Page 79 of Dahlias, Sapphires, and Cool Autumn Dusk
Pancakes in bed?“Maybe we could eat on the floor? It could get…sticky.”
“That’s probably a good call. Okay, let’s order.”
Julian actually wantedto spend the whole day watching movies in his bed. We ate pancakes on the floor and then cuddled up in bed watching his choice of movies. He liked plays made into movies, which wasn’t surprising considering his life goals.
I needed to get to work onPoor Relation. I had left her and her potential love interest in a bit of a precarious situation...and therefore the readers hung on the cliffhanger, too. They might or might not get caught making out on the train on their way back to the city, which would be a problem for him. He wasn’t meant for her, since his aunt wanted him to date and marry a girl with status. Being with him would pull her out of Poor Relation status. The guys hated the plot altogether. No matter how much I told him that the character wasn’t any more them than Gretchen was me, they refused to believe they didn’t play a role in my writing.
By contrast, I never felt better in terms of our relationship. I wished we had more time for more movies normally, honestly. So far we’d watchedA Streetcar Named Desire,Amadeus,andFences.
He kissed my neck, bringing my senses to life and making my bones melt. “This was my dream,” he said against my skin. Barrett came and left the apartment a while ago, and I could see sunlight waning out the window. Phoenix hadn’t returned yet, and I didn’t know where Jeremy went for the day.
“Watching movies with me…” I said as I lifted my eyes to his. “Seems more like I am the one who got the present.”
“Not true,” he replied, shaking his head. “Can we do this every year? For my birthday, unless I have to work and can’tcome home that day. In those cases, we can just do it on a Saturday. Or a Sunday. So can we?”
I grinned at him, stroking my fingers through his hair again. “Yes.”
“Awesome. Even more awesome because you just said yes instead of telling meunless I get sent away.”
I swallowed and looked away, but I told myself I wasn’t getting too relaxed, and nothing would bite me in the ass at any second. Other than the PI, my family hadn’t bothered me in quite some time. I still didn’t know what my aunt had meant byhandled. But later Kit planned to share what he found in the folder, which should give me a lot of answers. Still, it was hard for me to imagine them wanting to send me away. For the first time ever I had good grades and didn’t get in any trouble. Even the day I stormed out of the classroom didn’t cause so much as a ripple. Then again, Collins seemed downright subdued the next day and every day since. Her class practically became a study hall.
If my family kept a tail on me 24/7, they would know I had made friends, but none of them were particularly nefarious. I even played a sport.
I spent no money and didn’t even live in their apartment.
So why bother to send me away?It seemed like less trouble overall for them to continue to ignore my presence altogether.
Or so I could hope.
I showered then met Julian in the hallway. No other brothers lingered in the apartment since they all said they would meet us for dinner. The twins didn’t pick a fancy place, so likely wouldn’t come home to change first. Still, I slipped into a black skirt that clung to my rear a little bit more than I liked and a white tank top—an outfit I noticed they all seemed to really like on me.
“It’s getting a little chilly at night.” Julian said from where he leaned against his doorframe. “Grab a sweater.”
I nodded.Good call.I should remember summer had ended so things could get chilly at dusk. I put in my sapphire earrings then slipped my pearls around my neck before I grabbed a white sweater. When Dina bought me clothes, she really thought about almost everything.
I wanted to pay it forward, so to speak. If I got the chance later in life, I wanted to help someone like she helped me. I didn’t put on the sweater but stared at myself in the mirror for a few long moments, considering my profile and how much I had changed with age. My appearance overall would do, but I doubted I’d ever see the day where I stopped worrying about what their parents thought of me.
I sighed.Okay. I shouldn’t say never. Nothing in my life had ever made sense, and I couldn’t have predicted any of it, no matter how perfect it felt.
Julian moved behind me, wrapping his arms around me as he dropped a kiss on my temple. He was dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt, and his blue eyes met my own in the mirror.
“You look really good,” I whispered to him, because he looked hot, like some actor or something.
He kissed my shoulder, and his gaze seemed hungry. “You look better.”
I blurted my curiosity. “Does it feel different to be eighteen? Like, is there suddenly a sense you’re an adult?”
He laughed. “No, not at all. I think I felt different when I turned seventeen? There was a sense of, okay, Barrett is going to be graduating soon. We knew soon we would need to step up and be grownups, but I don’t know. The answer is no, I don’t feel different, anyway.”
I smiled at him. “Happy Birthday.”
“Thank you. I love you.” He took my hand to lead me from the apartment.
“Do you miss sleeping in your room?” I asked, honestly curious. We headed toward the elevator together.
He shook his head. “I never think about it, and I meannever. It’s just a place to store my things. We do really need another bedroom, so you could have your own space, too. That way, you could kick us out if you wanted space. And it would give all of us more one- on-one time with you, since that’s how my parents do it.”
I really never thought about it. “I would miss us all being together. I sleep so well knowing you’re all nearby.”
