“Trust me,” continued my sister, “not your type. She’s too smart for you.”
A chuckle bubbled past my lips. “Too smart. For me. Do you remember who you’re talking to?”
Molly sipped at her drink slowly. “Yes, yes. Geez, you score a one-eighty on your LSATs and suddenly you’re Einstein.”
I shrugged my shoulders, pretending to be humble. “I aim to impress.”
“Yeah, well, as I was saying, Tia’s too career-driven. All she ever talks about in class is her job.”
I grimaced. “Workaholics are gross,” I joked.
“I suddenly understand your lack of work ethic.”
“Please,” I scoffed as I took another sip of Scotch. The liquid warmed my tongue, my throat, burned delightfully on the way down. “You’ve always known I’m not a hard worker.”
“Another reason why I don’t think you’d get anywhere with her. She’d never fall for a lazy guy like you.”
“Ouch,” I feigned.
“Besides, I know you. You like playing the role of the white knight. You need yourself a damsel in distress.”
I raised a quizzable eyebrow at her. “What? No way.”
“Jill was in a shitty relationship with that guy –what was his name?– Mike. You swooped in, saved her like you were freaking Prince Charming.”
“A coincidence.”
“Holly,” continued my sister, “needed someone to help after her dog died from cancer. Who showed up the next day with a puppy? And let’s not forget about Emma when her mother passed away –the poor girl. But luckily she still had enough sense not to accept any of your advances.”
“Yeah, but–”
“You have a type. And Tia doesn’t match that description.”
I snorted, rolled my eyes. Okay. Maybe my elder sister had a good point, but I didn’t really appreciate her tone. “You make me sound like such a sleaze.”
“Call it like I see it.”
“There’s nothing wrong about being there for women in need.”
“Yeah,” she said as the corner of her lip curled into a grin, “but at what point does it start to get creepy?”
“What are you saying?”
Molly shrugged her shoulder, her hand-knitted cashmere sweater elegantly slipping off of her shoulder. “Maybe you should try being single for a little while. Get some perspective and all that. Experience what it’s like to be a bachelor for a hot minute.”
I took a deep gulp of my Scotch, paying special attention to the way the liquid simultaneously burned and warmed my throat, leaving a satisfying heaviness in the pit of my stomach. I sighed in relief, satisfied.
“Speaking of experiences,” I mumbled, a thought suddenly occurring to me. “Aren’t you going to India tomorrow?”
“First thing in the morning,” she replied. “This was supposed to be a bon voyage dinner, remember?” She pronounced her words in an overly dramatic French accent, making good use of all those private tutoring sessions our father paid for throughout our childhood.
“Right, right. Did Dad pay for it?”
Molly’s cheeks flushed, bright red. She nodded slowly, glancing down at the table to avoid my gaze. “Yes,” she mumbled sheepishly. She raised her index finger at me, a warning. “Please don’t start.”
“Start what?”
“I told Dad not to. I just really think it’s the next best step for my career.”
“You mean your travel vlog?”
“Lifestyle channel,” she corrected. “I’ve got thousands of subscribers. I just need an exotic new location to film in. My views went up significantly when I was in Japan last month.”
I threw my hands up in mock surrender. “No need to get defensive, sis. I didn’t mean anything by it. We’re from a wealthy family, you can afford to do what you enjoy.”
Our waiter returned with our food, setting down a freshly grilled steak and mashed potatoes before me. My mouth watered at the mere sight of it, stomach grumbling excitedly. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into the juicy, thick ribeye in front of me. I looked across the table to Molly’s meal: a delicate salad with slices of peaches, strawberry, and roasted pecans.
“Is there anything else I can get you before I let you enjoy your meals?” asked the waiter graciously, smiling as wide as possible to give off an air of graciousness.
I shook my head. “We’re all good here.”
“Let me know if you need anything,” he said quickly before leaving to attend to a nearby table.
I eagerly cut off a bite-sized portion of my meal, basically stabbing my fork into it before bringing it to my mouth. The meat was so tender and savory that it practically melted against my tongue. I groaned, in awe.
“I’m so turned on right now,” I joked.
Molly curled her face at me, shaking her head. “Gross, dude.”
“How’s your rabbit food?”
“It’s vegan,” she answered by way of explanation.
“Rabbit food,” I insisted.
“It’s delicious.”
“What do you think you’ll film yourself doing in India?” I asked, interested to know about her plans. Molly had always been the adventurous one in our family, travelling to new and exotic places whenever she had the time. Money was obviously never a concern, so it was just a matter of what interested her. She’d been to Japan, China, the outback of Australia, several countries in Europe, and more than one luxury resort along the coast of Mexico. I had to admit that India seemed a little out there, though.