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"Hey, brother," Pippa greets me, swinging open the front door to her house. "Come in."
I follow her inside, shrugging off my jacket and putting it on the hanger. My sister's house has the feeling of a home to it, which is what I hope Victoria will achieve with my apartment. The rental I'm currently living in feels like a hotel, and I can't wait to move out. The house is oddly quiet given that twin three-month-old babies, Pippa's husband, and his thirteen-year-old daughter, Julie, all live here. From my previous visits, I know the odds of everyone being quiet at the same time are slim.
"Are Julie and Eric home?"
"Nah, Eric's picking up Julie from a friend’s house. They'll be home in about an hour. Are you hungry?" she asks.
"Always."
"You're lucky. I haven't cooked dinner, but Alice brought some goodies from her restaurant."
"Alice is here?"
"Yep, she's with Mia and Elena in my bedroom. She should join us any second though. The twins were almost asleep when I came to open the door."
Damn. I was hoping to catch the twins awake because I haven't seen the little firecrackers in weeks. I'm counting the months—okay, years—until they're old enough to start pranking people. My identical twin Max and I were the family's pranksters as kids. I have to pass on the gift to others. My two oldest brothers, Sebastian and Logan, are married, and Max is engaged, but only Pippa has kids.
As we enter the kitchen, I eye the take-out boxes from Alice's restaurant on the wooden table in the center and attack one right away. Roast duck leg is my favorite dish on Alice's menu. Every time I eat it, I thank my lucky stars Alice decided to go into the restaurant business instead of joining Bennett Enterprises.
My oldest brothers and Pippa founded the company more than a decade ago, and it's become one of the leading players in the high-end jewelry market. Max and I joined the company too, but the rest—Alice; the other set of twins, Blake and Daniel; and the family's baby, Summer—went on different paths. Summer is a painter, Blake opened a bar and Daniel a business that centers around offering customers adventures and extreme sports.
"You didn't tell me why you were stopping by," Pippa says, grabbing a take-out box herself and sitting at the table.
"Are you implying I can't visit just to see you and the girls?"
A few weeks ago, Pippa surprised my brothers and me by suggesting we extend our collections by developing a line of engagement and wedding rings. She's the designer at Bennett Enterprises. Each collection always carried a few models, but we've never focused extensively on those. From a purely business perspective, there were other profitable niches to tackle first. Despite wedding rates going down and divorce rates going up, Pippa insisted love would never go out of style, and Bennett Enterprises could position itself as a leader in the segment. Pippa's exuberance when presenting her vision for the line convinced us all to look into this.
"You were using your business tone when you said you'll stop by," she remarks. My sister's ability to read into everything will never cease to astonish me.
"You're right. It's about your proposal to develop a line of engagement and wedding rings."
Pippa stops chewing, and her eyes widen as if asking, And?
"We researched the market in more detail, and the numbers look promising. We'll go forward with this."
Pippa squeals, jumping from her seat and hugging me. When she pulls back, she's grinning.
"But I have one question, and I want you to be honest. Are you sure you're up to it?" My sister has been working from home since the twins were born three months ago, delegating everything that she could, including some key design aspects. But, I suspect she's still taking on more than she can handle.
"Yes. I'm passionate about this! I know I can do it."
"If you change your mind at any time, let us know. We can always do this later on."
She shakes her head with vehemence. "I'm up to it."
"Okay."
"Christopher!" Alice exclaims, joining us in the kitchen and sitting on the counter. My sisters look nothing alike. While Pippa is tall and blonde, Alice has inherited Mom's small frame and dark brown hair. "How's your apartment coming along?"
"I'll get the keys in six weeks. I had the first meeting with the decorator you two recommended."
"And?" Pippa and Alice ask in unison.
"She seems to know her stuff, sent me a few proposals. I liked them."
"She's a dream to work with," Alice says. "Super efficient and very friendly."
"Very hardworking," Pippa adds. "I love her style too. I wish I could wear as many colors as she does and not look ridiculous, but that takes talent."
