Page 110 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“No, what I meant was I-I looked him up. This prince fellow,” Liam explained, running a nervous hand through his light brown hair.
“You did?” Nina stared at him with lovestruck eyes.
“I—yeah. I wanted to make sure you’d be safe with him.” He took a quick, nervous sip of his wine. “But I found nothing, so I assumed it was all made up.” He dismissed the whole thing with a carefree wave, but we all knew better. We saw how jealous he got that day after Nina had supposedly left with “Prince Federico” to NYU’s Christmas party.
Lily got up and started clearing up the table with a smile. Joel helped her carry a few things back to the kitchen.
“Thank you for worrying about me.” Nina smiled at Liam and looped her arm around his, pulling him closer to her. “That’s so sweet of you.”
“Of course.” Liam nodded once and stared into Nina’s eyes, their faces merely inches away. It’s the closest I’d ever seen them.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Naomi rolled her small carry-on bag behind her. “Are you sure it’s okay for Aaron to take me?”
“Yeah, of course,” I replied. “I’m just worried about it being a good idea, considering the weather. But I trust Aaron’s judgment.” If Aaron considered it wasn’t safe to continue, he would undoubtedly turn around.
“Okay then.” Naomi smiled. “Happy New Year!” Aaron entered through the front door as Naomi hugged us all. “Thanks for everything.”
Naomi made eye contact with Aaron, and he extended his hand, silently asking her to hand over her luggage. She did. They left silently, the door clicking softly behind them.
“We’re going to Australia!” I said toLiam, suddenly remembering William’s Christmas gift.
“Fuck yeah, we are!” Liam high-fived me. “Did you just find out?”
“I did,” I said. “William told me earlier today. I’m so excited! I’ve never been.”
“You are going toloveit.” He grinned and turned to Nina. “Have you been to Australia?”
“You know I haven’t,” she replied with a smile. “We talked about this when you told me about your annual trip to the Australian Open with your brothers.”
“You should come.” Liam looked at Nina expectantly as she parted her lips to reply, but no words came out of her mouth. “Please.”
“No, Liam.” She shook her head, looking almost embarrassed. She unlocked her arm from Liam’s and rested it on the table. “You don’t have to invite me. This is something you do with your brothers. I’ll only be in the way.”
I wanted to shout,Yes! You should come! It’ll be so much fun if you do!But this was something for them to figure out.
“I want you to come.” He placed his hand on top of hers, and I almost squealed with excitement. “Come on. It’ll be fun. I swear I won’t let you out of my sight.”
Ugh. These two.
“There’s enough room on the plane,” William sang. He probably knew I’d love for Nina to join us, and we all knew they needed a little push.
“I don’t know.” Nina kept shaking her head no. “Prince Federico wanted to take me to his vineyard in Tuscany. I need to double-check my schedule.”
Liam pinched Nina’s waist, and she cried out.
“Oh, you think that’s funny.” Liam pinched her again, and she playfully pushed his hands away. “Is that a yes?”
Nina stared at him, taking her sweet time to reply. “Yes.”
We all cheered, high-fived, and screamed with joy. Well,Iscreamed with joy. I was leaving for Australia with William and my best friends in a few days. It was so exciting and surreal to me.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Lily said, plopping in her seat. “Australia this. Australia that. What about my bachelorette party, huh?”
“Oh, don’t worry,” I said. “I have everything figured out. We’re going to Vegas as soon as we return from Australia. I’ve already hired five strippers for a private show.” I had nothing planned yet. I only said this to see how William reacted to me suggesting Vegas and strippers.
“Billie saidstrippers!” Joel clapped once with a laugh.
“Billie!” Lily covered her face with her hands as Joel pulled back her chair with her still in it. “I’m not drunk enough for this, Joel!”
