Separate Like Stars

by Diana Kane

  “You want me to check that?”

  “Would you?” I ask as I busy myself with measuring out the waffle mix.

  “It’s Addison,” mom informs me with raised eyebrows and a mildly disapproving look on her face. The information is enough to pause Olivia’s response to whomever she is speaking with, her eyes darting in my direction before she goes back to her conversation.

  “I’ll catch up with her later,” I answer as I crack an egg, pulling the shell apart and letting the contents fall into the bowl.

  “Did you get a message from Kira?” Olivia asks as she steps into the kitchen.

  “Not sure. You’re welcome to check,” I inform her as I pour the buttermilk into a measuring cup. “Mom has my phone.”

  “It can wait. She was just unusually vague. Wants us to FaceTime her when we get a chance,” she shares as she shows me the message.

  “Grab my laptop. We can call her now. I’m sure she’d like to talk to mom and see how she’s doing anyway.” Olivia smiles before pecking me on the cheek and going to the living room for my laptop.

  “Want me to get started on the berries?” mom asks as she refills her coffee.

  “Sure! I’m going to start the cream cheese drizzle. Do you want your berries cold or I can heat them in an agave syrup?”

  “Cold, I think. What’s your girlfriend want?” she asks with a chuckle.

  “Girlfriend?” I question as Olivia returns to the kitchen. Is that what Olivia is now? If so, why is it causing me to feel slightly panicked? I know I have feelings for her, should referring to her as my girlfriend really elicit anxiety? Does that niggling in my stomach and brain mean that there isn’t any hope for us as a couple? I stiffen as her injured hand finds my lower back, earning a questioning look from Olivia. “We’ll talk later,” I promise, noting the concern in her eyes. “It’s fine. No need to worry,” I reassure her as I work on whisking the batter. I catch mom looking over her shoulder at us, but she keeps quiet, her focus going back to the berries.

  “I need you to enter your password,” Olivia informs me as I search the batter for lumps.

  “It’s Jupiter’s with a capital J and an apostrophe, underscore, Swirl with a capital S, followed by the number 81,” I reveal as I set the bowl of batter aside.

  “That’s your password?” she asks with a tilt of her head.

  “Did it not go through?” I inquire as I look over at the unlocked screen and panic when I see the project about Olivia filling the display. I quickly reach over and minimize the document and open up FaceTime, hoping Olivia didn’t see her name.

  “I wouldn’t have read it,” Olivia promises.

  “I know. I do want to share it with you, but it’s not ready. I haven’t changed when it comes to people seeing my unfinished work.”

  “I figured,” she acknowledges with a smile. “I look forward to hearing about it.”

  “As do I,” mom chimes in, making me jump. How I forgot she was standing at the sink is beyond me. “Still here,” she says with a laugh. “Olivia, would you like cold berries or berries warmed in an agave syrup?”

  “What are you two doing?”

  “Cold. Jordan is making a cream cheese drizzle.”

  “I’m good with cold,” she answers as she connects us to Kira.

  “Hey, guys,” Kira answers in a chipper tone. “I see we didn’t waste any time getting back to sleepovers. Did I interrupt your morning s—OH GOD! Dana! How are you?” Kira inquires as her face turns fire engine red.

  “Oh I think my heart will survive nearly hearing about my daughter’s morning sexual habits,” she jokes. “How are you?”

  “Other than a raging bout of mortification? I’m doing well. You look great! I assume you’re feeling pretty good too?”

  “I am. Now if I could get everyone to stop worrying that I’ll keel over at any moment, I’d be all set. How are things with Gavin going?” mom asks as I open the package of cream cheese and prepare to make the drizzle.

  “Did I just hear my name?” a freshly showered and shirtless Gavin asks as he steps in front of the camera. “Hey ladies,” Gavin beams at us.

  “Guess that answers that,” I quietly joke, causing Olivia to snigger.

  “What was that?” Kira questions.

  “Nothing,” I quickly cover. “Liv said you wanted to talk to us,” I prompt her to move the conversation along.

  “Yeah. So Gavin and I were talking last night,” she begins, earning a sarcastic snort from Olivia. “Anyway, long story short we were wondering if you’d want to come to Chicago and have dinner with the two of us, Addison, and Chloe.”

  “That’s a lot to process in one sentence. First, you’re ready to be seen in public and have your relationship put out there?” I ask, my brows skeptically raised.

  “We are. There are already rumors linking him to someone in Chicago, so it’s just a matter of time before someone sees us together and sells the photos. If this whole situation with the two of you has taught me anything, it’s that. I’d rather do it on my terms,” she adds with a shrug.

  “Good for you. I’m happy for both of you,” I acknowledge with a smile.

  “How did Addison become involved in this scheme?” Olivia inquires.

  “I asked if she’d be interested,” Gavin admits. “It serves multiple functions. One, it reinforces both Addison and Jordan’s statements that there is no animosity between them. Two, it also shows that they are still friends and are even friendly with the other’s new love interest. Three, it’ll be fun to have dinner, just the six of us, without the agenda of anyone’s agents. Oh, and then there’s the bit where the tabloids are going to forget all about your non-existent drama when they start focusing on Kira.”

  “He does make a few valid points,” I agree as I look at Olivia.

  “I’m not just a pretty face. I mean, my face is pretty and all —.”

  “Yes, it is,” mom quietly agrees from behind us, causing Olivia and I to laugh so hard we fall out of the scope of the camera.

  “Kira, you’re sure you’re okay with this?” I hear mom ask her when Olivia and I finally calm down.

  “I am. I’m going to have to be if I want to continue dating Gavin. I’d rather break the story on my terms instead of having someone make a massive profit off of it. I don’t have anything to hide, so they can dig into my past all they want.”

  “What do you think?” I ask Olivia as we both fight to catch our breath.

  “It seems like—.”

  “What did you do to your hand?” Kira shouts, causing me to leap backwards, knocking the spatula from the bowl holding the cream cheese drizzle, sending a spray of it across my face. The four of them roar with laughter when they see the damage, Olivia fighting to find the delicate balance between containing her laughter and wiping the sweet cream off of my nose.

  “Forget it,” she breathes as she pulls me in with her good arm and proceeds to slowly run her thumbs along my cheekbones, gathering the cream before gently sucking the thumb of her injured hand between her lips as she presses her other thumb between mine. Gavin’s wolf-whistling in the background does little to stop Olivia’s efforts at cleanup as the tip of her tongue slowly flicks over the tip of my nose as her steel blue eyes bore into mine. I fight the battle to keep my breathing slow and even, but fail as my desire to take Olivia on the kitchen counter surges, video call, and mom be damned.

  “Were they like this in Chicago?” I hear mom ask as Olivia and I remain absorbed in one another, our eyes communicating all the things we can’t voice in front of an audience.

  “Basically,” Kira informs mom with a chuckle. “It might be a bit worse now though because they have that whole new-old love thing going on and it’s clear they aren’t having sex,” she adds. “Just shag already and get it out of your system,” she shouts at us, causing Olivia and me to giggle.

  “How did you cope?” mom playfully asks.

  “Truthfully, I blame them for all of my love life woes,” Kira jests. “Th
ey were a yardstick of sorts. The relationship I compared all of mine against,” she confesses as Olivia presses a kiss to my forehead. “What’d she do to her hand?” Kira asks mom as Olivia and I finally rejoin the conversation.

  “Inadvertently stabbed myself,” Olivia informs Kira.

  “I thought I told you not to pinch her arse when she has a knife in her hand,” Kira hurls her mock accusation at me, her Irish heritage leaking into her voice.

  “Don’t look at me,” I say as I hold my hands up in surrender.

  “Jordan wasn’t there,” Olivia confirms. “Total lack of focus on my part.”

  “Right,” Kira draws. “Did the two of you bother sorting out your decision about dinner while you were canoodling?”

  “Canoodling?” I question as I look over at Olivia, my smirk reflected back at me. “What do you think?”

  “I think we’re never going to eat,” mom intones as she reaches around me to grab the bowl of batter. “You promised me a waffle,” she needlessly reminds me like I’ve had a chance to forget.

  “Says the one person in this room who already had something to eat today.”

  “This is useless,” I hear Gavin inform Kira. “We’re never going to get them to focus enough to answer the question.”

  “I’m recovering from heart surgery. My body needs extra energy right now.”

  “Oh, now you’re recovering,” I quickly shoot back.

  “We’d love to meet you guys for dinner,” I hear Olivia inform Gavin and Kira as I fix mom with a challenging glare. “Wouldn’t we?” Olivia adds as she pokes me in the ribs, forcing me to lose the stare down with my mom.

  “Absolutely,” I agree as I shift my focus back to the screen. “When is a good time for you?”

  “I’m flying out tonight to do some reshoots. Addison is available in two weeks if you can wait that long.”

  “I think if we did it any sooner it’d look like we were trying to prove a point. Does that work for you?” I ask Olivia as I hear the sound of mom retrieving plates from the cupboard.

  “It shouldn’t be a problem. That’ll give me time to make sure things are covered at du Pays.”

  “Great! I’ll work out the details and be in touch,” Kira states. “We should probably let you go. Dana looks like she’s ready to eat the waffle iron,” she adds through her laughter.

  “She’ll survive,” I mutter.

  “You all right, Dana?” Olivia asks.

  “I’m fine, just realizing how big of an ingrate my daughter is,” she shares with a smirk. “Be warned, Kira. You provide them with food, clothing, shelter, and an education and they grow up to be brats.”

  “Don’t pay them any mind,” Olivia says to Gavin and Kira. “They’re just as close as they ever were.”

  “Oh, we know they are,” Gavin agrees. “Listen, we’ll let you guys have breakfast. We’re about to make ourselves a nice lunch. It’ll be nice seeing you. Dana, take care of yourself. I know three women who will all be devastated if anything were to happen to you,” he conveys, finishing off the order with a camera worthy smile.

  “Will do, Gavin. I don’t plan on going anywhere for a long time,” mom answers as the timer on the waffle iron beeps, pulling mom’s attention away from the screen.

  “Never thought I’d lose the attention of a woman to a waffle,” Gavin grumbles.

  “Then you haven’t seen Kira when she wants a greasy breakfast after a night of heavy drinking,” Olivia shares.

  “No I haven’t,” Gavin agrees. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll be sure to stay out of her way when it happens,” he adds with a laugh.

  “We’ll talk soon. Enjoy your lunch,” I add before disconnecting the video feed. “Did she talk to you about going public?” I ask Olivia as she snags a strawberry and tosses it in her mouth.

  “Uh-uh,” she manages around the berry as she shakes her head. “Are you surprised? They’ve been hiding their relationship for a while now,” she observes after swallowing the fruit.

  “I’m a little surprised,” I admit. “I would have thought the media attention would have Kira second-guessing her decision.”

  “You know Kira often keeps her own counsel and once she’s made a decision, she doesn’t second guess it. Besides, you could argue that the media attention surrounding our public outing has shown her that it’s better to control the narrative,” she adds with a shrug as I ladle more batter onto the waffle iron.

  “You have a point…or two points I suppose,” I add with a grin before giving Olivia a quick kiss.

  “Still here,” mom yells from the table.

  “We know,” I call back as Olivia laughs. “That one has your name on it,” I inform her as I flick my eyes in the direction of the waffle iron. “I assume you’ll have to get going soon.”

  “Yeah, but you could come with me if you want. I mean, you wouldn’t be able to attend the meeting, but you could go into the city with me. Okay, I’m gonna stop,” she finishes when she spots the blossoming grin elicited by her nervous rambling.

  “Thanks, but I think I’m gonna stay here and see what mom is up to. If she’s busy, I’m going to attempt to write. Message me when you’re back?”

  “Of course. I could pick up something for dinner. I have to check in at du Pays, so pretty much anything in town is an option.”

  “Surprise me,” I whisper a moment before the beeping of the waffle iron informs us that Olivia’s waffle is ready.

  “A surprise it’ll be then,” she informs me as I extract her waffle from the hot confines of the maker.

  Chapter 35

  “Are you sure they said that we shouldn’t bring anything?” Olivia asks for the millionth time as I ring the doorbell.

  “I’m sure,” I answer as I squeeze her hand.

  “What do you usually bring?” she inquires as she fidgets nervously.

  “Wine. Why are you nervous?” I quietly inquire knowing that Uncle Eddie or Uncle Ryan will answer the door at any moment.

  “This is the first dinner we’re having with them since we got back together. Why didn’t we bring wine?”

  “Because you don’t drink,” I whisper. “They know we’re a couple again. No reason to be nervous,” I manage to get out as the sound of the deadbolt flipping precedes the door opening.

  “Hey cuties,” Uncle Eddie greets us. “It’s good to see you,” he adds as he plants a quick peck on my cheek and gives me a one-armed hug. “How’s your hand?” he asks Olivia as he greets her with the same hug and kiss he welcomed me with.

  “Still attached,” she jokes as she holds up her hand to display the bandage covered stitches. “Dana is taking my stitches out tomorrow.”

  “Eddie, is that them?” I hear Uncle Ryan call from the kitchen as Uncle Eddie shuts the front door.

  “Yes,” Uncle Eddie yells back in an exasperated tone before stopping us in our tracks. “He’s been freaking out all day about screwing up this recipe. Apparently cooking for a professional chef is a lot of pressure,” he conspiratorially whispers to us with a wink.

  “Oh thank god,” Uncle Ryan exclaims as he hustles out of the kitchen. “Hello darling,” he quickly greets me with a kiss on the cheek and a squeeze of my hand. “Not to be rude, but may I borrow you for a moment?” he asks Olivia as he begins ushering her towards the kitchen.

  “Sure,” she answers as she glances over her shoulder at me and shrugs.

  “Follow me,” Uncle Eddie orders as he heads towards the dining room. “Here’s your glass of wine, now let’s go take a look at something.”

  “Okay,” I warily agree as I obediently follow Uncle Eddie out back to the patio. I look around at the furniture, flower beds, the small garden and everything else, but don’t see anything new.

  “Did you change something? I don’t see anything that wasn’t here before,” I admit with a creased brow.

  “Oh, nothing new here. I am curious how you’re finding being with Olivia again.”

  “Did you drag me out here to ask me
that?” I ask with a chuckle.

  “Where and when was the opportunity going to arise again? Ryan will have her tied up in the kitchen for at least 10 minutes, and I want you to tell me the truth.”

  “Being with Olivia is good.”

  “But?”

  “It’s great, really. When I spend time with her, it feels right. I’m just trying to figure out how to not be scared shitless that she’s going to break my heart again.”

  “Hmm. I can see that,” he answers as I notice for the first time the small lines making themselves known along the corners of his eyes. “Ryan and I visited his grandmother’s grave last week. You know I hate graveyards—.”