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“I said it right from the beginning. I like you two together.” Selena beams at me from across the table.
“Thanks. Can you not tell Lily about this?”
“I won’t lie to her if she specifically asks me about it. But otherwise, I won’t mention it.”
“Thanks. I’m glad Jacks found you. I like having a sister. And if I never said it before, thanks for bringing him back home.”
“You’re welcome. I like having another annoying little brother, too.”
When Selena reaches out and ruffles my hair, I tilt my head forward since she can barely reach me across the table. She’s even shorter than Lily, barely over five feet.
“You know you’re less than two years older than me, right?”
“That math doesn’t add up. You’re my much younger little brother. Tell Lily to come over and visit me later so we can gossip about you.”
“I don’t know if I like the idea of the two of you sitting around here gossiping about me.”
“That sounds like a you problem, Jameson. Feel free to gossip with your brother, so Jackson can tell you how wonderful and amazing I am,” she says with a grin.
“Do you and Lily gossip about how wonderful and amazing Jacks and I are?”
“Maybe. But I’ll never tell… Girl Code.” Then Selena walks away cackling at me.
When I head back to Lily’s shop, my hands are full of iced coffees and a paper bag full of breakfast sandwiches and apple fritters. They were the closest thing to apple pie I could find at the bakery.
Talking to Selena didn’t really give me any answers. I just don’t understand how someone as special as Lily could ever doubt how amazing she is. Or how she could ever doubt that I think she’s fucking perfect. Lily’s only ever seemed confident as hell as long as I’ve known her, which is my entire life. But I heard what Selena said about this not being something I can fix just because I want to. If loving Lily and showing her how much I want her is what I’m supposed to do, then I’m definitely the right man for the job.
Lily smiles at me over her shoulder when the bell above the shop door rings, announcing my arrival. She’s helping a woman with long dark hair who has two little kids squirming around her hips, their hands reaching out and then pulling back from touching things. The woman doesn’t look like she’s from around here. She’s definitely from the city. She looks fancy in heels with gold jewelry dripping from her ears, neck, and fingers.
“They’re just plants,” Lily tells the kids. “You can touch them, as long as you’re gentle. Do you have a dog or a cat at home?”
“No. Not yet,” the woman says.
“Okay, sounds like that’s a hard maybe on the pet. You two should work on your mom. Everyone should grow up with a pet.”
“What kind of pet did you have growing up?” The little girl asks. She’s maybe eight or nine, with dark hair like her mom. The little boy is maybe five with dark hair, too.
“My family had a dog. But I had a horse of my very own. I still do. Her name’s Violet. She’s in her twenties now.”
“Wow. Horses live a really long time,” the little girl says slowly.
“They do.”
“Maybe one day we’ll have horses too, guys? But we should probably start smaller.”
“Are you new in town?”
The woman smiles. “Sort of? We just moved here. But I actually grew up in Western Springs. I’m Katherine Fraser. Kat.”
“Fraser? Your parents are Cynthia and Robert Fraser?” I ask, putting the food and coffees on the counter and walking closer.
“Yeah. Do you know them?”
“Everybody knows everybody in this town. Our farm’s right next door. We were real sorry to hear about your dad passing.”
Her face freezes for a second, but then she slaps a smile back on. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you. You’re one of the Waters boys? How many of you are there again? Six?”
“Five,” Lily and I say at the same time.
