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I reach across the island to pat her hand. “It’s fine, Char, you know that. What’s going on, Marcus still isn’t ready?” She’s told me about Marcus’s reluctance to have a baby and he won’t say why except that he’s not ready.
“No. He keeps finding reasons not to and it’s starting to sound like they’re just excuses,” she says, anguish on her face. I hurt for her, knowing how much she wants a big family.
“Do you want me to speak to him? Find out what the issue is?” So far I’ve managed not to get involved in their personal business but I can’t sit back and watch Charlotte hurting without doing anything.
She bites on her lower lip as she does when she’s stressed. “Not now. Let’s give it a bit more time. You know how Marcus is about sharing personal stuff, even with you.”
“I know.” My brother is a very private person. He’s always been that way. Every morning before we entered school, he would grip my arm and remind me not to talk about my home life or the state in which we had left our mother that morning. Some of it was to keep social services from snooping into our business and removing us from home. The other was pride. Marcus didn’t want pity from anyone.
Charlotte smiles and squeezes my hand. “Thank you. You’re the best sister a girl could ask for. Now tell me your news. How is it working undercover?”
I groan but before I can answer, the front door opens and heavy footsteps come our way.
“Honey, I’m home,” Marcus bellows and Charlotte and I both laugh.
“Does he always shout like that?” My mind conjures up a vision of Jace coming home and calling out for me.Olivia, I’m home. I’d be in the kitchen preparing dinner and I’d turn around, ready to give him a welcoming hug, which of course would grow heated. He’d carry me to the bedroom, dinner forgotten.
“Always,” she says just as Marcus appears.
My face heats up at the turn of my thoughts. I swivel the bar stool and stand up, my heart filling with love at the sight of my big brother.
“Livia,” he says, a huge grin plastering his face. He comes and gathers me into a bear hug.
I’m not a petite person but Marcus is huge. He envelops me in pure love and then draws back to inspect my face. When he’s satisfied, he kisses my cheek and lets me go. One thing that I’ve never been short of is love. Even when he was a teenager, he never failed to express his love for me, as if he instinctively knew that I needed it.
Only when I grew up did I question who did the same for him. No one. Until Charlotte came into his life. I love this woman both for the person she is and the joy she’s brought into Marcus’s life.
“I’ve missed you, kiddo,” he says and pinches the bridge of my nose.
“I’ve missed you too,” I tell him.
He goes to Charlotte and envelops her in the same bear hug, then he kisses her and for a few seconds, I feel like an intruder as they share a private moment, momentarily forgetting that there’s a spectator. I look away, my mind automatically moving to Jace.
I check my phone. He hasn’t called or texted, which means that he’s still in the meeting. A frightening thought jumps to my mind. What if the meeting was about me? What if one of his brothers had discovered that I’m an impostor? Fear races through me and my hands become clammy.
Get a grip.
“Hey, what is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Marcus says, coming to sit across from me on the island.
I try to smile but it comes out like a grimace. “I left Jace in a meeting with his brothers and I’m becoming paranoid about my assignment.”
Marcus and Charlotte look at me with concern. “If it’s too much, talk to Amelia.” Marcus’s forehead is creased with worry.
I shake my head. “I can’t. This is my one big chance to prove that I can do more than gossip articles. I’m just tired from the weekend, I guess.”
“I thought it was a weekend away,” Charlotte says.
It does sound ridiculous to be tired after what was a romantic getaway. Luana Bay was perfect until our blurry picture appeared online. It brought home the hole I’d dug myself into. Just sex indeed. Who was I kidding? You couldn’t not have feelings for Jace. He’s everything a woman would want in a man. Or rather exactly what I want in a man. My brother clears his throat. They are still waiting for a response.
“It was and it was awesome.” I didn’t plan on telling them anything but I find the whole story pouring out of me.
Marcus stares at me wordlessly when I finish.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I tell him. “Like you don’t know me anymore. I didn’t plan on having feelings for him.”
“It’s not that,” he says softly. “It’s just hit me that my little sister is a grown woman. A woman who can make the decision to keep things purely physical with a man. That’s hard to swallow, sis.”
“I shouldn’t have told you,” I say, instantly guilty. I should have known that it would be awkward for Marcus.
