“Hey!” she yells, pulling me in for a big squeeze. “You’re finally here!”
“I’m here!”
She lets me go with a happy sigh. “Six months really is too long to be away, Kara. If you go on a trip like that again, I think a couple of weeks is good enough.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I say with a smile. Jen makes her way to me next and my jaw almost hits the floor. She is now seven months pregnant and has a full-fledged, in your face baby belly.
“Jen! You’re humongous!” My sister’s intense glare tells me that perhaps I should have chosen a more delicate phrase. “But so beautiful,” I amend. “Glowing. Ethereal.”
“Yeah, you better say I’m freaking ethereal.”
I move forward and give her a tight hug, my stomach bumping her tummy as Mom nudges us out of the doorway and into the dining room so she can begin carrying in the food. Jen takes a step back and pulls me to the side.
“Okay, now that you’re in front of me, no more dancing around my questions. You need to tell me about you and Ryan right now. Commence.”
“What was that?” I then ask, obnoxiously loud. “You said Denny isn’t the father?”
Jen pinches my arm with savage strength and I yelp and jump away before she can get me again.
“Will you girls stop fighting?” My mom bustles past us, placing the salad on the table and picking a shopping bag up from the floor against the wall. “Kara, before we have dinner, I got these for you.” She holds out the bag and I hesitantly take it, feeling a nervous twinge in my stomach. Old habits die hard.
“Thank you, but you really don’t have to keep buying me clothes.”
“Sure I do, I buy Jen clothes all the time.”
“She does,” my sister confirms. “I’d be rocking a muumuu right now if she didn’t snag me all my cute maternity gear.”
I chuckle as I slowly open the bag, and my eyes bulge as I pull out two of the nicest sweaters I have ever seen. One is heather gray and hangs open with no buttons, feeling so smooth that it has to be cashmere. The other is made with navy blue wool and looks so warm and cozy that I want to snuggle into it indefinitely.
“I love them!” I tell her, yanking off my current green cardigan and slipping into the navy blue dream. It fits perfectly over my white T-shirt and I can already tell it’s going to be a premiere player in my weekly rotation. This is a day-to-night sweater that I will protect at all costs.
“You look wonderful,” my mom says with a smile. “And for some exciting news, I actually applied for a part-time job at Loft when I bought those last week. I was hired yesterday and I start my training at the beginning of next month.”
“Really?” Jen asks excitedly. “Does that mean you get an employee discount?”
“It does. It will also mean that I’ll have to cut back on my gym time, but maybe that’s not the worst thing. And it’ll be nice to have something else to focus on besides you two for a change.”
Jen and I raise our brows, surprised and impressed. Hearty congratulatory hugs are given by us both and a couple minutes later, we’re all sitting down at the table. I tell them the highlights of my trip, about my apartment and how I met Liam. I tell them that my publisher loves my latest historical romance and how I finished a draft of my next book. I’m convinced they’re satisfied with my vivid stories until Jen decides to stir the pot—no doubt as revenge for me playing hard to get with my relationship status.
“So, Kara,” she says as I take a bite of quinoa. “Tell us more about Liam. Did anything romantic go on during your trip?”
I pause, taking note of the impish look in her eyes as she tries to play the part of my innocent sister. I need to tread carefully.
“Liam is amazing and yes, technically, lots of romantic things happened during my trip.”
My mom drops her fork. A massive smile spreads across her face as she recovers and picks it back up.
“Well,” she says. “It sounds to me like you got everything you’ve always written about. You fell in love in Italy.”
“Yeah, I guess I did.” What my mom doesn’t know is that I’m referring to a blond American and not a British redhead.
“And he has an accent?” she asks.
“A light one,” I answer.
“And he’s handsome?”
“Very handsome.”
“And charming?”
“Almost too charming.”
“He sounds incredible. When is he coming to visit? Or are you going to see him in London? I don’t love the idea of you traveling again and long-distance relationships can be very tricky.”
“To be honest, Mom, I’m not sure when I’m going to see Liam again.”
“You mean you didn’t arrange anything? How can you two be dating and not plan on seeing each other?”
Okay. She’s really not going to like this part. I try to speak in my most calming tone. “Interesting story... Liam and I aren’t dating.”
By the look on my mom’s face, you’d think I’d just run over her childhood pet. Maybe I should have been a little more forthright about the Liam situation.
“I’m sure he’ll get here eventually, though,” I offer. “He said he’d maybe try to visit in a few months once he figured out what he’s going to do business-wise.”
“But I thought... Who were you talking about falling in love with then?”
I look over at Jen with a guilty smile and shrug. She rolls her eyes in response.
“Jen?” my mom asks. “Do you know who she’s talking about?”
My sister looks back at me and I wordlessly give her permission
