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Catching the tightening around Caroline’s mouth, I took her hand again and squeezed. “It’s her loss. You’re all great, despite your circumstances. And I feel pretty sure that the credit for your siblings goes to you.”
The tension in her expression eased. “Someone had to step up. Rios and I both did, in different ways. Right now, we’re just glad Gabi is getting the chance to do what we couldn’t. Go off to school, have a new start away from all the baggage here.”
“Did you want that? The whole college thing?”
“I never really considered it a possibility.”
Because she never would have left her siblings to fend for themselves. I had to admire the family loyalty among the three of them. They’d bonded together over their shared circumstances.
Caroline stared out the passenger side window at the open water. “I don’t think that route would have suited me. Not the way it will Gabi. She’s brilliant.”
“You’re no slouch.”
“No. But learning for the sake of learning’s sake never appealed to me. I think I’m way too practical for that.”
“The whole college thing didn’t suit me either. It was why I went straight into the fire academy after high school.” I glanced over at her again, gauging her mood. “Is there some other dream you’ve been denying yourself because of your duty to family? Something you’d really love to do?”
She stayed quiet for so long that I wondered if I’d crossed a line. “In a perfect world, I think I’d like to have a shop.”
“Yeah? What kind?”
“The kind where I take the discarded things I find and turn them into something beautiful or functional.”
There was probably a metaphor in there for her life, but I didn’t bring it up. “Upcycling for profit. I like it. Why not do it?”
“Starting a business requires money. And I don’t know if there’d be enough profit margin in something like that to justify even trying.”
“It’s worth doing some more research into.”
“Maybe,” she conceded. “Someday.”
Back at the house, we made our way up the steps, noting the lack of other vehicles. “Looks like nobody’s home. Do you want to come in?”
Did she honestly think I was going to say no? “Sure.”
We divested ourselves of the leftovers, and I pulled her into the living room, toward the monstrosity of a sofa they’d brought home from Beachcomber Bargains. It was a hideous brown corduroy, threadbare in places, but she’d insisted she could make a slipcover that would give it new life. She just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. What we had gotten around to was discovering that it was a damned comfy couch.
“I have a confession to make.”
Her brows went up. “Oh?”
“I’ve been thinking very indecent thoughts about this demure little dress of yours.”
I neatly tumbled us onto the sofa, so she splayed across me, her knees planting on either side of my hips. Because they were right there, I skimmed my hands up the backs of her thighs, toward her delectable ass. Caroline tipped forward, readily finding my mouth with hers, and I was lost in her, as I always was. Everything between us was heat and hands and need.
As she settled more firmly against the raging erection in my shorts and began to rock, my blood-starved brain tried to calculate which base we were at and whether it was time to round another.
Then the overhead light switched on.
“What are you doing?”
At the sound of Rios’ voice, Caroline froze. I surreptitiously removed my hands from beneath her dress.
Slowly, she sat up and glared at her brother. “We were celebrating that the Meet The Parents dinner went well.”
He made a huffing noise that sounded vaguely like an enraged bull. “Celebrate somewhere private.”
Then he turned and stalked off. A moment later, his bedroom door slammed.
