A Picture's Worth
Copyright© 2026 by Ewan Oliver Niven
Chapter 2: Girl Talk
Sada and Alastair’s home was small but cozy, and Bea was rather fond of it. She sank down onto one of the big, black couches, resting on pillows patterned in blue and green; a Christmas present from Alanna and Drake. The living room was growing noisy as Bailey and Sydney filed through the door, carrying backpacks and sleeping bags. They’d decided to have a Girls’ Night, all six of them. Aislinn had declined, since with Sydney and Elijah out of the house for the night, she got some time alone with Gabriel.
Somehow, Bea couldn’t help feeling a little out of place. “I’m the only one here who isn’t one of the family,” she realized. Although Sada kept her maiden name for dancing and Xandri kept hers--Saint-Angelus, now--for photography, tonight they were all Wolfe women. Except her. Bea wondered idly what Alanna would do when she married Drake. Knowing her friend, she would probably keep her maiden name. “I don’t know of anyone who’s met the Wolfes,” she thought, “who didn’t want to be one of them.”
“I swear, I’m getting so sick of it!” Sydney was saying, as she stripped out of her coat, gloves, and scarf. “At least I’ve found something I love! The least he could do is be happy for me!”
“I’m sure he’ll come around in time, Syn,” Bailey soothed. “Ethan is our brother. Yes, he may well need that stick surgically removed from his ass, but he’s still our brother and he loves us.”
He’s still harping on about that? Bea thought, frowning. She smiled at Sydney and Bailey as they dropped down onto the loveseat at the other end of the couch. Xandri and Alanna came out of the kitchen, carrying mugs of hot chocolate. Despite feeling out of place, Bea knew this would be a wonderful evening. She’d never before had the chance to spend time with all of them at once. And maybe I can help cheer Sydney up,” she thought. After all, she knew what it’s like to be on the other end of Ethan’s disapproval.
“I was thinking of ordering pizza,” Sada said when they’d all settled down. She was sitting in the armchair, her hands folded on her belly. “I have this insane craving for Hawaiian pizza... someone share with me?”
“At least she isn’t requesting anchovies,” Bea said, grinning. “I like Hawaiian pizza, Sadie. I’ll have some with you.”
“Hopefully, it will be a while before the weird cravings hit,” Sada said, frowning. “I’ve still got another five months to go.”
That hadn’t stopped her from taking to overlarge, baggy clothing, though. The emerald green sweatshirt she was wearing hid her growing belly. She’d also been growing her hair out for a while now, and it hung below her shoulders. Bea had asked Sada once why she’d begun growing it out. Sada had shown her pictures of her own mother, nine months pregnant, with black hair all the way down to her thighs. It was such a silly, sentimental thing, she’d said.
It wasn’t until the pizza arrived that they really got started. Xandri got paper plates and napkins, and Alanna got cans of soda. Sada complained about not being allowed to do anything until the pizza boxes had been opened and the food caught her attention. That ended up being the first thing they talked about: how much Alastair was driving her crazy.
“Herc is less annoying,” Sada complained. “And he barks most of the day!”
“If I ever get Quinn a pet,” Xandri said, “he’d best name it something better than Hercules!”
Bea laughed. “As if Quinn would allow a pet in his apartment! Risk something messing up his perfect apartment? Never!”
“Sounds like Ethan,” Bailey put in, rolling her eyes. “And Gavin, too. He’s such a neat freak. Perversely, Chase is a lazy slob.”
They all laughed at that. Bea hadn’t really gotten to know any of the new male Wolfes all that well. She’d talked to Elijah a few times, though; he seemed to have developed a small crush on her, which was both amusing and flattering. He’ll get over it, she thought, reaching for another slice of pizza. He must have girls all over him in school. Sydney made some comments to that effect from time to time.
“You know, Conner keeps asking about you, Syn,” Sada said, grinning at Sydney. “He’s Forrester’s boy...”
Sydney wrinkled her nose. “He’s kind of annoying... He’s always watching me! What is with that?”
“Maybe he needs to get laid,” Bailey teased, nudging her sister playfully. When Sydney turned red, Bailey put an arm around her sister’s shoulders, laughing. “Syn is such a good, sweet girl. Doesn’t even hold hands.”
“That’s because Ethan knows how to handle a shotgun,” Sydney muttered, her cheeks growing even redder.
And to think, I used to want sisters, Bea thought, grinning herself. She liked Bailey and Sydney. It was surprisingly easy to talk about this sort of thing, with all of them. Bailey refused to talk about her love life, merely flashing a small, secretive smile. Xandri talked a little bit about life with Quinn, when urged, and Alanna had no problem gushing about her relationship with Drake. Watching her eyes light up as she spoke, Bea felt a little sad, as much as she wanted to be happy for her friend.
It wasn’t easy, pushing aside years of feelings. Once she’d thought it would be easy, but Bea had been suffering some depression of late. Some of it was jealousy, although she wasn’t certain what she was jealous of--that Drake had Alanna, or that Alanna had Drake. She’s happier than she’s ever been, Bea thought glumly. Happier than I ever made her.
“Why the hell is my sex life so fascinating?” Xandri demanded, after Sada had asked her another question.
Sada pouted. “Because I don’t currently have one!” She huddled down in the chair, her arms around her belly. “He tells me it’s not because I’m putting on weight, but...”
Bea snorted. “You’d have to put on about a hundred pounds or so before it would start to bother Alastair.”
Sada gave her an odd look at that. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, Bea thought, biting her lip. Even Alanna didn’t know about that time. But now they were all looking at her curiously. No good can come of this, she thought, wincing. I’m not stupid; I know how bad it sounds. She’d come clean to Xandri about her relationship with Quinn. But it was only one time! Bea thought, straightening in her chair. It was only one time, and it was before Sada even knew him!
“It was ... kind of an accident...” she said out loud.
Sada’s eyebrows rose. “An accident?”
“It was just after that ... fiasco with Melissa,” Bea explained. Back when she’d still been much more on the chubby side than she’d been comfortable with.
“That wasn’t that long after you met us,” Alanna said, frowning. “You were only, what ... sixteen?”
“Thereabouts,” Bea admitted, fidgeting uncomfortably in her chair. “Look, it ... you guys had that family showing in Italy ... and Alastair stayed home. He was ... well, he seemed so lonely...” She’d hated seeing him like that; he’d been so cheerful before. “I um ... well, I went over there to hang out. We picked the lock on the liquor cabinet and um ... well, if it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t allowed back in the house for months.”
“So that’s why Dad was so pissed off,” Alanna said.
It had been Aislinn who had actually been the one to bar her from the house. It had taken a long time to convince her that Alanna wouldn’t follow in Bea’s footsteps. She’d avoided the house for those months, making a lot of excuses, until Aislinn had come to her suddenly and apologized. She had always suspected that Alastair had said something to his mother. And Gabriel...
Gabriel had never even mentioned it. As protective as he was of his children, he realized that she was still little more than a child herself. Although Bea had never actually told him anything about her life, he always seemed understanding. In fact, he’d been much more angry at Alastair, who should have known better. He was mad about that for more than a month, Bea thought, fighting a smile. I felt more like he was my father than Alastair’s.
“Look, can we um ... I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Bea said quietly. “I know what people think of me as it is...”
“Well, I don’t care,” Alanna said stubbornly. “And you know I never have. That stuff is all in the past.”
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