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“Done.”
I looked up, only to smile when I caught her licking frosting off the knife. She smiled at me, accidentally smearing a little at the corner of her lip. I couldn’t resist. I reached out, murmuring, “You got a little something.”
I took my time brushing the frosting away and watching her gaze go unfocused before I pulled back and popped the dab of pink buttercream into my mouth. Then she focused on my lips, her attention growing so intense I found myself leaning in until we were only inches apart.
Her eyes lifted to mine, and her throat w
orked as she swallowed. The temptation was clear on her face, and it ran so thick through my blood, I was a little surprised we weren’t attacking each other already.
Suddenly, she turned away to open the can of mixed nuts. “You know, I might’ve been saving that frosting for later.”
I tried to laugh at her joke, but it didn’t flow out so well. “But you know me,” I retorted. “If you have food on you, I’m bound to steal it.”
“True.” With that, she held out the can, letting me steal my fill.
“See, you do know me.”
“Don’t take them all,” she scolded when my handful grew heaping. “The guests might want some.”
Remembering there were other people in the house—people who were upsetting Sarah, I said, “Those guests better start treating my sister right or they can kiss my ass.”
“Don’t worry,” she assured me once more. “I have a plan for the little children. They’ll be eating out of Sarah’s hand before the end of the day.”
I lifted a suspicious eyebrow. “You’re smiling a bit too evilly right now. I don’t know whether to be awed or scared.”
“Awed,” she said, quickly running her fingers across the stubble of hair on my jaw. “Always be awed by me.”
“I usually am,” I admitted.
My answer seemed to please her; she beamed out a grin that lit up the entire room. Then she sprinkled nuts onto plates with cake on them and added ice cream before piling them in my arms until I held more than I thought I could possibly handle in one trip. But she loaded just as many plates into her own arms, and then sent me a wink. “Let’s go save this birthday party, shall we?”
For the next twenty minutes, that’s exactly what Reese did. She pretty much single-handedly saved Sarah’s party.
She made sure everyone was fed well and she led us in singing the birthday song. Then she sort of steered the conversation and suggested when it was a good time to open presents.
She and I somehow ended up sitting on the loveseat next to each other as Mom helped Sarah open her gifts. Reese and I had coordinated our present buying to go together. I had gotten a charm bracelet, and Reese had gotten a charm to go on it.
But when Sarah got to Reese’s present and unwrapped it, there were actually two more boxes to unwrap inside that.
I leaned close, scowling. “You got her two things?”
Grinning smugly, Reese swept her hair over her shoulder. “Of course.”
I sniffed. “Suck-up.”
“You know it.” She knocked her knee against mine, proud of herself.
I just shook my head. And then I nearly laughed when Mom saw the makeup kit Reese had gotten my sister. I doubt Mom had ever even considered her baby girl growing up enough to wear makeup. The dread in her expression was priceless.
Reese didn’t seem to mind my mom’s reaction though; she just grinned at me as Mom helped Sarah attach her new charm to her bracelet, and she said, “Do we make a good present-giving team or what?”
She offered me a fist bump, which I couldn’t turn down. We’d just knocked our knuckles together when the door flew open and Satan entered…carrying a huge birthday present wrapped in Mickey Mouse paper.
I stopped breathing, not sure what to do. I wanted to stand up, grab Reese, and haul her out of the house. But then, I didn’t want to leave Sarah and Mom behind with Patricia either. The landlady could be perfectly pleasant whenever she was in the mood, but I had no idea if this was going to be one of those days or not.
I found myself watching Reese’s expression as she studied Patricia from head to toe. She probably wasn’t expecting someone who looked so well put together, but Patricia had style, and it seemed to intimidate Reese.
I pressed my knee to hers, trying to get her to look away or at least look at me. I could almost see every thought in her head as she tried to picture me and Patricia together. It made my stomach churn with unease.
