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Rather than coming over like I hoped, he strode straight for the counter. Jess handed him a wrapped sandwich and a bottled juice and I let that breath out slowly, feeling disappointment lick up my spine.I was right to keep my mouth shut, he isn’t ready for anything else yet.
I turned back to June, keeping my expression as neutral as possible, like something massive hadn’t just occurred with something as simple as a takeaway lunch.
A shadow fell over the table.“Can I sit here, princess?” Mal’s words washed over me. June’s eyebrows lifted and her lips silently shaped the nickname.
He was nervous. Cheeks flushed, weight shifting from foot to foot.“Of… of course.” My voice wavered. It felt like high school all over again. I sensed every pair of eyes in the room on us as he took the seat beside me, arm wrapping around the back of my chair until his fingers laid flush with my shoulder. June must have read his tension, because she greeted him quickly, then fell easily into a description of the bathroom remodelling she was going ahead with at the guest house (without her mother’s permission). Mal fidgeted the entire time, fingers tapping against my shoulder while he silently sipped a bottle of orange juice. I laid a hand on his thigh and it seemed to help, the tension easing from him in slow increments.
As soon as we finished our drinks, we said goodbye to June on the high street. She threw Mal a wink before stalking away, so it was safe to saythisMacabe brother had her approval at least.
“You’re in the car park?” Mal asked once we were alone. I nodded and he took my hand.“I’ll walk with you.” A few locals paused to acknowledge us along the way, glancing at our joined hands and whispering as they hurried away.
I held our hands aloft.“The entire village will be gossiping by sundown.”
He pulled me even closer, arm slipping around my shoulders as he nipped at my earlobe.“Good.”
My laugh held delight, but it quickly sobered.“Soon it won’t only be the locals,” I warned, needing him to be aware of all the facts. It would only be a matter of time before pictures of us spread online, untrue stories in the paper. That was just how it went.
He nodded, gaze unwavering.“I know, I understand.”
I wasn’t certain he did, but I couldn’t bring myself to spoil the moment, so I said instead,“Dinner tonight?”
“Definitely. It’s my turn to cook.”
“Hmm.” I turned to him playfully, biting my lip as I backed against my car, slowly dragging my hands up his chest.“Dinner and then a bath, I think.”
“Christ.”He dropped a hot kiss on my lips, moulding my back to the metal.“Get out of here, princess. I’ll see you at home.”
Home.The word wrapped around me like a warm blanket.“See you at home,” I echoed.
29
MAL
Daylight – Taylor Swift
“Everyone’s talking about your performance in the café the other morning,” were the first words out of my sister’s mouth as she climbed from her car.
On my knees, I didn’t look up from my task of replacing the hinge on the dunnage door.“It wasn’t a performance,” I said. It wasn’t.Hell, maybe it was. In Brown’s, I’d been seconds away from doing my usual: grab my takeout and run before I made eye contact with anyone. Then I heard April’s laugh and I wanted to sit beside her—I wanted people to know thatIwas the one who got to sit with her, no matter how temporary my place may be. Then I’d pressed her up against the door of her car and kissed her until we were about ready to climb each other. It was some real alpha-male shit.
“I know that. But people are talking like you had sex on top of the sandwich selection.”
I tossed my screwdriver into the dry earth.“Damnvillage. Maybe if they put this much energy into their own lives, they wouldn’t be unhappy enough to spread gossip.”
Heather leaned her hip off the door, keys still jangling between her fingers.“I agree, I’m just glad to be free of their wagging tongues for a few weeks.”
I frowned. I didn’t realise Heather had been the subject of gossip. Not much happened around these parts, and while small communities could be an irreplaceable support system, they also lived by traditional values.Of courseanyone who fell outside of that would be the subject of talk.“I’m sorry,” I said.
“For what?”
“Not being a better brother.”
Her lips parted and for the first time in her life, my baby sister didn’t know what to say. She threw her arms around my neck and I stood, pulling her to me until my chin sat atop her head.“You’re a wonderful brother, you know that, right? The only thing I want is for you to allow yourself to be happy.”
“I’m getting there,” I promised, throat tightening at the thought of the redhead who’d turned my world upside down in only a few short weeks.“I don’t want April overhearing whatever crap they’re spreading.”
Heather pulled back and tapped my shoulder.“She’s a big girl, I think she’ll find it amusing.”
Maybe.Hopefully.
