” Michaela says.
“We weren’t whispering about anything,” I hiss.
“Sure sounded like it.”
A knock at the front door echoes down the hallway, halting the conversation. We share glances, unsure who it could be. Anyone who was invited is already here. Finn goes to answer it.
“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Sheffield,” a man says, and over Finn’s shoulder, I see the head of the security for the building. “We have a small problem.”
“What’s going on, Scott?” Michaela asks, stepping up to Finn’s side.
Scott huffs. “We got a noise complaint. Now look—”
“I bet it was that old woman, Glenda, down the hall,” Michaela says with an eye roll.
“—I don’t think you’re being that loud, but I have to say something.”
“Her name is Gladys,” Finn corrects Michaela before turning back to Scott. “We’ll do our best to keep it down.”
“We’re not even being loud,” my sister exclaims and looks to me for support.
“You’re being a little loud,” I say with a simple shrug.
“Like I said, I think you’re fine, but when a complaint is made, we gotta address it,” Scott says. “Just tell your friends outside to turn it down a notch.”
“You got it, Scott,” Finn says before Michaela can get another word in.
“She is always on our case.” Michaela groans. “She needs to give it a rest already.”
“You need to give it a rest already, Shortcake,” Finn quips, walking through the threshold with Michaela hot on his trail.
Nick turns to me when they’re gone. “You want a beer?”
I consider it, but right now the only thing I want is a little peace and quiet. Maybe Gladys was onto something.
Walking into the guest room, I close the door behind me and fall back against it. Scrubbing a hand down my face, I rub my eyes and let a heavy sigh push past my lips as I walk down the small hallway further into the room my sister has designated as mine whenever I’m in town. Turning the corner, my steps falter.
Elizabeth sits on the ottoman against the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the East side of Manhattan. She stuck out like a sore thumb among the other partygoers, dressed in her bright yellow plaid skirt and blazer set. White knee-high stockings and white Mary Jane pumps (are those what they’re called?) rounded out her costume: Cher Horowitz fromClueless. It was a movie she had made me watch countless times.
“Cher, huh?” I offer a polite smile, but she doesn’t do the same.
“It was the only thing I had, considering I wasn’t even going to come.” She stands from the ottoman, wiping her hands on the front of her skirt, straightening it.
“Michaela threaten you, too?”
“Nina.”
A soft hum in agreement. I should’ve known Nina was the only reason she was here. Between my sister and my cousin’s wife, there’s no way either one of us would be able to avoid each other like normal divorced people. We’re going to have to learn to put up with one another to get through the holidays for the rest of our lives.
“Sorry, I didn’t know this was your room. I just picked one to get away from everything for a minute.”
This is the first time we’ve been alone since she filed the papers a few months ago. I don’t think it’s ever been this awkward between us, not even the first time we were alone together. When she moves to leave, something in me forces me to try and stop her.
