Page 7 of Terms + Conditions
But Nina’s face is answer enough.
I had planned on having breakfast at their place until I learned Elizabeth would be staying with them. I don’t think she wants to wake up on her birthday to find her ex-husband sitting at the breakfast table.
“Don’t worry about it, Nin. I’m sure Mrs. Taylor will be up bright and early with breakfast and coffee waiting for us.”
“You know it!” Finn says, rubbing his stomach as he takes the final step, now dressed in sweats and a plain white T-shirt. Mrs. Taylor was the mother of the high schooler who was Finn’s “little brother” in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program. Knox andFinn hit it off pretty well, and when Mrs. Taylor was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, he and Michaela insisted they move in. So, at the beginning of September, Finn bribed Nick, Alex, and me to help move the duo from East Harlem to the Financial District. Despite her diagnosis, Mrs. Taylor refused to quit cooking, and it seemed to be the one thing she could still do without difficulty. “That woman is a godsend.”
“Well, if you change your mind—”
“Don’t worry about me, Nin.”
“You and Elizabeth should go out tomorrow,” Nick says to his wife. “Elena and I can come over here.”
“No, I don’t want to leave Elena.” Nina smiles down at the sleeping baby. Since giving birth in August, Nina hasn’t gone anywhere without her daughter. She even turned down a few work events because she would have to leave Elena at home. “You can come over here, though. Elena can stay with us.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Nick says. He kisses his wife’s temple before thanking Finn again for hosting the party. I think he and Nina are just glad someone else did it for a change—the thought of hosting a party while dealing with a newborn sounds terrible.
“Never thought I’d see the day where we have kids at our parties,” Finn says, motioning toward the car seat. “But here we are.”
“Yeah, and you’re next.” Nick smirks, raising a brow at Finn.
“Oh God,” I groan, earning a laugh from both of them. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t just hear that.”
The thought makes me sick, considering he’s dating my little sister. Still laughing, Nick pulls me into a one-armed hug before doing the same to Finn. Nina hugs Finn but only offers me a tight smile. Our relationship has been strained since everything came out, that’s for sure. Normally, she’d hug me and push a little harder for me to join them in the morning, butnot anymore. And I’m sure Elizabeth told her what happened upstairs. “Bye, Short-stack.”
“Bye, Bub.”
Well, at least she still uses my nickname. That’s a good sign, right?
Michaela walks them out the door with Elizabeth in tow. She had taken a step back from the conversation when I showed up. Was that how it was going to be from now on? When one of us was around, the other had to take a step back to make sure we didn’t step on one another’s toes? It feels unnatural. We’ve never been like that, not even when we were in the middle of a disagreement before. We had always been able to maintain a certain level of cordiality. But now, we don’thaveto do that. We don’t have to get along in front of the others.
I find my way to the kitchen to make one final drink for the evening. As I walk in, Finn already has two beers on the counter and offers me one. “Figured you could use one of these.”
“You figured correct,” I say, taking the beer.
“You know,” my sister says, walking into the kitchen. “If you and Elizabeth would justtalk, I’m sure you’d both come to realize you actually do love each other.”
“It’s not that simple, Mic.”
“Sure it is!”
I scoff bringing the beer bottle to my lips.
“You do love her, don’t you?”
Yes.
“I don’t know, Michaela.”
“How do you not know if you love someone?”
“It’s…complicated. Okay?”
“But—”
“Michaela!” I don’t mean to yell, but right now, the last thing I want to do is deal with her meddling. “Just stop. Damn.”
“Hey, chill,” Finn warns. “Your sister doesn’t mean any harm. We’re all just trying to understand. Trying to get used to this new normal.”
