AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Once she’s taken care of the wine, Aunt Lottie turns to me, clasping my shoulders. “All right, let me see you.” She gives me a once over and pulls me into a hug. “I see you make an extra effort for Blair. How come you don’t dress up nice for us when you come over here?”
Lucas snorts as he pours wine, passing the glass to Gemma. She smacks him, and Lottie shoots him a flat look.
Blair laughs quietly, but it’s not as relaxed as usual.
I wrap my arm around her waist, hiding a frown at the tense line of her body. “Aunt Lottie, this is Blair.”
She gives Blair a warm, approving smile. She takes both of her hands. “Blair. It’s wonderful to meet you. We’re glad Devlin’s met someone so lovely.”
“Thanks, it’s great to meet you, too.” Blair directs a look at me from the corner of her eye. “Your home is really nice.”
Gemma comes over and hooks her arm with Blair’s. “Let’s go snack on cheese on the deck. There’s a great sunset this time of year. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera when they had me over last year.”
Blair relaxes as she pulls away from my side. “Sounds perfect.”
The girls disappear on the deck with a platter of cheese and the dog, faithfully circling at their feet in the hope of morsels dropping. Gemma feeds him a piece of cheddar, smiling fondly at the pug dog.
Lucas slaps me on the back, drawing my attention from the girls. “Let them be for a bit. They never get to hang out without us.”
My aunt and uncle commandeer both of us a minute later to help with dinner, delegating us to different tasks.
“So,” Lottie drags out once the mashed potatoes are done. “Tell us about her!”
“I, uh,” I glanced at Lucas for help. He’s got a wide, cocky smile on his face. “Well, we actually used to go to the same school. She was in my third grade art class.”
I swallow thickly at the surprised look all three of them give me. I tug on my ear and push my hand through my hair.
“Wait, Blair?” Lucas clarifies.
“Yeah.” An affectionate smile curves my mouth. “She gave me her star drawings. Neither of us remembered until we recently…became closer.”
Lucas lifts his brows knowingly. He’s aware of the tenacity of our hatred and witnessed the shift at the lake party.
“How sweet,” Aunt Lottie sighs happily, wrapping her arm around me in a half-hug while she cooks. “It was meant to be, then!”
My heart thumps.
When we sit down for dinner, the tension still rolls off Blair in waves. She’s never talkative unless she’s at ease, but she’s quieter than usual. I shoot her a glance as my family digs into the meal.
Lucas, Gemma, and Uncle Ed get lost in a conversation about college while I’m distracted by Blair. She’s been agitated all night.
“What about you, Blair?” Aunt Lottie asks.
“What?”
“Do you have a university picked out yet? What do you want to study?”
Blair turns into a statue beside me. “Not yet. Applications are due soon, though. I haven’t decided, but I’ll probably end up in nursing or maybe accounting.”
Uncle Ed nods. “Smart fields to study.”
Blair’s gaze falls to her plate, a wrinkle marring her forehead. We haven’t talked about it, but when I picture Blair as a nurse or an accountant it feels wrong. Neither of those are her passion.
Not like the number of art and history books she has in her growing collection.
“Did you finish your application submission, Devlin?” Uncle Ed asks, wiping his mouth on a napkin.
“Yeah.”
