Page 87 of Terms + Conditions
She’s lying. I know she’s lying. I can see it in the way her eyes light up just thinking about Finn. I could see it this morning after I punched him, in the way she ran to him and protected him. My little sister has fallen in love with my best friend.
“But I think I could.”
“I don’t like it, Michaela. I don’t like it one bit.” I cross my arms over my chest. “But if he makes you happy—”
“He does,” my sister interrupts.
“Then I guess that’s all that matters.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
NOW
“SO, YOU’RE LIKETOGETHERtogether, right?” Michaela asks, leaning over the kitchen island in their New York penthouse.
Finn had opened the door mid-conversation earlier when we arrived at their condo, but his words faltered as soon as he saw us. I wasn’t alone and I hadn’t told him Elizabeth was coming with me. We hadn’t told anyone. Finn did a double take and rubbed his eyes with his fists before reopening them and a wide grin split his face.
“Took you long enough,” he said, ushering us inside.
When my sister walked out of the living room to see what was taking him so long, her blue eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, moving from me to Elizabeth to my hand on her lower back and back to me.
“C’mon, Shortcake,” Finn chuckled, pushing her back into the living room despite her protests.
Now, my sister has me cornered in the kitchen, where she can ask me anything. She has been chomping at the bit to ask me every question that came to mind from the moment we arrived. She passes her glass of wine between her hands, letting it skate across a small portion of the marble before catching it and sending it back, but her eyes never leave mine. I’m waitingfor it to skate right past her waiting hand and fly off the edge splattering the cabinets with white wine. But, she catches it every time. “Like, no-more-divorce together.”
“Yes, MJ.”
“Like, moving-back-in togeth—”
“Yes, Michaela,” I groan. “In all the ways you can think of, we are back together. No more divorce, no more separate lives, no more arranged marriage. This is the real deal.”
“Thank God.” She sighs, a breath of relief. “I was worried how this was gonna go with you two awkwardly being around each other every time the family got together.”
“Glad to know that’s the only reason you wanted us to get back together.” I roll my eyes and she shoves one of the cookies she and Elizabeth made earlier into her mouth. She tries to say something, but the cookie jumbles her words, and I take the opportunity to escape while I have the chance.
“Merry Christmas.” The words whisper across my skin before Elizabeth’s lips ghost over mine in a gentle kiss. She gasps when I kiss her back, nipping her bottom lip. “I thought you were asleep.”
“I was, but then you got up,” I say, stretching my arms across the head of the bed, feeling my shoulders pop with instant relief.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t go back to sleep. I tried.”
Behind the blackout curtains that cover the windows, the city still looks dark. What time is it?
“Well, it’s…” I look up at the clock. “Six o’clock. Elizabeth, it’s fucking six in the morning, why are we awake?”
She offers a sheepish smile. “I’m just excited! It’s our first Christmas back together, and Elena’s first Christmas ever, we get to meet Alex’s new girlfriend,andFinn is proposing to your sister. There’s so much to be excited about!”
While all that is true, I think she’s most excited about the proposal. Elizabeth has been bouncing off the walls since I told her Finn asked me and Nick for permission to marry my sister last night before dinner.
“You’re adorable, y’know that?” I match her smile, pulling her mouth to mine.
Elizabeth places her hand on my bare chest. The gesture sends a soothing wave through my system. I can’t get enough of her touch. Her lips linger on mine, soft and sweet, before she pulls back only enough to say, “I love you, Joshua Davis.”
“And I love you, Sugar.”
“Show me,” she pleads, her words lighting a fire under my skin.
I claim her lips again and wrap my arms around her waist, rolling her beneath me. I nibble her bottom lip, coaxing her mouth open, and my tongue sweeps over hers.
