Page 59

“Give it all to me, Ames,” Molly says. “Leave nothing out. Especially the sexy stuff.”

Gabe groans. “Skip the sexy stuff, please.”

Laughing, I recount the entire story. Meeting Elliot on the plane. Figuring out who he was and disappearing from the airport. Walking into his class on the first day of school. Helping him solve his family mystery. Falling in love. And then, this morning at the diner.

“Dean Miller is a giant asshole, but he’s a giant asshole who could get Elliot fired, and Elliot doesn’t deserve that.

He loves his job and he’s so good at it.

He says he doesn’t care, and that he can get a job anywhere, but he shouldn’t have to.

This is the job of his heart. I know what we did broke the rules, but the rules are stupid.

I’m an adult, and so is he. Falling in love with him was inevitable.

It was never going to be anything other than him and me in the end. You guys understand.”

“We sure do,” Molly says, the unmistakable love in her voice telling me she’s looking at Gabe and he at her. “But Ames, you’ve said a lot about Elliot’s job. What about your spot in the program? The dean can fuck with that too.”

I sigh, looking at Elliot’s closed door, knowing I should probably tell him first, but somehow, telling Molly and Gabe now feels exactly right.

“I honestly don’t care about my spot in the program.

” I pause, wondering how this next part is going to land, but I’m too far gone to give Gabe anything but the absolute truth.

“I enrolled in the program for the wrong reasons. My entire life, I’ve felt like I was living in Gabe’s shadow.

Like whatever I did or wherever I went in the tech world, there was always someone telling me I didn’t belong there, or I was only there because of my famous brother.

It’s hard enough to be a woman in STEM, but to be one when your brother is the most famous man in STEM in the world?

It’s nearly impossible. It’s why I didn’t tell anyone Genesis was mine.

So I wouldn’t be subject to a million headlines about how Gabe Sullivan’s sister did a thing.

Because Gabe Sullivan’s sister didn’t do a thing.

I did a thing, and that thing has nothing to do with Gabe.

And it’s why I enrolled in the PhD program.

Because it’s something Gabe never did. Something that would be mine alone. ”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my heart that is racing at the experience of finally setting my biggest truths free.

“I’m sorry, Gabe,” I say quietly. “I’m so proud of everything you’ve done.

You know that. But it hasn’t always been easy living in the shadow of your accomplishments when they loom so large, and I think I blamed you for that for a long time, even though it’s not your fault.

You’re the best person I know, and I know you just want me to be happy.

I think…” I pause when my voice breaks. “I think I just lost sight of that for a minute.”

“Amelia,” Gabe says softly. “I love you more than you could possibly imagine. You’re my family. You, Liv, Molly, and Soph. My whole damn world. Are you happy?”

I laugh through the tears that threaten to fall again.

“I am. I love app development, and I want to do more of it. I don’t know whether I want to start a company or freelance or what, but I do know that.

And I love Elliot. I didn’t know it could feel this way.

Having so much in me for someone else. He’s…

god, I don’t know. He’s just everything.

The other half of me. I love being in Boston with him and his big, insane family.

I have real friends for what feels like the first time in my life, and I just feel like…

I guess I feel like I’m finally exactly where I’m meant to be. ”

Molly sniffles on the other end of the phone. “Fuck, Amelia. That’s all really good stuff.”

“It is,” Gabe says. “And if you’re happy, that’s all I care about.

But I hope you know that you can always talk to me, about anything, anytime.

I may be famous or whatever, but before I’m anything else, I’m your brother.

My family always comes first, and you will always have a place with us. Always and no matter what.”

“I know. And I’m sorry I forgot all that for a minute. It’s been a weird year.”

“Don’t even apologize for doing what feels right for you,” Gabe says. “I’m proud of you, Ames.”

“You are?”

“You bet. Now, what are we going to do about the dean?”

“You mean the royal we?” I ask dryly, mostly to needle him, because all I feel is amusement at Gabe involving himself in whatever the solution to this problem is. The man is a fixer right down to his bones. He literally can’t help himself.

“No, I mean the literal actual we on this phone call. I know Elliot a little through Jordan, and he’s a good guy. If he’s yours, he’s part of my family too. Is he yours?”

I can’t stop the smile that spreads over my face because my brother really is the best guy in the world.

After Elliot, though, because no one is better than him.

“He sure is. And I have a few ideas on what to do about the dean, but I have to talk to Elliot first. It’s Saturday, and we don’t meet with the dean until Monday morning, so we’ve got some time. ”

“Well, when you decide, you let me know, okay?”

“You’ll be the first.”

“I better be.”

I snort out a laugh. “I miss you guys so much.”

“We miss you too, Ames. You know we’re only a plane ride away, and I have access to a private jet.

Just say the word and I’ll have it gassed up and at Hanscom Fieldbefore you’ve even had time to pack a bag.

And bring Elliot with you. It’ll be the first time I get to flex my fatherly, you better not make my baby girl cry muscles. ”

“How about I bring him, and you don’t do anything like that? He’s, like, two years younger than you and his brother is one of your best friends. Don’t be a weirdo.”

Gabe heaves a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. How about you just come home and hang for a few days and bring your boyfriend, who I will act totally and completely normal around.”

“Sounds perfect, Gabey.”

“I hate when you call me that.”

“I know,” I sing. “I love you both. Thanks for the talk.”

“Love you, Ames,” Gabe and Molly say at the exact same time, and we all crack up.

The laughter wakes up Killer, who looks around like she’s trying to figure out what the fuck is going on.

When I hang up with my brother, I feel a million times lighter.

Killer jumps up into my lap, and I stroke her soft fur as I glance around Elliot’s apartment.

At the plant I brought him that’s slowly coming back to life.

The shelf of mugs he’s collecting just for me.

My shoes next to his and my jacket in the closet and the odds and ends I’ve left here over the past few months.

This is my place. Our place.

The thought has a bubble of happiness expanding in my chest.

An idea pops into my head, and I open my phone, typing out a few texts before depositing Killer on the couch, heading back into Elliot’s room. He might not like what I have planned, but I think it’s what he needs. He may need a minute, but I’m pretty confident he’ll see things my way.

When I open the door to the bedroom, the afternoon sun is shining behind the closed blinds, and Elliot is still fast asleep. Pulling back the covers, I slide in behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and splaying my hand over his heart, feeling its strong, steady beat.

“Mystery Girl,” he mumbles sleepily, covering my hand with his. “Missed you. It doesn’t feel as dark when you’re here with me.”

“Go back to sleep, El,” I murmur, pressing a kiss between his shoulder blades. “I’ve got you.”

“My girl,” he mutters, tightening his hand around mine and drifting back to sleep.

“My guy,” I whisper, a smile on my face as I drop into sleep, keeping my body wrapped around his to shield him from the darkness.