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Chapter Two
Ella
I hold up my jeans, staring at them. Are they really appropriate for my first day at work? It’s so hard to tell, and I sigh, sitting down on the couch in my dressing room. Why didn’t I decide what to wear last night? It would have made this morning so much easier.
I know the answer to that, of course. It was because Hunter and Livia came over for dinner. It wasn’t something we’d planned, but Hunter called in the afternoon, and I ended up inviting them… probably because I didn’t want to spend another evening on my own, worrying about my new job, especially as starting it was so imminent.
They hadn’t seen my apartment before, and both seemed impressed when I showed them in. I have to admit, now it’s furnished and I’ve had a few days to get used to the place, I’m really quite pleased with it myself.
We ordered in, and while we were waiting for our food to arrive, and drinking wine in the living room, Hunter told me about their trip to Falmouth to see Livia’s parents.
“I’m surprised you’re not still there,” I said, looking across at them. They were sitting together on one of the couches, while I was on another, opposite them.
He shook his head. “We came home early. I think between us telling them about our engagement and discussing the plansfor the house, it was all a bit too much for Livia’s dad. He was exhausted this morning, so we thought we’d leave them to it.”
“It’s sometimes better that way,” Livia explained. “I hate feeling like I’ve abandoned them, but…”
“You won’t have to feel like that for much longer.” Hunter let go of her hand and put his arm around her instead. I had to smile to myself. It was lovely seeing my brother so happy.
“So they’ve agreed to the plans?”
He turned to look at me. “How did you know about it?”
“Aside from the fact you just mentioned it, Drew told me.”
He nodded his head. “And you’re okay with it?”
“Of course. I think it’s a fabulous idea.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to discuss it with you, but…”
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for. I honestly don’t mind.”
He smiled. “Well… Livia’s mom took a little more persuading than you, but we got there in the end, didn’t we?” He turned back to Livia again and she gazed up at him, nodding her head.
“When does the work start?” I asked.
“I don’t know exactly. Hopefully sometime in the next couple of weeks.”
“And how did they react to hearing about your engagement?”
“They seemed pleased.”
Livia nudged into him. “They were thrilled. It was just that Dad was getting tired by then. We talked about the house first, which was probably a mistake.”
“No, it wasn’t. It was intentional. I know I said I wanted to put it to them as your fiancé, but I realized when we were driving up there that it would be better to talk it through while your dad was alert enough to understand. It seemed to me, if we’d broken the news of our engagement first, he’d have beentoo tired to think about anything else, and that might have backfired if we’d needed him to help persuade your mom about the house.”
“Which was exactly how it happened.”
“So, have you set a date?” I asked.
“For the wedding?” I nodded. “Not an actual date, no,” Hunter said, smiling down at Livia. “But the architect assures me the house will take around five months to build, so sometime in February, probably…once Livia’s parents have moved in. We want them to be there without it tiring them out.”
“You’re having the wedding at home?”
“Of course.”
I wasn’t that surprised. We all look on the house in Newport as ‘home’ even though each of us has an apartment in Boston… including me now.
