“Then get on it.”
“Your list or his?” he asks, throwing a nod in the general direction of where Victor is.
“Whichever one matters most to you.”
I reach up to push his hair out of his face, threading my fingers through it so that it stays back. His eyes close at the movement, and my heart spikes at the intimacy of it all. My dad clears his throat again, and I push away from Oliver, giving us enough distance to look like nothing is going on. Because nothing is going on. At all.
“Do you want coffee, Oliver?” my dad asks.
“Yes, please.”
As I walk past, Dad twists his lips into a smile. “Your brother would kill him. You know that, right?”
I grab on to the edge of the counter. “He has no reason to.”
He laughs. “You sure about that?”
And with that, I scurry over to the table and sit in front of my brother, as usual. Oliver sits beside me, as usual, and my mom and dad sit in their seats as she places the food in the middle of the table—scrambled eggs, sunny side up eggs, poached eggs, toast, jelly, and butter. I go for the toast. Oliver takes it upon himself to serve me some scrambled eggs, because they have goat cheese and bacon. I thank him and eat with one hand while I fidget with the napkin on my lap with the other. My dad is looking at us like we’re about to announce my pregnancy, and the entire breakfast feels awkward.
“I like that dress on you,” Oliver whispers, and my face flames.
“Oliver, Tom says you’ll be finished with your residency soon. Will you stick to pediatrics?” my mom asks.
“Definitely. I love working with kids, so I’m trying to find a small practice to join.”
“You must see so much in the hospital though,” my mom says sadly.
“It’s not easy,” Oliver says, his hand reaching for mine under the table. “It really makes you realize what you have and how lucky we are to be healthy.”
“I bet. I’m sure it sheds a different light on your life,” my dad comments.
“It does,” Oliver responds, squeezing my hand. I feel like he’s squeezing my heart. “It’s made me see a lot of things clearly.”
“I think this year has opened our eyes to a lot of things,” my mom starts, until Victor interrupts.
“Did I miss the memo about this being a Thanksgiving breakfast?”
I bite my lip, trying not to laugh, and glance up at Oliver, who’s apparently doing the same. Our hands squeeze tighter together.
“It doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving for you to be grateful,” my mom says.
“Vic is just upset because that girl he’s been seeing hasn’t come around in a couple of days,” I say, sticking my tongue out at him when he makes a face.
“Whatever. At least my mom doesn’t have to play matchmaker for me.”
“She doesn’t have to for me either!” I say, shooting a glare at my mom.
“Prove it,” Vic says. “Prove it. Go out tonight and get yourself a date the old fashioned way.”
I laugh. “By go out, I’m assuming you mean to a club, and that is the last place I want to get a date. Besides, since when do you want me to date?”
“Since you started pointing out my dating life when you have none.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m happily single, thank you very much.”
“I’m just saying—I have no issues finding women who want to date me.”
“I have no issues finding guys who want to date me either.”
He raises an eyebrow, but makes no further comment.
“I’m serious, Victor.”
He raises his hands up. “I’m dropping it, Elle. Are we still going out to celebrate me closing this case?”
“I guess we are, right?” I say with a shrug.
“Maybe you’ll find a date there.”
“You are so infuriating.”
“You never know. Maybe you’ll find love in a hopeless place,” he says and laughs.
“Mom, you’re not going to say anything to your idiot son?”
“Estelle!”
“Estelle, what? He’s being a moron!”
“I think your brother just wants you to move on with your life,” my dad chimes in. “He just has a weird way of showing his feelings. Besides, who’s to say she isn’t moving on with someone right under our noses?”
Victor scoffs. “One, we would have noticed. Two, we don’t know anybody she would date.”
“This is not happening,” I say, muffled into my hands, while Oliver laughs beside me.
Victor calls Jenson, who seems to be in town every weekend, to join us. His invitees end up being: Mia, Jenson, Victor, Oliver, Bobby and me. Oh, and whoever Oliver and Jenson decide to bring along, because God knows they don’t travel without a date unless they’re going to find one there.