Page 4 of Dead to Me

“Right.”

“I read the seventeen-page itinerary.”

She smiled.

“I might have gotten carried away.”

I let out a small laugh.

“Never.”

This almost felt normal. That was the dangerous thing about family. Your body remembers people even when your mind knew better.

China knew the exact expression to make when she wanted me to laugh. I knew when she was lying because her left eyebrow lifted slightly higher than the right.

We shared a womb, a bedroom, clothes, secrets, and apparently, we had also shared a man.

She hooked her arm through mine.

“Come on. I’ll walk you to the desk.”

We had barely taken three steps when the elevator behind her opened. I heard his voice before I saw him.

“China, Sierra wants to know if...”

Malcolm stopped. So did I. For years, I had wondered what I would feel when I saw him again. Malcolm Banks had been twenty-nine the last time I touched him. Thirty-five looked good on him. I hated that.

He seemed taller than I remembered. He wore dark gray slacks, a white shirt open at the collar, and an expensive watch. His beard was fuller now. There were faint lines near his eyes that hadn’t been there before. But it was still him. The same man who used to rub circles on my back when I couldn’t sleep. The same man who once knew exactly how I liked my coffee. The same man who sat three rows behind the prosecutor while someone else lied about me. The same man who never visited me. Not once.

His face lost its color.

“Milan.”

I smiled.

“Malcolm.”

China’s arm tightened around mine. None of us said anything. It was almost impressive. Three people with so much history, standing here pretending to be civilized.

Malcolm cleared his throat.

“I didn’t know you were here already.”

“My invitation said check-in started at three.”

His eyes shifted toward China. She immediately started talking.

“I told you she was coming.”

“You said she might.”

“Well, she’s here.”

“I can see that.”

He looked back at me, and I met his eyes. There was a time when Malcolm could look at me and make me forget what I was saying. That woman didn’t exist anymore.

“How was the drive?” he asked.