Sophie (The Boss 8)

They certainly helped her build up momentum. She hug-collided into me, her speed reinforced by the heavy backpack she wore, and I tottered back to save my balance.

“Sophie! Your plane is amazing!” She held me at arm’s length. “And you look amazing. Is this how you live? Every day?”

“I don’t go on a jet every day, but...yeah.” I inclined my head toward the Maybach. “I do take a lot of helicopter rides. You wanna?”

Her face fell. “The jet...and now a helicopter...don’t you ever worry about your carbon footprint?”

“Only constantly. Like, all the time.” Oh good. Outside confirmation that our lifestyle actively destroys the planet. The guilt was awful, especially since I would probably be too selfish to do anything material to alleviate it. “Maybe you can give me some pointers about this stuff?”

“I guess that’s fair since you’re giving me pointers about New York.” She shrugged off her backpack and moved to get in with it. Our chauffeur protested by lifting his hand as if to take it and put it in the trunk. I shook my head, remembering how small it always made me feel when I got something wrong about being rich.

And the thing was, Molly was rich now. Whether she wanted to be or not. I refused to let my little sister struggle through her college days in a constant knot of money worries. Plus, if she were going to live within regular visiting distance, she would have to get used to people waiting on her around our place.

“I have to text mom,” she said as the car pulled away. “To let her know I got here. You know.”

“Oh yes. Believe me, I know.” I smiled fondly. Mom still always made me text to let her know I got in okay. She was doing it even when she lived in our guesthouse.

“So,” Molly began, tapping out her message. “I looked up your address on Google Earth. Your house is pretty big.”

“Yeah. Really big. So big, you could even have your own permanent room there if you wanted.” Settle down, Desperate Debbie. I’d been less nervous about moving in with Neil than I was about asking my sister if she wanted me to keep a dedicated room for her visits. “I mean, you don’t have to live with us. It would just be there for you when you wanted to stop by.”

“But during the school year, I’m going to be staying in the dorms,” she said. “And would your kids be like...pissed?”

My kids? “Oh. Oh, well, first of all, they’re not really like, my kids. I’m Olivia’s guardian, but it’s not like I’m her mom or something since Neil is her grandfather. And then Rashida and Amal—”

“Are your friend’s kids,” she finished for me.

“About our ‘friend’.” I made air quotes. “I didn’t mention this part before you came, and I should have. I’m not ashamed or trying to hide anything from your mom or lie to you. It’s a delicate situation.”

“Oh...kay.” She drew the word out with the exact intonation I tended to use.

Genetics was real.

I took a deep breath. “We’re not like a traditional family. Not just because we’re raising Olivia. El-Mudad’s daughters are more like our stepkids. And El-Mudad is more like our husband.”

“You’re polyamorous.” She shrugged. Totally not a big deal.

“Y-yeah. We are,” I confirmed. “You’re handling this really...like it’s normal.”

“It is normal, Sophie. It’s 2019.”

“Well...good. I’m glad that doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable with queer people.” She lifted her backpack and pointed to a yellow, pink, and blue flag button stuck to it. “I’m pan.”

Was that genetic? “Nice. Well, you’re going to a house where there are at least three bisexual people, so you’ll fit right in.”

The drive to the nearest helipad was short. Soon, we were in the air again, Molly with her face practically pressed against the glass as we took a circle around Manhattan.

“There’s the Statue of Liberty! Oh my god, it looks just like in the movies!” She bounced in her seat, and I laughed, remembering exactly how cool my first glimpse of the statue had been when I’d seen it for the first time. Seeing it all the time, I’d become jaded.

Molly's eyes remained glued on the scenery, but her mouth ran a mile a minute.

"You said we could go see a show, right?" she asked, angling her head and raising her eyebrows as if to see as far under the helicopter as possible.

"We can see as many shows as you want," I promised. I just hoped she wouldn't pick something that would make me feel a thousand years old. "We can go anywhere, do anything...the sky is the limit on this trip."

She turned to me. "You don't feel like you have to be nice to me, right? I would think you were cool even if you didn't buy me stuff."