Page 110 of Brighter Together

Then, surprisingly, he pours the tea himself.

Lee does not make tea.

Lee expects tea to appear.

He sets a cup in front of Tommy and another in front of me.

His fingers linger against the saucer.

“Still milk, no sugar?”

“Thanks.” I nod.

His smile is tiny.

Nobody else would notice anything wrong with it but I do.

My leg begins bouncing beneath the table.

I press both feet flat against the floor.

Stop it.

After a few minutes of introduction, the room darkens.

The presentation starts.

Tommy places his hand on my thigh beneath the table.

Not possessive.

Not sexual.

Just there.

I place my hand over his.

For a moment, it helps.

Then my drawings appear on the screen.

My breath catches.

They have done a beautiful job with the 3D render.

The original sketches have been transformed into something that looks almost real.

The new wing sits naturally against the Victorian stone.

The library opens into the gardens exactly as I imagined.

The new bridal suite has the best view over the lake.

It is good.

Really good.

And for one horrible second, pride swells in my chest.