shocks me.
“How big is your family?”
“Dad has five brothers, Mom four. Everyone was busy making kids. We’re a big and crazy clan. You have been warned,” he says, before sliding out of the car. I follow suit, too excited to wait for him to open the door.
“Let’s go say hi to my parents first.”
I feel a tad ridiculous carrying the huge box in my hands, and I attract curious stares.
“Mom, Dad,” Sebastian says when we arrive in front of an older couple. He has his mother’s eyes, but his father’s strong bone structure. “This is Ava. She’s from New York and is working with us for a few months. She doesn’t know anyone around here, so I thought I’d introduce her to our crazy family.”
“Congratulations on your anniversary.” I blush at Sebastian’s introduction. “I bought you something.” I put the present on a nearby table, with a pile of other presents.
“You shouldn’t have bothered,” Mrs. Bennett says warmly.
“It’s my pleasure. I hope I won’t intrude too much today.”
“We’re happy to meet you, dear.” His mom pulls me into a hug. I’m surprised, but I welcome it, and hug her back as tightly. She smells so. . . motherly. Not just feminine, but motherly, as if the act of spreading love is deeply ingrained in her nature. I absorb all of that. I received a lot of hugs from my mom, and I’ve missed the warmth of a mother figure so much since her death.
We chitchat for a while, and then his parents excuse themselves to mingle with other guests.
“Are you going to introduce me to everyone?” I ask.
“That’ll take the entire day. I’ll introduce you to my siblings.”
“It’s wonderful that you’re all here.”
“Yes. Speak of the devil. . .” He points to two men in front us, each holding a glass of whiskey.
“Ava, these are Daniel and Blake.”
“Fancy seeing you here,” Blake says, as if we’ve known each other forever.
“We’ve heard about you from Logan,” Daniel adds.
“The party brothers,” I say. “I saw you two at the launch party.”
“Oh, why didn’t you come talk to us?”
“You were busy talking to the press.”
“Someone has to,” Daniel says, unaffected. Blake raises his glass, as if drinking to Daniel’s words.
“Then you disappeared,” Pippa says, appearing next to us. “I saw you in the beginning, and at the end. Where were you during the show?”
I try to keep a straight face as she looks from Sebastian to me. The art of wordless communication was perfected in this family.
“I was around,” I say vaguely.
“Ah, here is the other set of twins,” Blake says, gesturing behind me. I whirl on my heels. Where Blake and Daniel look completely different, Christopher and Max are identical twins. It was obvious in the photos I saw, but I thought I’d be able to tell them apart if I faced them. As they come to a halt in front of me, I give up trying to spot differences. There aren’t any. They both have jet-black hair, dark eyes, and well-built physiques.
Sebastian introduces me, and Blake says, “Ava, you’ve met the party brothers,” he gestures at Daniel and himself, “now meet the serious brothers .”
Christopher and Max crack identical grins at their nickname.
“God, I missed being home,” Max says, while Christopher nods.
“We weren’t always so serious,” Christopher explains.
“That’s true, you pranked everyone.” Pippa wiggles between Christopher and Max and elbows them both in the ribs.
“Played their identical twin card as often as they could,” Sebastian tells me.
“We got away with it most of the time.”
Pippa snorts. “Once, Christopher wanted to profess his love ,” she says, clutching her heart theatrically, “to a girl at school, and he asked Max for help. Max had to pass as Christopher a few times in the whole scheme.”
“Wait, why did you need Max’s help?” I ask Christopher.
“Logistics,” Christopher says vaguely, not looking half as amused as his
“How big is your family?”
“Dad has five brothers, Mom four. Everyone was busy making kids. We’re a big and crazy clan. You have been warned,” he says, before sliding out of the car. I follow suit, too excited to wait for him to open the door.
“Let’s go say hi to my parents first.”
I feel a tad ridiculous carrying the huge box in my hands, and I attract curious stares.
“Mom, Dad,” Sebastian says when we arrive in front of an older couple. He has his mother’s eyes, but his father’s strong bone structure. “This is Ava. She’s from New York and is working with us for a few months. She doesn’t know anyone around here, so I thought I’d introduce her to our crazy family.”
“Congratulations on your anniversary.” I blush at Sebastian’s introduction. “I bought you something.” I put the present on a nearby table, with a pile of other presents.
“You shouldn’t have bothered,” Mrs. Bennett says warmly.
“It’s my pleasure. I hope I won’t intrude too much today.”
“We’re happy to meet you, dear.” His mom pulls me into a hug. I’m surprised, but I welcome it, and hug her back as tightly. She smells so. . . motherly. Not just feminine, but motherly, as if the act of spreading love is deeply ingrained in her nature. I absorb all of that. I received a lot of hugs from my mom, and I’ve missed the warmth of a mother figure so much since her death.
We chitchat for a while, and then his parents excuse themselves to mingle with other guests.
“Are you going to introduce me to everyone?” I ask.
“That’ll take the entire day. I’ll introduce you to my siblings.”
“It’s wonderful that you’re all here.”
“Yes. Speak of the devil. . .” He points to two men in front us, each holding a glass of whiskey.
“Ava, these are Daniel and Blake.”
“Fancy seeing you here,” Blake says, as if we’ve known each other forever.
“We’ve heard about you from Logan,” Daniel adds.
“The party brothers,” I say. “I saw you two at the launch party.”
“Oh, why didn’t you come talk to us?”
“You were busy talking to the press.”
“Someone has to,” Daniel says, unaffected. Blake raises his glass, as if drinking to Daniel’s words.
“Then you disappeared,” Pippa says, appearing next to us. “I saw you in the beginning, and at the end. Where were you during the show?”
I try to keep a straight face as she looks from Sebastian to me. The art of wordless communication was perfected in this family.
“I was around,” I say vaguely.
“Ah, here is the other set of twins,” Blake says, gesturing behind me. I whirl on my heels. Where Blake and Daniel look completely different, Christopher and Max are identical twins. It was obvious in the photos I saw, but I thought I’d be able to tell them apart if I faced them. As they come to a halt in front of me, I give up trying to spot differences. There aren’t any. They both have jet-black hair, dark eyes, and well-built physiques.
Sebastian introduces me, and Blake says, “Ava, you’ve met the party brothers,” he gestures at Daniel and himself, “now meet the serious brothers .”
Christopher and Max crack identical grins at their nickname.
“God, I missed being home,” Max says, while Christopher nods.
“We weren’t always so serious,” Christopher explains.
“That’s true, you pranked everyone.” Pippa wiggles between Christopher and Max and elbows them both in the ribs.
“Played their identical twin card as often as they could,” Sebastian tells me.
“We got away with it most of the time.”
Pippa snorts. “Once, Christopher wanted to profess his love ,” she says, clutching her heart theatrically, “to a girl at school, and he asked Max for help. Max had to pass as Christopher a few times in the whole scheme.”
“Wait, why did you need Max’s help?” I ask Christopher.
“Logistics,” Christopher says vaguely, not looking half as amused as his
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