I thought about telling her why I had felt so alive back then. That it had actually been because I was ready to set out on my own for the first time. But I couldn’t do that. Not with a camera pointed right at us. I couldn’t tell the world that. It wouldn’t be fair to anyone.
“I feel alive again,” I whispered. “Maybe even more alive than I ever have. I was so scared to let Eli in, but now I can’teven imagine where I would be without him. I know he has a bit of a reputation?—”
“Doesn’t matter,” Piper interrupted me. “We don’t care about that. What we do care about is the way he treats you. And Calla, you should hear the way he talks about you. He’s so smitten that it makes me giddy to watch. After everything you’ve gone through, it’s such a dream to hear someone talk about my baby sister that way.”
I ducked my head, flushing. What exactly had he been saying about me? “You don’t think I’m silly for thinking this could work?” I asked.
“Not at all, are you kidding?” she exclaimed. “I’m the one who signed you up for all this in the first place. And after watching you and Eli together, I couldn’t be more certain that you two are going to figure it out. There’s no way he’s letting you go.”
My heart stammered at those words. “I’m excited for you to meet him.”
“I can’t wait. He comes across as so dreamy on screen; is he really like that in real life?”
I bit my lip. “Yes, but don’t tell him that. It’ll go straight to his head.”
We giggled and continued to catch up. She gave me all the updates on what was going on at home, and I filled her in on everything with Eli from start to finish. Apparently, the show had done a pretty good job of accurately telling our narratives, along with everyone else’s.
When the door swung open, neither of us even looked up to see who it was. I assumed it was just Brady coming to pull me for another bullshit interview.
“Can I join you two?” A familiar voice asked. Eli stood near us.
“You’re here.” I hopped up to give him a hug. “This is Piper,” I said as my sister stood up and gave him a quick hug.
“It’s so great to finally meet you,” she said. “And thank you for taking care of my sister in here.”
Eli grinned as he took the other empty seat next to me. “It wasn’t always easy. Has she always been so accident prone?”
“Yes. One time in grade school, she fell off a swing and had to be rushed to the ER.”
“Hey!” I exclaimed.
“And don’t even get me started on how many stitches she’s had. She’ll tell you she loves to cook, but don’t let her near sharp knives.”
Eli arched a brow in my direction. “Duly noted.”
“She’s exaggerating,” I explained. But I didn’t admit that I had, in fact, received seven stitches from two separate knife events, for fear he would be in agreement with her.
“Somehow, I don’t think she is.” He put one hand on my knee to keep me close while he directed all his attention at Piper. “Please, tell me everything I need to know about Calla.”
Piper smiled mischievously. “Where do I even start.”
An hour—and countless embarrassing tales of my childhood—later, we had been given a warning by Brady to wrap it up. I must have been glowing as I watched my oldest favorite person and my newest favorite person get along like they had known each other for years.
“It was great meeting you,” Eli said, opening his arms as Piper stepped into them.
“You too. I hope I’ll be seeing you back in Chicago.”
“As long as it’s still okay with Calla, I’ll be there as soon as this show wraps,” he said easily.
Piper beamed. “Oh my gosh. We’ll have to do a big family dinner when you get in. Mom can’t wait to meet you.”
He placed his arm around my shoulders and tugged me into his chest. “I’m excited to meet her too.”
“I never would have thought, after Calla called me crying that first day, that I’d be standing here with her new boyfriend.”
“Piper!” I exclaimed, glaring at her. We hadn’t even begun to talk about labeling our relationship and the last thing I needed was my meddlesome sister making assumptions.
Eli frowned. “What? I’m not your boyfriend? Because you’re definitely my girlfriend.”
