The door to the restaurant swings open, and in traipses my blond and bubbly baby sister. She laughs brightly as she dusts a substantial amount of snow off her jacket. I swear every pair of male eyes swivel her way, but her attention is firmly locked on her boyfriend, who stands next to her, quiet, calm, and assteadfast as can be. I adore Linus, and I love watching them together.
Linus helps Riley out of her wet coat, and then she finally looks around the room. I stand, waving her over.
She grins as soon as she sees us. With her hand clasped with Linus’, she hurries our way.
Brandon stands, grinning, and yanks her into a bear hug. “Did my sister work you to death?”
Riley gives him a mock scowl. “She’s insane. Every day, Lauren becomes more like her taskmaster boss.Andshe glittered my hair—to add a touch of whimsy, she said. I’ll be washing out sparkles for a month!”
To prove her point, Riley angles her head, letting us take a better look at her hair. Sure enough, there are a few pinpricks of bright light where rogue pieces of glitter must be hiding.
Brandon laughs and clasps Linus’ shoulder, giving him a hearty welcome. We don’t really know Linus all that well—not yet anyway, but it’s hard not to like a guy who turned down a prestigious internship on the east coast because he didn’t want to be that far from Riley.
I watch the exchange between Brandon, my sister, and her boyfriend, and my heart aches. Brandon and I are supposed to be together, but things are always wrong—something is always in the way. At this rate, it might never happen.
Stepping away from Brandon, Riley hugs me too. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” I say, my voice on the abrupt side. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
My sister raises an eyebrow and glances at Brandon. “No reason.”
“We need to talk,” I say under my breath.
I haven’t told Riley about the kiss yet. It seemed too monumental to discuss over the phone, especially when I knew she’d be here today.
Linus is staying in the same hotel that Brandon’s staying at, but Riley is going to crash with me. I can tell her tonight.
The evening passes quickly, though I’m eager to have my sister to myself. She’s the only person I feel completely comfortable talking to, and I have a lot to say.
After taking pictures with half a dozen members of the waitstaff, we finally leave the restaurant. There are several new inches of snow on the ground, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon.
Riley looks up at the dark sky, almost gleeful. “Colorado snow. We are so going snowboarding tomorrow.”
Immediately, Brandon’s eyes find mine. Apparently, I’m not the only one who remembers our last trip.
My sister turns to me. “What do you think? You’re free for the weekend, aren’t you?”
I nod, though I’m not sure I feel up to it.
“Perfect!” Being nice, Riley turns to Sadie. “Do you snowboard?”
“Not really. I’m not very coordinated.” Sadie hugs herself, already shivering. “And I don’t like to be cold.”
Now would be the moment a good boyfriend would put his arm around her, pull her close. Brandon, however, glances at me and hesitates. After several moments, he takes Sadie’s hands and rubs them in his own. It’s an entirely innocent move, but it’s so sweet, it makes me want to cry or throw something. Maybe both.
Sadie smiles up at him, as lovesick as a person can get.
Riley glances at me, unsure how I will react. She needn’t worry. I avert my eyes, purposely ignoring them.
“All right,” Brandon says after a moment, ushering Sadie to the parking lot. “Into the truck. Come on, Harper.”
“I’m going to ride with Riley and Linus,” I say, still not meeting his eyes.
Brandon waits half a moment before he answers, “You sure?”
Finally, I look up. Bad idea. I’m pinned to the spot by his dark blue eyes. “Yeah, you go on.”
He looks like he wants to argue, but he finally nods. I watch as he opens Sadie’s door for her like a gentleman, and I don’t look away until they’re pulling out of the parking lot.
