If We Were Perfect - Ana Huang Page 0,105

and Leo were arguing—Luke was busy stuffing his face with chips. Olivia was surprised Leo had shown up. She invited him every year, but the famous writer was usually in Europe, where he was based. Other than an abundance of facial hair and a few wrinkles around his eyes, he looked exactly the same.

Olivia remained an active member of the erotica book club, which had gained several members over the years, but tonight, only the originals were here—Kat, Tamara, Natalie, and Donna, plus their significant others, including Jessica (Tamara’s now-wife) and Ty. Kat and Ty weren’t engaged yet, but Olivia suspected that would be on the horizon soon. At least Kat’s ex was way behind her in the rearview mirror. Ben who?

And, of course, there was Sammy. He was manning the grill with Aaron and Trey, looking sexy as hell, per usual.

He caught her eye and winked, and her heart melted into a gooey puddle. She blew him a kiss; he grinned and waggled his eyebrows. Translation: wait until I get you alone after our guests leave. (And our children go to bed).

Olivia’s skin heated at the promise.

“You say Blake and I are gross.” Farrah wrinkled her nose. “I think you and Sammy win that award.”

“Please. At least you didn’t have to watch us defile a Vegas hotel room couch.”

Farrah’s complexion went from golden to crimson in less than one second. “We thought the door adjoining our suites was locked!” She narrowed her eyes. “How long were you guys watching?”

“Not that long; we’re not voyeurs. We were just in shock.” Olivia cleared her throat. “Anyway, the food is ready.”

“Wait. Alina?”

The corners of Olivia’s mouth turned down. “She can’t make it. There’s a big snowstorm and all flights are grounded until tomorrow.”

“Huh. Then she must have a twin I don’t know about because she’s right there.”

Olivia whirled around, taking in the green-clad figure stepping through the kitchen’s sliding glass door.

“What? I thought you were stuck in Chicago!” she cried, throwing her arms around her sister while Farrah slipped off to grab what looked like a broken plastic toy from Everett before he put it in his mouth.

Olivia swore children bit into everything. She’d initially freaked out—she still did, sometimes, depending on what the object was—because hello, talk about unhygienic, but Sammy had forced her to do meditation exercises until she calmed down. If she had children and couldn’t handle a little dirt and mess...she was in for a rough few years/decades.

Point taken. (But Olivia drew the line at letting Lily and Aiden touch strange objects in strange places. That was how people died).

Alina grinned and hugged her back. “I thought I was, but there was one flight out before they closed down the airport and I managed to grab a seat. I had a transfer in Phoenix, though, which is why I’m late. Did you already start?”

“Not yet. You have perfect timing.”

Olivia and Alina squished into the circle ringing the fire pit while Sammy, Trey, and Aaron passed out plates of food. Since it was December, they’d stuck with grilling winter foods: pulled pork, sweet potato and chicken kebabs, butternut squash, pineapple (to remind them of warmer times), and bacon-wrapped corn on the cob.

“This smells delicious.” Olivia pecked Sammy on the lips before he took the seat next to her and draped an arm over her shoulder. “Thanks for cooking.”

Trey cleared his throat. Loudly.

“You too, Trey,” she said wryly. “And Aaron. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime.” Trey puffed out his chest. “I’ve become quite a master griller over the years.”

Olivia had hosted this annual pre-Christmas party for three years now, and it was the highlight of her year. However, this was the first year that everyone made it; they were usually so busy that it was hard to find a date that worked for the entire group, especially since half of them lived in different cities.

“Sure.” Aaron patted Trey on the back. “You’ve really honed your plating skills.”

“Fuck you, dude, I—”

“Language!” Every parent within earshot shouted.

Trey rolled his eyes. He was thirty-five, still a bachelor, and proud of it. “Chill the f—the eff out. The munchkins can’t hear me.”

“If my daughter starts cursing, I’ll kick your, uh, fanny,” Nate warned, adjusting the end of his sentence when Ruby ran over with something cupped her in her hands. “Hey, sweetheart, what do you have—oh, shit! I mean, fuck. I mean, what is that?”

Olivia pressed her lips together while Sammy buried his face in her neck, his shoulders shaking.

Ruby held up the decapitated doll’s head