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After my weekend with Chris,I had a delicious ache between my legs every time I moved, and his naughty texts were making me ache even more. I tried to ignore my phone while I worked, helping customers and balancing our accounts, but every buzz and ping had me reaching for it, hoping there was another message from him.
The door chimed, and my heart raced again. Chris told me a few hours ago that he had some meetings and inspections before he was going to come by and help at the Sparks later today. I hoped he’d finish an hour early because he wanted to see me as badly as I wanted to see him.
I deserved an Academy Award for my forced cheerfulness when I realized the door chime was Sean. I loved my brother and enjoyed seeing him, but he didn’t stop by very often just to say hello. When he came, he usually had a specific reason.
Paranoia got the better of me for a second. I worried maybe he’d found out about me and Chris and had come to confront me.
It’s probably about the wedding. Calm down, Sav.
His expression didn’t give anything away. He smiled at me, drumming his long fingers on the countertop by the register. “Hey, sis,” he said affectionately. “How was your visit with Penny?”
I shuffled some things around under the counter, trying to look busy and not guilty. “Good, I hadn’t seen her parents in a while, so visiting was nice.”
He stared at me for a few seconds, then he frowned. “Where were you Sunday evening?”
My instinct was to say ‘with Penny,’ But he should have assumed that, so why was he asking?
“Sunday night?” I said, stalling.
“I saw Penny at the grocery store Sunday morning, but you weren’t home for Sunday dinner. Grampa said he thought you were still with Penny, so he didn’t know where you were.” He didn’t seem annoyed or like he was accusing me of anything. He sounded casual enough.
I tilted my head, trying to decipher why he was asking me all these questions. And honestly, feeling a little annoyed myself that he thought he had a right to know. “I was just tired after the trip. Why?”
He narrowed his eyes. Then he shrugged. “I was just wondering. You usually don’t miss it.” He cleared his throat and leaned over the counter, and it seemed like he was letting it go. I let myself take a slow, steady breath as he said, “Nicole has me making the rounds to remind everyone that we’re having our combined night out this weekend.”
“Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me. I’d forgotten about it, honestly. With everything going on.” I gestured to the recent renovations.
Sean glanced around the store. “It looks great in here. Chris is doing a good job.”
“Yep, he’s great.”
He grinned. “You’ve sure changed your tune about him.”
I shrugged. “Can’t hold a grudge against a man that’s making my dreams come true.” As I said it, my whole body tingled with the truth of it. I gestured toward the coffee bar as an afterthought.
“Too right,” he said. “I’m glad you two are getting along again. It really sucked when you were on the outs.” He knocked on the counter. “I was hoping to find him. He went away this weekend, too, you know. To see his mom.”
Chris told me the lie he’d given Sean, but I figured it’d be safer to pretend I didn’t know. “Yeah?”
“You didn’t know?” He lifted an eyebrow. “Huh. He knew you were visiting Penny.”
I cleared my throat and told myself to stay calm. “Chris was here when she invited me.”
“Oh,” he said, but there was something about the way he looked at me that got under my skin. He kept talking. “I was worried about him, going to see her. First time in years. I texted him yesterday, but he didn’t say anything about how it was going. I didn’t want to pry while he was in the thick of it, but I really want to talk to him about it. Make sure he’s okay.”
“You’re a good friend,” I said.
“Not really. I’ve been so wrapped up in wedding stuff, I feel like I’ve let a lot of other things slide. But I’m trying.”
I put my hand over his. “Sean, you’re getting married to the woman of your dreams. You’resupposedto be focused on that right now. This is your time, and it’s alright to be wrapped up in that. It doesn’t make you a bad friend.”
He gave me a soft smile, then he clutched my hand in his. “What about a bad brother?”
“What?” I scoffed.
“I feel like we haven’t really talked lately. And you’re acting . . . I don’t know. Different. Are you sure everything’s okay? You didn’t miss dinner because of anything that’s wrong, right? Or even because you’re worried about Penny, or Grampa? You can talk to me, Sav. I want you to.”
I wanted to tell him right then. The guilt I felt at him worrying about me unnecessarily was twisting my stomach into a knot. But if Chris was right and it would only upset him at first, we could at least tell him together, after the wedding, to reassure him that I knew exactly what I was doing.
