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She raised an eyebrow at him. “You wouldn’t be.”
Oliver decided to sit with them for a while before heading back to the office. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Nice to see you again so soon, Oliver,” Ephraim said as he entered the dining room.
“Nice to see you too.”
A plate was retrieved for Oliver and placed next to Merritt.
“Help yourself,” Harriet said. “There’s plenty.”
“Thank you. It looks delicious.” He took a helping of eggs, sausage, and home fries.
They chatted about work and the weather, and Gus and his father got to talking about Schultz Chocolate business.
Merritt turned to Oliver while the others talked. “Did you hear, Adelia’s movie is happening?”
“Gus told me. That’s amazing. I’m so happy for her.”
“Did you talk to her before she left?”
He shook his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s for the best.”
“Why’s that?”
“A lot of reasons.” He didn’t think the Schultz family dinner table was the place to get into all of that.
Merritt seemed to let it go and went back to eating.
“Your wedding was really nice,” he said, trying to keep up the conversation.
“Thank you. I’m so glad you could come. I know Adelia was too.”
He gave her a closed-mouth smile. “And congratulations on the baby.”
Merritt’s face lit up. “Thanks. It was a bit of a surprise, but we’re happy about it.”
“Yeah, we are!” Gus interjected.
When Oliver finished eating, he thanked the Schultzes for inviting him to join and wished them well before he headed back to work.
“Oliver!” Merritt called when he was about to open his car door.
He looked over to see her shrugging on her winter coat as she walked toward him.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“Adelia told me some of the issues the two of you are having, and I know one of them is your very different backgrounds.”
“Yes,” he replied.
“I don’t know if this will make any difference to you, but I’m the adopted daughter of a homemaker and a blue-collar factory worker. I came from very little, worked hard, and built my cosmetics business all on my own. Gus and I told you how we got together, remember? We couldn’t have been more different. But you can’t help who you fall in love with, right? And when you love someone, sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone and navigate situations you normally wouldn’t have to. And that can be hard and uncomfortable, but when it’s the right person, it’s worth it. You may have paparazzi taking your picture and posting your private life all over the internet, but at the end of the day, you get to have a life with the one you love, and that’s what really matters.