Page 21 of Fourteen of a Kind

“Okay. I’ll talk to your parents tonight.”

“Thanks, cousin. I love you and miss you. I’ll see you when I get back.”

“I love you too.”

I set my phone down and placed my hands on the granite countertop. Lily worked as an architect for Kind Design & Architecture alongside her dad, Uncle Sam, and brother Henry. Henry was more like Stefan and ran the construction division.

Later that evening, I stepped through the sliding door of my parent’s house.

“There she is.” My dad held out his arms.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Are you still mad at me?” he asked, hugging me and pressing his lips against the top of my head.

“No. Grandma and I had a nice time. Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, sweetheart.” She hugged me.

My dad reached into the refrigerator and grabbed a couple of beers.

“Come join us at the bonfire,” he handed me a beer.

I followed him down to the beach and sat beside him. Simon, Stefan, Sam, Shaun, and my Uncle Conner also joined us.

“Welcome home, sweet girl.” My Uncle Conner smiled, sitting next to me.

“Thanks, Uncle Conner.”

“How was New York?” Shaun asked.

“It was good. The lectures went great. Standing up there in front of all those aspiring surgeons was an honor. Hey, Stefan, I spoke to Lily earlier.”

“So did I. I can’t wait until she comes home. I’ve missed her so much. I wasn’t happy when she extended her stay in Paris.”

“Well, there was a reason for that,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“She met someone there.” I bit down on my bottom lip. “And he’s coming back and moving in with her,” I spoke fast.

“Excuse me?” His head cocked. “What did you just say?”

Simon started laughing. “I think you heard her, bro. Better get my gun ready.”

“His name is Adrien, and they’re in love. He’s an artist and wants to open an art gallery in Los Angeles.”

“Oh, boy.” Sam placed his hand on Stefan’s shoulder.

“Let me get this straight. My daughter goes off to Paris to study the architecture of the buildings there, meets a guy, and now he’s coming back with her and moving in?” he shouted.

“Calm down, bro,” Shaun said.

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down. Who is this guy, how old is he, and what the fuck!”

“She knew you’d react this way and wanted me to soften the blow,” I said.

“I’m going to kill her!” He picked up his phone.

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