Something More (21 page)

The last box under the tree was small, and when Noah handed it to me, I loved the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, his entire face lit up in a smile. Jay was staring at me, and I could feel everyone else watching, too, making me extra nervous. What in the hell could they have put in such a small box that made them both so eager to watch me unwrap?

Tearing at the paper with abandon, I saw it was one of the fancy blue jewelry boxes, so I figured it was a bracelet or pendant. It was square and about the right size for that. When I lifted the lid, I realized it was a key chain. It was tucked over on itself, so I picked it up and unfurled it, revealing a key on the end of the gorgeous piece of jewelry.
 

“What is this?” I whispered, completely confused.

“We want you to move in,” Jay said, taking my hand in his again.

Gladys gasped. “What?”

Noah’s body tensed and he opened his mouth to say something, but Jay put a hand on his knee, shaking his head.
 

“Mother, I know you might not understand. That’s okay; you don’t have to. You just have to respect my choices. You’ve made your opinion known for several months now, but it’s time to let go of that. Olivia’s part of our family, like it or not. If you can’t be respectful and polite to her, you can go home.”

Ho-ly shit.

I could tell Gladys was weighing her options, looking from Jay to Noah to me, and around again. When she looked at Abigail and Zachary, they were both clearly biting their tongues. She made one of her typical disapproving clucks with her tongue but stayed where she was, silently resigned, I supposed.

“Will you say yes?” Noah asked, shifting so we could hold hands.
 

I squeezed both of their hands as my thoughts began to race. Instead of letting myself get carried away with the what-ifs, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
 

“Yes.”

I couldn’t hold back the smile that practically split my face.
 

They nearly attacked me, kissing me on the lips—
on the lips, in front of their parents
—and laughing along with me. It was amazing, and my heart felt like it might explode, it was so full of love.
 

“Are you sure?” I whispered when they were still close.
 

“Of course. Don’t make us beg,” Jay said, pinching my side.

Shaking my head, I wiped a stray tear and then scooted to the side, uncomfortable with the attention I had attracted.
 

“How about a movie?” Noah asked. “I can make some popcorn, and you guys can relax while I finish up cooking.”

Everyone agreed to a movie, and we all took a spot. Jonathan curled in my lap, which made me laugh. I was a tall girl, but he dwarfed me, and his legs dangled off the chair awkwardly. Still, we adjusted and situated ourselves, and Noah just rolled his eyes after he started the movie, smiling at us. I dozed on and off throughout the movie, so entirely exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before.

When that was over, we contemplated playing a board game, but Gladdie was back to being a stick-in-the-mud. Jay put another movie on, and I got up after a bit to check on Noah in the kitchen, needing a breather from her silent judgment.

“You need any help in here, Chef?”

“I could use some company for sure, gorgeous,” he said. “How’s movie time?”

“Ugh.”

“That good?” He laughed, cleaning and slicing the Brussels sprouts in half. After I nodded, he said, “Well, dinner is almost done, so soon we’ll be fat and happy again.”

“Hey, where’s the wine?” I asked, rummaging up in the cupboard for a glass.
 

Noah reached up and over me, easily able to grab the glass I’d been struggling for and setting it down on the counter in front of me, while teasing me at the same time.

“I can’t wait to wake up with you every day,” he said, lips and stubble skating across the skin on the back of my neck.

I leaned my head back to rest on his shoulder as his hands gripped my hips.

“That sounds terrifying and wonderful at the same time,” I said.

The doorbell and the sound of several tiny knocks broke us from our moment, and I felt my nerves fray at the thought of having to face meeting another family member.

“Stop worrying,” he said, placing one last kiss on my neck. “Eden is the coolest chick ever. Aside from you, I mean.”

“Grandma! Grandma!”
 

Before I saw them, I laughed at the love evident in their small voices.
 

“Okay. Come on,” a woman said. “Let’s get inside and you can tackle Grannie there.”

Two of the most gorgeous women I’d ever seen were shuffling the kids inside, while grabbing hats and coats and mittens as quickly as they could before said kids ran off to hug Abigail.
 

Jay wrapped his arms around the blonde and called her Eden, which meant the gorgeous woman with black hair was Sydney. After all the greetings were over, Noah brought them over to me and introduced us all properly.
 

“What’s this all about?” Eden asked, motioning to the parents sitting in the living room.
 

“We told Dad. Well, we didn’t so much tell him, actually,” Noah clarified. “We asked Olivia to move in with us.”

“Oh, shit!” Her eyes got wide and her smile grew. “What’d he say?”

“Nothing. Gladys made a scene, so after Jonny told her off, he knew better.”

“Sorry I missed that,” Eden said with a laugh. “Come here, baby.” She motioned to Sydney, and the five of us went into the kitchen. “Let’s make a toast. Pour the good stuff, Noh.”

It was hilarious to see Noah so pliant and obedient as he got out scotch glasses and poured from a bottle I’d never seen before. We each picked up a glass and brought them to the center of our circle. Eden looked at me.

“To the newest member of our family. Welcome to the fuckery!”

I shook my head and laughed then lifted my glass to tap hers, moving in a circle to get everyone else’s, too. Carte-blanche acceptance was a lovely thing, I decided, as we continued to drink and talk. If I had thought of Noah as bold and full of personality, Eden was even more so. She was confident, a doctor, and she knew she was gorgeous, not bothering to downplay or hide her beauty. I immediately loved and admired her.

Sydney was mostly quiet, but she laughed along with us and added in her thoughts and opinions a few times. I could see why Eden was attracted to her.
 

We all jammed into the suddenly small-feeling dining room to eat, and I watched parents dote on children—grown and small—and wondered what the table would look like in a few years. I hoped time wouldn’t rob us of anyone, but I also wondered if it might give us a few new faces. That thought made me smile, a secret smile whose meaning only I knew. I wanted to keep it to myself for the time being and hold it sacred.

Since I wasn’t packed or prepared to spend the night, I said goodbye shortly after we had dessert. We promised to have Eden and her family over again soon, and Abigail and Zach hugged me tighter than they had that morning. Gladys looked conflicted but put her hand out for a quick shake, not offering me any parting words.
 

It hurt, but mostly my heart hurt for Jonathan. I worried he would decide he’d made the wrong choice, but at the end of the day, he knew her best, and it had been entirely his choice to tell her. I would have been fine had he kept it from her, and we could have been creative in the ways we explained my constant presence.
 

Noah and Jay walked me to my car, putting my gifts in the trunk, keeping me warm as the three of us huddled against my door.
 

“Pack a bag and stay tomorrow?” Noah asked.

“I can’t. I want to, but your house is already too full, and I don’t think it would help the situation any. Gladys looked like she wanted to cut my throat in the dead of night, so I think I’ll pass this time. Soon enough, you won’t be able to get rid of me.”
 

Jay leaned in and kissed my lips. “Promise?”

“Yeah,” I breathed, reaching to kiss him back.
 

With that, I opened my door, got in, and buckled my seat belt. They waved as I pulled away, and I thought about all the things we’d need to decide. Would I move any of my furniture? Would I need to pare down my closet? How in the world could three adults share one closet? Or one bathroom?

I drove home on autopilot, question upon question multiplying in my head. Almost none of it raised an ounce of doubt about my decision, though. My mind was swimming with practicalities and concerns, but I knew I was making the right choice. When I got home, I ran another hot bath and poured myself a glass of wine to take into the tub. Instead of the crying from the night before, I spent the time laughing and smiling to myself at how my life had changed over the last year. By the time I got out, I had a list of questions ready to ask the boys as soon as we had some time alone.

The next morning, I went over without double-checking, having slept in until a reasonable time. I grabbed a coffee on my way over to the house to give them a few more minutes, but I was beyond excited to be back together with them, uncovered and with the truth about us out. It was really silly to knock anymore, given that I had my own key, so I walked in and the house was strangely quiet. In the kitchen, Noah and his parents sat at the table nursing their coffees.

“Where’s Jay and Gladdie? Does anyone need a refill?” I asked, setting my keys on the counter and grabbing the coffee pot to refill my own cup.

No one answered me, so I sat down and looked at Noah.
 

“What’s wrong?” I immediately began to panic at the silence. “Is he okay? Oh my God. Say something. Tell me he’s okay.”

“You’re such a worrier,” he said, pushing his thumbs over my eyebrows. “He’s… He’s okay. Gladys decided late last night that she wanted to go home. She said some things I’m sure she’ll apologize for and booked herself a flight for first thing this morning. Jonny took her to the airport to say goodbye and try to work things out.”

“Oh.”

Fuck.

Abigail reached out and took my hand in hers. “I’m sure it will work out, honey. She’ll come around.”

Maybe she would. Maybe she wouldn’t.

“Do I need to go?” I asked, looking at Noah again.
 

“What?” His face scrunched up. “No, don’t you go anywhere. You’re a part of this now—the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

I nodded, sipping my coffee. Every time I began to take the blame in my head, I reminded myself it was Jay’s decision to tell her, not mine. Still, my heart ached for him. I wanted him to be back with us, snuggled up in our safe bubble, where nothing went wrong and everyone just loved.

“Want a bagel?” Abigail asked, standing and fixing me breakfast without waiting for my reply.
 

“Sure,” I whispered. “Thank you.”

“It’ll be okay, Liv,” Noah said. “He has to deal with her, you know? He’s a big boy.”

“I know.”

Jonathan arrived shortly after I’d finished my bagel. We were all still sitting awkwardly at the kitchen table, waiting for him to give us any sort of details or information. Half of me expected Gladys would walk in the door behind him, full of apologies and open arms. That was too easy, though.
 

“She just doesn’t understand,” he said, sounding exhausted. “No matter how I explained it—she can love my brother Luke just as much as she loves me and vice versa, but she just kept going back to it being wrong.”

“I’m sorry,” I said into my coffee cup. My eyes stung, burning with unshed tears I’d held back all morning.

“Hey,” Jay said, tapping my knee. I looked up at him, his eyes sad and red-rimmed. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m not sorry for loving you. Are you sorry for loving me and Noah?”

“No,” I said firmly, more certain than I’d ever been. “I’m not sorry for that at all.”

“Okay, then.”

He pulled me to him, resting his forehead on mine, and my hand wound to the back of his neck. Noah was right. We were all in this together. I couldn’t forget that.
 

The rest of Christmas weekend had a somber feeling to it, but that was to be expected. As much as I kept hoping Gladys would have a change of heart, she didn’t.
 

I was sad to see Noah’s parents go, and they hugged me so tightly when they said goodbye at the airport, even Zach. I couldn’t help but wonder again how my parents would have felt. Would they have agreed with Abigail and Zachary or with Gladdie?
 

Back at the house, we had a precious few hours left before I had to go to my apartment, reality demanding attention before the work week ahead.

“So, when are you gonna move in?” Jay asked, his eyes lighting up a bit as he wasted no time.

“I’m not sure.”

“How about…next weekend?” Noah suggested, his hands going to my waist.

“You two,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Come on, let me help you take the tree down.”

“Hell no,” Jay said. “We aren’t spending the last few hours with you taking the tree down. Although, nice way to appeal to Noah’s need for cleanliness.”

I laughed at that.
 

“Fuck off,” Noah said, pushing us into the hallway leading to the bedroom. “And get naked.”

We laughed, but we peeled our clothes off. I was glad Jonathan wanted and seemed to need the reconnection as much as I did. When we tumbled into bed, our hands and mouths were everywhere, and it was perfectly overwhelming. We were quiet and tender with each other, our goal not to get one another off, but to
love
each other.

When we were done, I was exhausted and sweaty, sated in a way only they made me. I whined when Jonathan grabbed my bag and helped me get into my comfy clothes I’d packed. I wanted to stay, really wanted to stay and just tell the real world to fuck right off.
 

“You’ll be back Wednesday, right?” he reminded me, kissing all over my face. “And you can move some things this weekend. Just bring a few bags over. We’ll clear some space in the closet.”