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“And Piper is listening to one of her Harry Potter podcasts.” Penny rolls her eyes, looking at Vic and then back to Alex.
“Listening isn’t even the right word. She was giving us a play by play.” I flush, feeling embarrassment creep up into my chest.
“Harry Potter podcast?” Fitz repeats flatly, and then takes a long sip from his glass, meeting my eyes over the rim. I feel my nostrils flare at the amusement in his gaze.
“I was a nerd, ok?”
“Was?” Alex snorts.
“Nolan, take the baby.”
“Not a chance, bitch.” Alex pulls her daughter closer, using her as a shield for what would have been a well-placed boob punch. “Anyways, we’re in the car for like, ten hours. And somehow we start talking about what our patronus would be. You know, the weird ghosty animal thing that makes the grim reapers run away.” She’s talking to the whole table like Fitz isn’t the only one who hasn’t heard this story ten times before - even Dylan, at the other end of the table, next to Carla, is grinning, because he knows exactly how much of a nerd I am. I bury my face in my hands, both from embarrassment, and the pain of knowing that after years of making her watch Harry Potter, that’s how she chose to describe what a patronus is.
“I fucking hate you,” I mutter, so only she and Fitz can hear me. She ignores it.
“And this loser says she wants hers to be a flamingo.” Alex snorts, loudly, taking a sip of her drink.
“A flamingo,” Carla echoes, hiding half her face behind her hands as she cackles. Ok, she’s on my shit list, too. Alex continues.
“So Bianca goes ‘you want an animal that spends its life on one foot with its head up its ass to defend you?’” She’s wheezing by the time she finishes, and I see Fitz’s shoulders shaking next to me. “I nearly peed my pants.”
“Peak Bianca,” Vic echoes, tilting his wine glass toward my mother, who does the same back to him - long before Nolan and Brett were part of this family, Vic was her honorary son.
“I hate all of you.” I take a drink of my Dr. Pepper, contemplating which of my family I’m going to get back at first, and how embarrassing I’m going to make it.
Chapter 45
Fitz
WhenIoffertohelp clear the table, Piper waves me away. “We’ve got it.” She gestures between herself and the other women, who have all stood to pick items up from around the table - plates of nearly demolished roast, mashed potatoes, and the other things Luca and Vic had made. Apparently, they were the cooks of the family, and Penny couldn’t be trusted with boiling water.
“It’s not as sexist as it looks.” Carla laughs as Dylan gives her a look that clearly readsAre you sure?“We just like going to have a good gossip.”
“They do,” Vic agrees with a nod, tilting his chin at the retreating ladies.
“This one is getting picked up momentarily, say your goodbyes.” Alex holds Mikayla against her chest, turning so everyone can wave at the sleeping baby - Nolan had mentioned his mother was coming to get their newborn so they could enjoy the night and whatever else was planned.
Piper gives me a smile over her shoulder as she carries a stack of plates through the glass sliding door, and I admire the way her hips sway when she steps up and into the house. That bodice is doing dangerous things to me, and it’s only getting worse as I drink more. I’m teetering on tipsy, having turned down the last round of wine that Luca offered after ensuring Piper that the flamingos that apparently littered her relationship with her mother were, in fact, adorable, not embarrassing. I think that made her even more mortified.
“Piper and Bianca’s love language is dry humor,” Luca says once the door closes behind them, pouring himself the last of a bottle and shaking his head. “They’re like oil and water, those two.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Brett agrees, knocking glasses with his father in law. “All of them are terrifying, sometimes.”
“Also true.” Nolan holds up his beer in silent cheers, adjusting his baseball cap over his short cropped, blonde hair and then standing to move into the chair next to me. My eyes flicker to Dylan, who has moved into the seat closest to Brett. I’ve barely heard Dylan say a word, but while this may be his first time at what they’ve all called “fam dinner,” it’s clear they all know him, either from his friendship with Piper, or his brother’s role on Nolan’s team. His presence, soda in hand, is unnerving for a lot of reasons. “So, Westfall,” Nolan continues. Brett snorts, sharing a look with Vic across Luca’s shoulder.
“He has a name, Nolan.” Vic sounds mildly defensive, and I can’t help my surprise - clearly, the effort toward including him has had the added bonus of his loyalty.
“Yeah, like I don’t call you Montero on the daily,” Nolan says, sitting forward in his seat like this is a casual conversation, and not the Spanish - Italian? - Inquisition I’m prepared for.
“Westfall is fine.” I set my now empty wine glass on the table. I’d been keeping it in my hands as a defense mechanism, something to play with so I didn’t let my hand rake up Piper’s thigh. But she’s gone, and so I neatly join my hands across my lap, elbow resting on the arms of my chair in what I hope is the picture of casual conversation. “But before you tell me how badly you’ll kick my - uh - butt,” I hesitate, and glance at Luca across the table, who smiles, “ if I hurt Piper, I feel like I should at least get a chance to say something preemptively.” The men around me go on alert - even Dylan, who seems to sit forward in his chair like I’m about to give away the spoiler to the next Marvel movie.
So I look at them. All of them. The men who are so clearly important to Piper - even Dylan, as much as the idea frustrates me. Nolan, next to me, who looks worn out and has spit up on the shoulder of his LSSU tee shirt, loves a woman who gets on my nerves almost as much as my own sister. Brett, arguably the closest to me in circumstances, the partner of the other Delmonico sister, who, based on my brief time with, is very similar to Piper, if not a little less quirky. Vic, Piper’s best friend of years and a man who has every reason to hate me as much as she does - but clearly doesn’t. And Luca, who, when the light hits right, has the same wide smile as his daughter.
And then, because I can’t take the eye contact anymore, I find a stray string on the sleeve of my dress shirt and start to pick at it.
“Well?” Brett flourishes his hand around, and I realize I’d started to make this big admission and then stopped short to contemplate the people with me, lost in thought.
“I’m fully aware my lack of action…” Fuck. It comes out cold, and clinical, and immediately Nolan tenses next to me. I close my eyes, briefly, and swallow. “Shit. Sorry. I’m not good at this.”
