by Emily Childs
Brita is grinning at me as though she knows exactly what is going through my mind.
“I’m glad we get to hang out a little more the next few days,” she says. “I tell you what, it’s about time these two get married. They can’t keep their hands off each other at this point.”
“I know,” I agree. “I’ve become a bit of third wheel with those two. I think Nicole might swallow him pretty soon.”
“I heard that Lane!” Nicole’s muffled voice comes from behind the curtain. “Can you blame me?”
Brita laughs and sits next to me on the couch. “I know what you mean, but I was the same right before I got married.”
Agnes snorts. “You were.”
“Hey,” Brita says to her younger cousin. “You were the one always telling Jonas to kiss me, Aggie.”
Jonas. That would be Bastien’s brother. I haven’t met him. I haven’t met anyone on the Olsen side beyond Brita. I think I might’ve seen Bastien’s mom in passing once. I’ve been to their bakery with Nicole, after all. Honestly, they all look like the same family. Who knows who I’ve met before, but I think I’d remember an older version of Bastien.
Brita scoots a little closer to me on the cushion. “Laney understands anyway. Olsens are impossible to resist, right?”
My face feels as though it’s on fire. She knows, she must by the way she’s grinning at me.
I lick my lips. “Uh, well—”
“Brit, you’re embarrassing her,” Inez says.
This isn’t happening. How close are these people? Who broke the news? Bastien said he wasn’t going to, so I blame Nicole and Oscar. But then, I can’t blame them because we told them. I’m spiraling and bite my cheek as a way to ground myself in this moment.
“It’s the truth,” Brita insists. “Laney, I’m glad we came, now I can get to know you. Bass is was so tight-lipped when he talked to Jonas earlier.”
“Was he?” I cross my leg, thinking of our night in the booth. Almost like we really were dating, for real, real.
“He was,” Brita admits with a soft chuckle as the attendant leaves Nicole’s dressing room. “But then Jonas and Axel make it their personal mission in life to tease Bass ruthlessly, so it’s not like he spills easily.”
Before I can say anything more, the curtain pulls back and Nicole steps out. For a moment I forget I’m supposed to be smitten with Bastien Olsen and free a little squeal from the back of my throat.
“Nic!” I say, breathlessly. “It’s perfect.”
The dress is simple, with delicate satin on the hem and sleeves. The bodice hugs my sister’s figure in all the right curves and cuts.
Nicole’s face is bright red, but she’s beaming. “You think so?”
Now Inez is the one to squeal as she hurries to her future daughter-in-law. “Osc isn’t going to be taking his eyes off you. I love it, so much.”
Agnes and Brita surround my sister with me, all of us going on about the style, the way the sleeves drape off her shoulders just enough, the way the hem ruffles slightly.
“Lane, what do you think of the neckline?” Nicole asks. “Recognize it?”
I study the ivory lace curving around her collarbone, then cover my mouth. “Oh, is this—”
Nicole nods. “From Mom’s.”
Last year, after Oscar proposed, Nicole and I marched to our storage unit just outside Lindström, and rummaged through boxes of memories until we found our mother’s wedding dress. Our mom had been five foot even, but Nicole tearfully had pieces of the dress added to her own, saving the other half for me. I’m not sure I’ll ever be using it since my boyfriends seem to either find greener grass elsewhere, or serve the purpose of getting me a job.
I wipe at a surprise tear and hug Nicole tightly. “She would tell you how beautiful you look, and she’d be so right.” I laugh, taking comfort the way the other ladies wipe at theirs. “And I agree with Inez, Oscar’s going to die when he sees you.”
Nicole presses her hands to her cheeks and stares into the angled mirrors. “It’s finally here.”
I step back when Inez busies around my sister, fluffing her dress, while Brita and Agnes help spread out the train.
“Excuse me, just one second,” I say, nodding toward the restrooms. Nicole smiles at me in the mirror.
Around the corner, I pull out my phone, surprised I’m calling him. But I need to know what he said to his brother. My pulse races blood to my head as I wait for Bastien to answer. It’s Friday night, he’s probably busy and—
“Miss me already, Brooks?” he asks after three rings.
“Hi.” I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath.
“What’s up?”
How long was I silent? Stop being weird Laney. I shake my head. “Um, what did you tell your brother about . . . us?”
Now, Bastien hesitates. “Why?”
I curl my shoulders as though someone slugs me in the chest and lower my voice. “Because your sister-in-law is twenty feet away from me. What am I supposed to say?”
“Whatever you want. Brita likes you.”
I breathe a little slower. “But I’d like to not stick my foot in my mouth around your family.”
“Ah, you want to be friends with Brit. I don’t blame you, she’s easy to get along with.”
“I really am breaking up with you.”
He laughs. “Look, all I said when Jonas asked was that I’ve started to go out with Nicole’s sister, also known as you.”
“It’s weird dealing with a lot of family when I don’t have anyone but Nicole.” I cover my mouth. That wasn’t supposed to come out, and the way Bastien goes quiet, I can only imagine how uncomfortable he must be. It’s no secret my parents are gone.
“Don’t worry too much, Lane,” he says softly. He’s never shortened my name before. I like it. I shouldn’t. “Just . . . be you.”
“You really don’t care that I’m being all friendly with your family?”
He’s quiet again. I rub the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes.
“I don’t really know what you want me to say,” he finally says. “I didn’t overthink it when I talked with Jonas.”
I don’t know if that is his way of telling me to chill out, or if he’s upset he didn’t put a filter on his own mouth.
“But if you think I’m over here cringing because it’s you with my sister-in-law,” he goes on, “I’m not. It’s not like you’re a girl I wouldn’t want to introduce to my family.”
My mouth parts a little, and I’m grateful no one is huddled in the back to see my dumb expression. Bastien goes quiet, and Nicole’s warning pounds in my head when a smile plays on my face. He’s being strangely sweet and it’s a little intoxicating. I need to be on my guard.
“Okay,” I say. “But when I’m weird and embarrass you, remember what you just said.”
He laughs, a real, I’m-at-ease laugh. “Weird pretty much makes up my family, so. We’re good? Same page and all that?”
“Yeah. Same page.”
“Laney!” Nicole calls from the fitting room.
I’ve been gone too long. My grip tightens on my phone. “Uh, okay, see you later.”
“You will.”
I swallow with effort. “Okay, bye.”
Without giving him a chance to say goodbye, I hurry to disconnect, and rush back to the room. Nicole is handing over the garment bag to the attendant, a longing look on her face as her dress is taken away.
“There you are,” she says with a laugh. “We’re going to the Bean for dinner. You’re coming, right?”
“Yep.”
“Good,” Brita says. “I can’t wait to chat, Laney.”
Heat floods my face, made worse when Nicole catches my eyes. The frustration she held yesterday is missing, and replaced with a smugness I don’t understand.
I walk out with Brita since Nicole is chatting with Agnes, and helps the girl step over a curb. It’s a challenge to keep my shoulders straight and my fingers from knotting themselves, but there is
n’t anything to be guilty about, right? We can be official without planning to stay together. People do it all the time to get things they want, right? I’ve read of marriages of convenience. This is dating for convenience. Nothing wrong with it.
I put on a smile, force it, really.
Why does Bastien’s family need to be so . . . relatable? So welcoming? And Bastien—what was that conversation? Last night? What happened to the snarky guy who boils my blood? I’d like him back because, truth told, I’m starting to balance on a slippery slope. One where I forget this’ll end and I won’t be part of these easy talks with these people. They’re not mine, they’re going to be Nicole’s.
Bastien is not mine. Not really. My stomach knots at the thought.
Chapter 13
Laney
Bastien didn’t lie, Brita is easy to get along with. I only like Inez more, and Agnes is adorable and entirely open about her challenges with motor control. I think she does well with movement, and I tell her, but then that leads back to the Olsens. I listen with sweaty palms for a few minutes as Agnes describes how Bastien’s other brother, a therapist, I guess, has helped her over the years. Everything seems to lead to Bastien and his brothers. I can’t keep the attention off him, or keep the glances at me whenever his name is mentioned away.
“Aggie’s gotten really close with Bastien,” Brita says to me softly when the others go back to wedding talk.
“What?”
Brita grins. “Bastien always buys her flavored Chapstick. It’s sort of a thing between them now. Anyone who’ll talk lipstick, Chapstick, or makeup with Ag, they’re her hero. At least for now. Last year it was shoes.”
“That’s cute,” I admit as roll a potato skin around my plate.
Brita shrugs. “That’s just Bass. My little girl adores him.”
“Oscar talks about her a lot,” I say. It’s true, but Nicole told me Oscar sees Brita more like a sister than cousin, so naturally he talks about her family.
“Yeah. Kirstie, she’s a tornado. But she’s not the only one. Axel and his wife were pummeled with the twin gene, and have two five-year-old boys. The best thing to see is the dog pile on Uncle Bastien.” Brita chuckles. “He’s the cool one when he comes home. The rest of us are all just exhausted by the little monsters.”
I try to imagine Bastien down on the floor, wrestling with giggling kids. In my eyes he’s the guy who wears nice suits and argues numbers for a living.
“It’s weird to think of him like that,” I say.
“You just haven’t seen that side of him, but I’m glad you’re giving him a chance,” she says. “It was a little surprising. Oscar always jokes that you two will be at each other’s throats at the wedding.”
“Oh,” I say, embarrassed. “Yeah, we don’t always see eye to eye.”
“I like it,” Brita says with a wide grin. “Nothing wrong with falling for someone who challenges you. It’s sort of a sexy story if you think about it.”
I cough on my water. “Sexy? In what way? That I scold him all day long?”
That draws a laugh from Brita. “A good, healthy rivalry turned romance. I like it. Bastien needs someone who’ll shake him up a bit.”
My stomach flips, and I fail at hiding my smile. “Well, it’s still . . . new, I guess.”
She nods and sits back in her chair. “I’m excited to see where it takes you, though. We’ll need to go out with Elle, Axel’s wife. She’s jealous I’m here and she’s not. We’re overbearing; be ready for it.”
I laugh, and love how I feel a sense of belonging, but hate how I can’t shake the underlying hiccup in all this. Bastien and I are going to date, but we’re also planning to break up within weeks. Getting attached to his family is ridiculous. “That would be fun.”
I’m ridiculous.
By the time Nicole brings us all Swedish teas, hot chocolate, and biscotti, Agnes has shown me an old video of Brita and Jonas in the middle of the street, and explained the entire story I told Bastien I wanted to know. The long saga of the feud between grandparents, and the secret friendship turned romance with the enemy next door. From the video, Jonas looks like Bastien, maybe darker hair, but they’re built alike. I clap a hand over my mouth to muffle my laugh when in the background I can hear Oscar shouting a peace offering to Bastien. A teenage, squeaky voice returns, groaning over the disgusting way his brother is kissing in the street. It’s hilarious.
“I love your bakery,” I say, dipping my biscotti into a cocoa. “Oscar let me tag along a few times, and every anniversary for days our parents died he brings us sweet things.”
“Glad to know he grew into such a gentleman. I worried there for a second. I’ll warn you though, if you talk to the Jacobson side” –she points to herself – “Swedish things are more delicious. But to Bastien and the Olsens, always say Danish. I’ve just saved you a heap of arguments.”
It’s an interesting dynamic, and I like learning about it all. They’re happy to share, and soon I’m versed on Bastien’s twin brothers and their love for tormenting him—that part sounds entertaining—and a funny story about Bastien and Oscar nearly burning down the bakery. Strange as it sounds, I’m at ease with these people.
“Brit, we did not almost burn down the bakery, quit making us sound like hellions.”
I snap my eyes up at Oscar’s voice. Nicole abandons her seat and hurries to him, kissing him, before he catches Agnes in tight hug. I’m staring over Oscar’s shoulder at the other face. Bastien smirks from beneath a baseball cap, so different than hours before in his sleek suit. Honestly, the man could wear a potato sack and be toe-curling handsome.
“Uncle Bass!” Agnes says brightly.
“Aggie!” He accepts her hug without a second thought. “I knew you’d be here, so—”
Agnes laughs loudly when he hands a three pack of flavored lip balm.
“Hey Bass,” Brita says and hugs him. “It’s been forever.”
“A few weeks, needy,” he says.
Brita scoots over so Oscar can join the table. She whispers something to her cousin, and I see a shy grin form him the corner of his mouth as he nods. “And Osc, you two were hellions.”
“They were,” Inez agrees.
Oscar drapes an arm over the back of Nicole’s chair and rolls his eyes. I stiffen as Bastien takes the open seat next to me.
Relax. Being tense and uneasy isn’t what we’re supposed to be, but why is he here? He could’ve said something before dropping in like this when he knew I’d be here. Maybe he decided leaving me on my own with his family wasn’t such a great idea after all.
“Hi.” My voice comes out in a deep croak. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Tux fitting,” Oscar answers instead. “We just got back.”
“I’m glad you went, Bass,” Brita says.
“Even though my tux is already fitted.”
Brita smiles. “Well, it’ll make your mom happy.”
Bastien leans back, our knees knock together, and I fight the weird urge to lean into him. At least five minutes go by before I slip back into the ease of the conversation, thankfully all the focus is on the wedding and not questioning Bastien and me about, well, about us.
“Mom, you’ve got to stop.” Oscar groans and scrubs his face after a couple minutes.
“Stop what?” Inez asks. “She was stunning in the dress.”
“Trust me, Nic could wear a plastic bag and be a knock-out,” he says. “You keep going on about the wedding, and the dress, and my fiancée, and we’re going to elope. Tonight. It’ll be your fault.”
Inez snickers and smacks his arm, but Nicole rests her head on his shoulder as though she’d be down for the idea.
Another twenty minutes go by like that, teasing the future newlyweds, until Brita stands and stretches. “I hate to say it, but I need to get home. We promised Kirstie a mom and dad movie night. The Little Mermaid awaits.”
“I thought it was Cinderella,” Bastien says.
“Bass come on. That
was on Sunday.” Brita nudges his shoulder, but my smile fades when she finds me. “I’m glad we talked, Laney. I’m going to set up a time for you, me, and Elle.”
I feel Bastien’s eyes on me, but I need to say something, right? “Looking forward to it.”
Leaving takes Inez, Agnes, and Brita another ten minutes of goodbyes and future planning that I shouldn’t be part of, but on the other hand I really look forward to seeing them all again. Once they’re gone silence traps a heaping dose of awkward around the table.
Nicole and Oscar stare at me, then they’ll glance at Bastien who seems oblivious to their scrutiny. At least until I break.
“What?” I snap, kicking my sister under the table.
“You two are so annoying,” she says as a sort of lament.
“Annoying? Why?” Bastien asks.
“Because the idea of you guys being together makes my heart basically sing, and it took you so long to figure it out.”
Oscar laughs. “I think it’s funny. Bastien usually would be at the office, but he actually came out with us. Lane, you’re already rubbing off on him.”
Now Bastien kicks Oscar under the table. They laugh as Nicole asks Oscar to help her clean up in the back, of course he follows, but I have a feeling it’s their excuse to be alone.
Bastien plays with a straw wrapper when we’re alone. “How was the whole day off?”
“Golden. Magnificent. A dream.”
“Wow. If it’s going to make you smile like that, maybe I’ll give you a day off every week.”
“Ah, maybe Oscar’s right, I am rubbing off on you. Don’t look now, but you might have a heart.”
Bastien chuckles. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“No one would believe me anyway.”
He pauses. “Can I ask you something?”
I offer a wary glance. “Sure.”
Bastien leans forward over the table. His hands aren’t far from mine, and for a moment of insanity I remember the way his fingers felt on my skin. The way a shiver ran down my spine. “Why am I your chosen enemy? You told me I was.”
Surprising. I’m not sure what to say. We’re doing enough deceiving, so I settle on the truth. “Call it loyalty. I’m not a fan of cheating, to put it bluntly.”