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"We dated as kids that age do. You know..." his voice trails and I realize he's waiting for me to acknowledge the statement.
"I haven't dated much." I blush. "I'm not sure I know."
"We went to the movies and hung out with friends." His eyes are searching mine for some understanding. It's so long ago. I don't want him to tell me she was his first. I can't shoulder that knowledge. I don't want my heart to belong to his first lover.
"We kissed and held hands. We didn't do anything else."
I breathe in a heavy sigh of relief at the admission. "Yes," I whisper. "I understand."
"It was volatile and we argued. Teenagers are unpredictable." He laughs. "We broke up and got back together so many times I lost track."
I smile at the statement. I've seen brief flashes of his anger and I can imagine how that would blend with an equally temperamental redhead.
"I spent so much time at her house that I became part of her family. They helped me a lot after she died."
"What's her family like?" I ask boldly. Ever since I found out I had Coral's heart I keep flashing to her parents.
"Her mom is amazing." A wide smile takes over his face. "She's great."
I take comfort in the words. "What about her dad?"
"He died a few years ago." His gaze falls past me into the air behind me. "He had a weak heart. It didn't last long after we lost Coral."
We. The word is bittersweet. He lost Coral too. Even if they weren't as close as I thought they were. He cared deeply for her. Obviously many people did.
"Did she have siblings?"
"Two." He shifts slightly so there's more distance between us. "A brother and a sister."
"I have a brother too," I offer. "He's a jerk."
He smiles. "Coral's is too."
"What about her sister?" I've always secretly longed for a sister. Alexa is like a sister to me but it's still not quite the same as growing up beside another girl.
"Christina." He sucks in a heavy, throaty breath. "She's a year younger than Coral was."
"What's she like?"
"She's spoiled," he says tightly. "Pretentious and expectant."
"I take it you don't get along," I joke.
"We do." He closes his eyes as he pulls the knot of his tie looser. "She's just difficult sometimes. Often, very difficult."
"Do you still see them all regularly?" I ask already knowing the answer to the question. His friendship with Jax, Coral's cousin, is evidence enough of his bond to her family.
"Fairly regularly." He offers nothing beyond that.
"I'd like to meet them." I shove my hair back behind my ear. "I think I should meet them."
I feel his body tense next to mine. "No. That won't work." His tone is dismissive and terse.
"Why not?" I raise my voice slightly. "You wanted to meet me. They probably do too."
"Coral's death was devastating to all of them." He pulls his fist across his thigh. "You'd just be opening up old wounds."
The comment hurts. I have a part of someone they love inside of me. How could they not want to meet me as much as I wanted to meet them?
