“So, I know you only met Matt’s brother, but does that mean things between you are getting serious? Brian and I were together for almost four months before I met his family.”
Liv tried not to think about the conversation she’d overheard on Theo’s first night in town.
“How long were you and Aaron together before you met his family?” Emma asked Phoebe before Liv could respond to her question.
“Probably about five or six months, but Aaron’s parents were in South Carolina for the winter when we met, and his siblings are scattered around the country.”
Liv picked her fingernail and tried to mentally prepare herself for her friends’ reactions.
“Yeah, I think we’ve moved out of the casual dating phase. He wanted me to go with him this weekend to the wedding, and he’s not going back to Florida. He plans to stay in Orchard Harbor.”
Emma smacked the arm of her chair. “Didn’t I tell you he might do that! You need to listen to me more.”
“When did he tell you that?” If the tables were reversed, she’d be wearing a similar expression to Phoebe’s.
“The day we went to Smugglers’ Cove.”
Phoebe’s hand paused over the charcuterie board. “That was like two weeks ago! Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
Shrugging, Liv added some cheese and veggies to her plate. “It seemed like an odd thing to say in a text message, and there never seemed to be a good time for us to get together.”
Emma picked up her phone. “Odd, I always thought this device allowed you to call people and have a conversation. Maybe you have to pay extra for that capability now.”
“You guys know I don’t love talking on the phone.” Liv could talk to her friends all day long in person, but she hated long telephone conversations.
“Are there any other exciting details that you haven’t shared with us?” Phoebe asked, finally selecting the food she wanted from the spread on the table.
“Well….” Liv raked her teeth across her bottom lip and considered the conversation she’d overheard between Matt and his brother.
“That’s a resounding yes.”
Phoebe nodded. “I agree with you, Emma. She’s holding out on us.”
She’d opened her big mouth. Her friends would bug her until she shared, so the sooner she got it out in the open, the faster they’d move on to a different topic. “I overheard Matt telling his brother he plans to ask me to move in with him.”
“You do realize you should’ve started this whole conversation with that, right?” Emma asked.
“He hasn’t done it yet. And just because he said that, it doesn’t mean it will be soon.”
Phoebe exchanged a look with Emma before turning her attention to Liv. “If he told his brother last weekend, then he plans to do it soon. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought it up now.”
“Phoebe’s right. When he asks, what are you going to tell him?”
She wished she knew. One second, she planned to say yes, and the next, she intended to tell him she wasn’t ready. “I haven’t decided.”
Other than Phoebe and Sylvie, her college roommate, she’d never lived with anyone except her family. Moving in with someone seemed like a huge step in a relationship.
“That’s understandable. You haven’t been together long. Aaron didn’t move in with me until April.”
It was more like Aaron hadn’t officially moved in until April. In reality, though, he’d been spending more nights at Phoebe’s house than his own for a long time.
“When I decide, I’ll let you both know.”
“How does Owen feel about you and Matt being together?” Emma asked.
“He’s fine with it.”
“I’m glad he is. Do you remember how mad my brother got when I dated Ian in high school?”
