Mal smiled as she gave her best friend a hug. Her and Evan had been fast friends from the moment they had met, and Mal cherished her more than just about anybody in her entire life. Except maybe Adam. “I know, I’m so sorry I’m late.” She turned to look at her brother as he asked why she was late, and she shot an apologetic look his way. It must have been awkward as hell for him to be here when he only knew Evan, especially when she had been the one to accept the invitation. “I got an email while I was getting ready from some guy threatening to sue me and the paper over an article I wrote, so I had to do some damage control.” Normally, she would have called Adam for help since he seemed to be better at the legal and business side of the paper, but he had been working a lot of late nights at the office, and she had wanted him to have some time off. Apparently, that had been the wrong move. At the mention of a raise, however, Mal arched her eyebrow at her twin brother. “Hang on, Evan’s been working a ton of late nights, if anybody deserves a raise it’s her… even if she does scare off all of our interns.” Even Mal couldn’t deny that her friend was a little intense, but she knew that intensity came from a place of passion, and she didn’t think that her friend should be punished for that.

She smiled warmly at Monday as Will introduced him, immediately struck by how handsome he was. “The pleasure’s mine.” As Will mentioned that he was the mastermind, Mal forced her eyes away from Monday and looked at her host for a moment. “Really? Well if I wasn’t already excited about this I would be now… if you’ll let me eat since I made you all wait.” She chuckled and poured herself a glass of wine as Monday busied himself setting out various platters, and as each one was uncovered, she felt her hunger much more keenly. It was the most delicious meal she had seen in a long time. “Is this how Thanksgiving is for you every year?” She posed the question to Will. “Because if it is, shame on you for not inviting me sooner.” A light nudge to his arm accompanied her words, even though she knew perfectly well that she would have refused if it meant abandoning her parents on a holiday. If there was one thing that Mal was, it was dedicated to her family, even if sometimes that felt like her undoing.

Mallory watched as her best friend and her twin brother walked off to wash their hands. When she had walked into the room, she had felt a kind of tension in the air, but she had legitimately thought that was just her brother being… well, her brother, and landing himself in hot water with everybody else around them. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more going on, particularly given the redness to his face before he had left with her. For half a second, she thought about following, about asking both of them what was going on, but the hunger in the pit of her stomach overwhelmed any ideas that she might have had, and she took a seat at the table, setting her untouched glass of wine on the table, and looking at the absolute feast before her. “Monday, it looks absolutely amazing!” She couldn’t wait to dig in, though she hardly knew which dish to try first.