“She doesn’t even know what he looks like.” Miles shrugs, and there’s so much sadness in it.
“What did Benson say?”
“The school is secure. You can’t get into any of the buildings without a code anyway. No one’s going to hand over a child to a stranger—” The words, the insinuation . . . it’s too awful to think about, and I squeeze my eyes shut before the tears fall. “But they’re being extra vigilant.”
“Okay. Do you want security there?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t want Max to be affected in any way. I’ll find out what she wants when she calls again. Or she’ll call Arthur. Or I’ll call her once I cancalm down.”
“Maybe she wants more money?”
“No, it’s not that. Whenever she’s wanted money before, it’s always gone through Arthur. This is about Max. I know it.”
Lando places his arm around me and pulls me into his side. After today, and the fitful sleep I had last night, I’m weary, and the hold I have on my emotions weakens enough that the tears leak out.
“Hen, nothing will happen to Max. Nothing. I promise you that.”
It’s words I needed to hear. He’s so firm, his tone so serious that I believe him. “Thanks, Lan.”
“Ahhh, isn’t this lovely?” drawls Alex, walking into the kitchen. Only when I sit up and wipe my eyes does his smile drop. “What’s happened? I was only gone five minutes.”
“Sienna,” I snarl, scooping another helping of spaghetti into my bowl.
Alex pauses on his way to sitting down. “What’s shedone now?”
One thing I really love and appreciate about my siblings is the murderous expression each of them have when her name is mentioned. I also love how none of them push me to talk about her.
Lando shakes his head and says, “Long story, catch you up later.”
“How’s Everly?”
My dilemma is forgotten, and a smile stretches across Alex’s face. It’s one I’m familiar with, one I had when Max was a baby. Still have.
“Asleep, thankfully. Her blanket had tangled.”
Miles picks up the bottle of wine and tops up Alex’s glass. “And the girls were worried we wouldn’t be able to cope on our own.”
My brothers and I are having a boys’ night at Burlington. Good wine (I’m not enjoying), homemade pasta and bolognaise, two children soundly asleep despite how loudly the rain is crashing against the windows. Clementine, our mother, and Haven are all staying in London tonight with Holiday, Lando’s girlfriend, who’s filming on a celebrity talk show to promote her new movie. Therefore, we decided to take the opportunity to hang out ourselves. Nothing to do with it being Alex’s first entire nighton his ownwith Everly, or why he’s decided to sleep at Burlington tonight instead of his own place.
Lando has been traveling with Holiday over the past few months, and we haven’t seen as much of him as usual, so we used the girls’ absence as an opportunity to catch up. It hasn’t been the four of us together for months, and with the busyness of everyone’s lives, it’s easy to forget how much we miss it.
“So what else is news?” Lando sips his wine. “How’s the committee going?”
I roll my eyes at his smug expression. He hates the committees, we all do, yet he insists on themandtakes great pleasure in how infuriating we all find them. Until the time comes for his turn, then he doesn’t stop complaining.
A loud snort from Miles says everything. “I can’t believe you suggested the kissing booth. That is so lame. What’re you planning to do with it? Make out with Story for real this time?”
Alex’s fork stops halfway to his mouth. “Wait, what?”
“I don’t know why I suggested it. I’m an idiot.” I stare at my twin. “I was thinking about how you fucked it up that day. You know they haven’t had the booth since?”
“I did no such thing. And if I remember, which I do, I was the one who got punched in the nose. It wasn’t my fault that I tripped into the stand and broke it. That girl had clearly been taking boxing lessons,” he replies, twirling his fork around the spaghetti and shoving it in his mouth.
Alex and Lando are wearing identical expressions of amusement. It was the first time a girl had ever punched Miles. It wasn’t the last.
“And anyway,” he continues, with a sip of wine, “I’d been trying to get with Lauren MacCauley forever. Plus, you owed me. You lost the last game of Burlington Snaps. It was your dare.”
“I didn’t know Annabel Stenson was expecting us to make out?—”
