“You must be close,” I said, choosing to pivot away from the negative side of it. I knew I’d want the same sentiment extended to me.
Brooklyn paused, and he spun the plastic cap of the SunnyD bottle on the counter, keeping his gaze hyperfixated on it when he spoke. “Our relationship is kind of weird right now. We had a bit of a disagreement right before he left, and, I don’t know. I just wonder when he’s going to stop being so hard on me.”
He paused again and scrunched his face up. “I’m sorry, that waswaytoo much. . . . Foot-in-mouth thing again.”
“No, it’s okay. I get it. The situation’s not really the same, but I can be hard on Nikki too. I do it sometimes without realizing it, because if something happened to her—”
My throat tightened, and for the first time in a long time, talking about this was hard. No matter how kind and charming his smile was and how warm and comforting his presence made me feel, there were things that didn’t need to be said. If Ididn’tshoulder it all the time, if I put it down even once and something were to happen to her, I’d live with it forever.
Even so, he waited and listened, decidedly not with his foot in his mouth.
“Maybe he’s only hard on you because he cares, and he’s afraid of something happening to you.”
“Deep down, that’s probably true.” Brooklyn sighed as he leaned forward onto the island, lowering his head to meet me at eye level. “Thanks for getting it.”
“Thanks for being so honest.”
Goose bumps prickled down my arms despite the proximity of our faces making my body temperature climb by the second.
Brooklyn must have felt it, too, as he abruptly stood up straight and cleared his throat. “Whereas my mom isn’t hard on me, she’s just still getting used to me leaving the house by myself for extended periods of time. Hence you being here right now as my witness.”
He tilted his head to the side as we heard a door slam, and a young woman sauntered into the kitchen from the back deck.
“And then there’s my sister,” Brooklyn mumbled, looking at me with wide eyes. “Who’s just a bloodthirsty emotional cannibal.”
“Rude.” The girl smacked him on the arm. “Now please move. You’re blocking me from very necessary alcohol.”
She shooed him away from in front of the refrigerator, forcing him to slide around the kitchen island to stand beside me. As soon as the goose bumps had dissipated, they came right back with a vengeance.
“Excuse me, aren’t you underage?” Brooklyn drawled at her while she fixed herself a mimosa.
“Only for another month,” she quipped, spinning on her heel to put the SunnyD bottle back in the fridge. She slid her big movie-star sunglasses on top of her head, revealing the same bright-blue eyes Brooklyn had. “Besides, if you were forced to socialize with those little goblin women outside all morning, you’d be drinking yourself under the table.”
The giggle escaped before I could stop it.
“Oh my god,” she exclaimed, suddenly aware of my presence at the island. “I am so sorry. I’m Stella.” She flipped her sleek ponytail over her shoulder and held out her hand to me. “You’ll have to excuse my brother. I did say he was rude, didn’t I?”
“Nat.” I shook Stella’s hand with a polite smile. “It’s all right, mimosas are a pretty valid distraction.”
“Do you want one?” she asked, and when she gestured back to the refrigerator, all the gold bracelets on her wrists clattered together. “You’ve been hanging out with him all day, you probably need one.”
“Nowwho’s rude.” Brooklyn rolled his eyes.
He shifted beside me, and it dawned on me that if he was trying to stay clean, he probably didn’t drink either. He’d made me so comfortable all day, I owed him the same.
“I’m okay, thanks.” I gave her that polite smile again, and it seemed to satisfy her as she turned her attention back to her brother.
“Anyway, do us both a favor andpleasego talk to your mother,” Stella said. “You have plenty of time to be annoyed later, but for now, at least show her you’re alive and not . . .”
Brooklyn glanced down at me and mouthedI’m sorrybefore wandering toward the back door.
“Don’t worry, us girls will hang out.” Stella shooed Brooklyn away.
“I need her in one piece when I get back,” Brooklyn called over his shoulder before shutting the back door behind him.
Stella leaned closer to me with her elbows pressed into the counter. She smelled like a vacation—all coconut and sunscreen and salt water—with the glowing sun-kissed skin to match.
“So . . .” She clicked her tongue. “You’re a new face. Not that my brother brings any girls home to begin with, but regardless, I don’t recognize you.”
