“Seriously, dude, what is it with you and romance novels?” Jordan asks.
“Nothing. Forget it,” mumbles Noah, his face turning a little red.
I’ve been thinking the same thing, but before I can pile on, Amelia throws him a bone and changes the subject. “As long as Elliot will have me, I’ll never leave you.”
I scoff, tossing an arm around her shoulders and tugging her closer to me, pressing a kiss to her hair. “As long as I’ll have you? You mean, like, forever? Because I’m thinking about that long.”
She grins up at me. “Works for me.”
Cooper groans. “Okay, enough with the overwhelming displays of love. We might not have to save Amelia’s spot in the program but?—”
He trails off at the knock on the door. “Come in!” I yell, assuming it’s either Cece or my parents, forgetting for a second that any of them would just walk right in.
“We still have Elliot’s job to save,” Cooper finishes.
“I’ve got some ideas on that,” comes an unfamiliar male voice.
“No fucking way,” Jordan says, his eyes lighting up.
Amelia lets out a happy shriek and jumps up from the table. I turn just in time to see her throw herself at Gabe and Molly, the three of them swaying in a tight hug.
“What are you doing here?” she exclaims, bouncing on her toes when she finally lets them go. “Where’s Soph?”
“She’s having some grandparent time with the Parkers,” Molly says, referring, I think, to her best friend’s parents who act as pseudo parents to all of Jordan’s friends. “Gabe thought we were needed here, and I desperately needed to meet Elliot again as your boyfriend, and not just as the very good-looking younger brother of my very good friend.” Molly winks at Jordan. “Missed you, Jord.”
“Missed you more, Mol,” Jordan says happily.
“I missed you most.” Jo stands and gives her sister’s best friend a hug, keeping an arm around her waist and wrapping one around Amelia’s as all three of them turn and face me. “And obviously you’ve met Elliot before, but now you can know him as the guy who loves our girl more than life. Like, absolute simp level behavior, Mol.”
Molly grins at me. “That’s just the way we like it. Welcome to the family, El.”
I grin back at her, winking at Amelia, whose face is flushed with happiness. “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Gabe hugs Jordan then claps me on the shoulder. “You make my sister really happy.”
“I really hope so.”
“If you make her unhappy, we’re going to have a problem.”
Before I can say anything, Molly and Amelia both dissolve into hysterical laughter, and Gabe looks over at them, confused expression on his face. “What?”
Molly shakes her head, still laughing. “Gabe, I love you madly, but you really can’t pull off the stern daddy thing. It’s just not you. You’re too cheerful for that.”
“It could be me,” Gabe grumbles.
Amelia breaks away and wraps an arm around her brother, reaching out for my hand. I lace my fingers through hers and she grins at me. “Nah, you can’t pull it off. Anyway, you’ve met him before, so this is all really a formality. Let’s dispense with the patriarchalstay away from my sisterbullshit and get to the real reason you’re here. What did you mean when you said you had some ideas for Elliot’s job?”
“It’s really not necessary,” I start. “I don’t care about my job. As long as I have Amelia, I can work anywhere.”
Amelia waves that away with a dismissive noise. “No. You earned this job. You love this job. You’re keeping this job. How do we do it?” She asks her brother.
Gabe gives me a sly smile that shows me exactly how he ended up the most famous tech billionaire in the world. “You guys aren’t the only people who think Dean Miller is an asshole. Everyone hates him, and a lot of those people owe me favors. At the very least, they like me way more than they like him.”
“Enough favors for Elliot to keep his job?” Cooper asks.
“Oh, you’ll keep your job,” Gabe says. “Among other things.”
“Fuck yes, now we’re talking,” Noah says. “I love a little light blackmail with a side of bribery and horse trading.”
