“What am I missing?” I ask Ava.
“I’ll tell you the short version,” Pippa answers. “Caroline is one of my best friends and a former adopted Bennett. Then Daniel dated her for a while. Things didn’t work out, and now she avoids family celebrations.”
“She and Daniel should get back together. He keeps asking about her,” Summer states.
“Oh, Summer, you’re so young,” Alice says. “Men must pay when they mess up, and Daniel messed up.”
“What Alice said,” Pippa adds.
“Just to be clear, yes, Caroline will be a bridesmaid,” Ava tells Summer.
“So, how about those dresses?” Alice asks me.
“Twelve,” I repeat, still stunned. “Sure, I’d love to do the dresses.”
The sisters start talking about their cousins, brothers, and childhood pranks. Ava and I, both only children, eat up their words and laugh our asses off. After we down the first two bottles, we start to slur our words. I suspect we’ll resemble a drunken sorority meeting by the time we finish this. Ava and I are sitting on the armchairs right now, the sisters sprawled on the floor.
“Oh, man, I miss Max and Christopher,” Summer says. “Why do they have to be so far away? I’m sure there’s some place for them here in Bennett Enterprises.”
“There is,” Pippa says in a reassuring tone. “But Sebastian trusted them the most to oversee our foreign offices and expand the business there. He was right to do so too. They’ve done an excellent job.”
“I spoke to Max last week,” Alice chimes in. “He’s eager to return. In two or three years, he’ll be back. Christopher too, probably.”
Summer pouts, her lips violet from the wine. “That’s a long time.”
“Aww.” Pippa elbows her. “Someone misses her favorite brothers.”
Summer stands up straighter. “I don’t have favorites.”
Alice narrows her eyes. “Then how do you explain that Blake and Daniel think Sebastian is your favorite, and Sebastian and Logan think Max and Christopher are your favorites?”
“Because then they’ll all fall over each other to become her favorite,” Pippa explains. “Oldest trick in the book.”
“I don’t know what you all are talking about.” Summer crosses her arms. “I don’t have favorites, but I can’t help if I’m the boys’ favorite sister.”
“Oh, my God,” I interject. “My head is going to explode if I hear favorite one more time,” I say with a smile.
Alice snorts and Pippa shakes her head, opening the third bottle. Alice, Summer, and Ava decide dancing is in order. Turning the volume up a notch, they start swinging their bodies to the rhythm.
Pippa remains on the floor, and I seize my chance to play the pacifier, crawling next to her. “Are you going to forgive your brothers?”
Pippa sighs, hugging her knees to her chest. “Terence is an ass, and I’m not that mad at my brothers. It’s just that...”
“What?”
“It’s going to sound silly.”
“I promise not to laugh.”
“Well, they’ve always been like this. Overprotective, having my back. I keep thinking if I hadn’t grown up believing all men are like my brothers—funny, sometimes stupid, and taking their alpha role too seriously, but overall genuinely nice guys—maybe I would have stood a chance.”
“Trust me, Pippa, not having assholes for brothers is a good thing. Be happy you have them.”
“I am.”
She presses her paper cup to her lips before taking a large gulp of wine. “Terence is dating someone else,” Pippa says.
“Yeah.”