Let It Be Me (Triplets book 1)

Chapter 17

Ophelia had decided to forgo the New Year's party because she was not in the mood to watch everyone get drunk. Reyna had told her that she would call her around ten o'clock, and now it was well past eleven o'clock, and she still hadn't heard anything. It was starting to worry her as she flipped between the weather and New Year's Eve special on television.

Reyna called her every night like clockwork, and she had told Ophelia the night before that she and Pops had been invited to a party on a yacht in Key West. It sounded like just the place Reyna would want to be to welcome in the new year.

Granted, if she was offshore, it could be that she didn't have cell service.

Polly was curled up on her bed, snoring, and her presence gave Ophelia comfort.

Ophelia had changed into her loose-fitting flannel pajamas, washed her face, and brushed her hair until it gleamed, all in an attempt to make the time go by without too much worry. Ophelia flipped back the weather station and noted that storms moved from the gulf and into southern Florida and the Keys.

When a knock sounded on her door, she frowned and moved to open it. On the other side, she found Sawyer, Sullivan, and Paloma. Paloma was carrying glasses, and Sawyer had a couple of bottles of champagne. Sullivan looked like his usual stick up his bum self.

"What are you all doing here?" Ophelia frowned.

"Wow!" Paloma said, reaching out and touching Ophelia's hair. "Stunning!"

"We couldn't let you spend New Year's Eve alone!" Sawyer said, pushing past Ophelia and into her room. It was warm and cozy with the soft murmur of the television and the crackling of the fire.

"I'm not alone. I have Polly," Ophelia insisted, and Polly raised her head at the sound of her name, sniffing the air to see who had arrived. When she caught sight of Sullivan, she stood, stretched, then jumped off Ophelia's bed and walked to her master with a wagging tail.

"Oh, come on, don't be a party pooper!" Sawyer said as he started to unwind the wrapper around the cork on the bottle of champagne. Then he expertly popped the cork and motioned to Paloma for the glasses.

Ophelia turned the television back to the New Year's Eve special and accepted a glass of the bubbly golden liquid. She would play along because it would get rid of them faster. She looked at the clock and noticed that it was ten minutes until the hour.

"I get to kiss Ophelia!" Paloma called as she sipped the overflowing champagne.

"No, you don't!" Sawyer denied with a shake of his head.

"I called it!" Paloma said, shooting a mischievous smile at Ophelia.

"You can't call it as you would shotgun!" Sawyer insisted. The more he talked, the more Ophelia got the feeling that he was a bit tipsy.

"Well, I just did!" Paloma grinned as she fell into a chair in front of the television.

It was the one that Reyna like to sit in when she visited.

"Well, un-call it! I don't want to kiss my brother!" Sawyer shuddered at the thought, taking a sip of his drink.

"Fine, then I'll kiss you! Happy now!" Paloma said to Sawyer as he fell into the chair next to her.

Ophelia thought it was all very well planned by two expert actors as she wandered over to her nightstand and checked her phone. There were still no texts or phone calls.

Paloma and Sawyer started arguing over something they saw on the television, but Ophelia barely heard it as she moved to the window to look out over the water.