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I make sure to stand next to Teagan in the front of the elevator so Alice can keep a hold of Ophelia’s hand behind us while Teagan steals side glances at me. I know my twin is itching to pull me aside and demand all the gossip once we are out of the elevator.
I only let Teagan know to expect a lady guest for breakfast, and we would be arriving on Shamus’s Harley. My sisters already knew about the hot air balloon adventure I was taking a lady friend on, but they didn’t know how I met Ophelia or how deep my fascination with her goes.
After she did a runner on us, I couldn’t get Ophelia out of my head. I couldn’t forget her. I felt like fate had stepped in to give me a second chance. And here we are now.
I’m sorry-not-sorry for playing dirty and bringing Ophelia to meet my sisters. I thought if I had only half a day to impress her, then I want to present a good sales pitch for “Tucker Royal” for when I can boomerang back into her life.
Alice drags Ophelia out when we reach my contemporary townhouse’s kitchen level, eager to give her a tour of my home. At the same time, Teagan and I head toward the kitchen where Santiago, my multi-talented friend, works on the breakfast surprise I have for Ophelia.
I bought a taco bar in La Brea straight out of the military, which my good friend and chef, Santiago, manages for me, and Teagan and Alice work most evenings behind the bar mixing drinks.
“Hey, Santiago.” We give each other a bro backslap hug. “My mouth is watering. Smells good. Thank you for coming over at short notice.” My friend is fifty, looks forty, and is happily married to Isabella with one college-aged son and four beautiful teenage daughters. The man will be in a world of hurt when they all start dating.
“Where is your lady friend?” His accent compliments his name. He looks past me while staying busy in the kitchen.
Santiago is L.A. fit. He loves ink on his arms and dresses to impress in designer jeans and short-sleeved button-ups, which are just a little tight around the biceps and chest.
“Alice is giving Ophelia the grand tour.”
His head bobs up and down. “Makes sense.”
“What do you need me to do?” Teagan asks Santiago.
“We are getting close to classifying the meal as brunch, so a large jug or two of sangria isn’t too early.”
“I’m on it.” Teagan knows her way around mixing drinks.
“I’ll go find the ladies,” I offer.
I slide open the glass door to the dining room balcony. They sit on high stools at the high round table, chatting away, looking at the photos Ophelia took on her phone of our morning adventure while floating above the Temecula wine country.
I can see Alice is intrigued, watching Ophelia’s face while she narrates each picture that she took this morning.
I walk over to where they sit. “Alice, can you please bring Ophelia up to the big deck when you are ready. Santiago will be ready for us soon, so don’t be too long.”
“Tucker, you have an exceptional home.” Ophelia’s compliment makes my caveman proud. “Did you decorate it yourself?” Now that I’ve enlightened my little spitfire that I am indeed a respectable person in the community, I want to polish that star even more.
“Thank you. I bought it five years ago from a musician friend, fully renovated in the wood and steel you see everywhere, including the wood floors, sliding barn doors, and industrial lighting. I replaced his guitars with mine on the wall because I liked his style. I added the chunky comfortable furniture in charcoal, browns, and dark woods you see spread about bringing my man cave to fruition, although the vases of flowers tend to soften the man cave vibe. They are Teagan’s little touches around the place.” My mouth doesn’t seem to want to stop running itself, and I start spilling more than I intend. “Teagan is Alice’s full-time guardian while Mom takes a well-earned break in Alaska for a few years with our dad: fishing, hiking, whatever, and just spending quality time together. They deserved some downtime after dedicating their lives to raising us all, and when they come back to L.A. in eighteen months, then Alice will spend some time again with them. I was living the life of a bachelor before I moved Teagan and Alice into my place three years ago, hence the decor.” Alice is thirty-five, and neither of us wanted her living away from us.
“I miss Mom and Dad,” Alice says softly.
It took some time for Alice to be comfortable without Mom and Dad around, but this experience has been good for her. Our parents tend to baby her because they love her, but now she is much more independent, thanks to Teagan.
“Ahh, but Alice, you will be reunited with them for over two months from tomorrow night in Alaska. There will be snowball fights a-plenty, log fires to cook marshmallows on, and Santa is coming to shower us all with gifts. We will be checking out the aurora lights, which you so love—plenty of good times ahead. You can takeallthe photos and fill your albums up.”
“Oh, um, you are all going to Alaska tomorrow?” Ophelia asks, somewhat confused.
“Sure are. I was going to bring it up after brunch, but I guess now is as good a time as any. For the last few years, we have flown to Alaska and stayed for ten weeks with our parents. Alice needs it, and it’s a nice place to unwind, spending time with family. Shamus is also coming with us. I thought it would suit your timeline for not dating me, but fear not, we are all coming back.”
“Oh… that is great.”
Does Hamlet sound disappointed we are leaving?
“Ophelia, would you like to see my photos when I come home?” Alice instantly likes Ophelia and wants to share what she loves doing.
“Oh… um…”
Ophelia looks terrified about answering that question without hurting Alice’s feelings.
