“Liar.” She hugs my arm, laughing. “Besides, I’m always nice to you.”
We continue to wander around for a bit. Beth finds some crystal jewellery that she makes me buy for her. We join Grams and her friends for coffee, where they thank me profusely for my yearly donation, and then we continue to follow the paths through the centre to see more of the displays. The side we’re on now is where most of the kids’ entertainment is. It’s loud and bright, and I’m half scared I’m going to trample someone with the way the kids run around the place, completely free of thought.
“Who do you think will be first to continue the Heart line?” Beth asks as she watches a little girl in a fairy costume cut across our path.
“Caleb.”
“Seriously?” She snorts. “Why?”
Despite my advice to my older brother to pump the brakes on his feelings for Lex, I know he’s fighting a losing battle.
He’s been distracted since the party, where he found out she’s his new client. I’ve never seen my brother act like this,though. He doesn’t pursue women. He certainly doesn’t lose his mind over them, and lately, he’s seemed nothing but consumed by her.
“Have you not been noticing the same thing I have lately?” I ask.
“With Lex?”
I hum my agreement. “Can you remember a time he’s ever been like this? He’s so scattered, he obsessively checks his phone. I caught him smiling like the biggest cheeseball the other night when he was at The Wayside, and then he bailed after one beer. The man is gone. I only hope it works out for him, because I’m too scared to think of how he might be if he gets his heart broken. The man is completely unaccustomed to not getting his own way.”
“I have a good feeling about them,” she says and pats my arm. “Oh, fairy floss! Buy me some?” Beth flutters her eyelashes as she looks up at me.
“Why am I buying you everything?”
“Because I don’t have a boyfriend to buy me nice things, so I need to rely on my brothers. Isn’t that sad?”
“Not really. You could literally buy anything you want for yourself. You don’t need a man.”
She stops us in the middle of the footpath, looking at me in contemplation before a devious smile crosses her face. “You’re right, Henry. I’m a goddamn billionaire. I can buy myself all the pretty things, and I make no apologies.” She raises her hand for a high five, which I’m about to meet, until she adds, “I do prefer a man for the orgasms, though.”
“Nope, can’t do it.” I drop my hand and storm towards the fairy floss stand to buy my sister her treat.
She catches up to me and loops her arm through mine once more. Over the last ten years, going through the emotions that have ruled me, my family has been a constant pillar of strength with their love.
They are truly the thing that gets me through most days. The Wayside keeps me busy, keeps me feeling in control, another thing that tapers the feeling of helplessness. Same as volunteering and donating to charities. But some days, I still just feel like I’m surviving instead of living. Everything I do is to make up for what I failed at, so I don’t let anyone else down. Will there be a time when that feeling goes away? When I’m not actively trying to be okay, where life is so good, I forget about the parts that hurt?
“Isabelle! What a surprise,” Beth says, making my head swivel in every direction.
There she is, wearingfairy wings. Because, of course, she is.
She finds my sister, and immediate happiness shines through her features until she notices that I’m standing with Beth. She fumbles with a container of sprinkles she’s holding, sending a heap scattering over her table before she steadies the jar.
“Hey, you guys.” She rounds the table that sits under a gazebo decorated with ivy vines and twinkling lights, brushing her hands over her patchwork skirt. It swishes around her, and with every step, my eyes are drawn to the smooth skin of her thighs that peek through, along with the pastel yellow high tops she’s wearing. A denim vest is so tightly moulded to her chest, I’m losing blood to my brain. “Beth, I’m so glad you made it!”
I slowly look down at my sister, who just moments ago acted surprised at seeing Isabelle. Beth giggles and smacks my arm before she lets go of me to hug Isabelle.
“You look gorgeous! Look at your wings,” Beth says as she walks behind Isabelle, looking up and down at the shiny white wings on her back. The gold glitter patterns shimmer every time she turns and catches the light.
“Thank you.” Isabelle smiles. “We’re doing fairy floss and fairy bread, so it seemed fitting.”
“How did you end up manning a station?” I ask. Surely Caleb pays her enough that she doesn’t need a second job. Otherwise, I’ll be having words with my brother.
Those cornflower blue eyes finally look up at me, and it’s like a shot to my heart. Something bright and uplifting ripples through my chest and down my limbs. It’s that settling feeling that seems to happen whenever she directs her attention at me.
“My mum works here, and my sisters and I volunteer for this fundraiser every year. Life Vine was really helpful to my mum.”
My brows crease with her confession, and I instantly want to know more. What happened to her mum that had her seeking aid through Life Vine? Could it have been something Isabelle was affected by, too? If someone fucking hurt her, I need to know who.
“Life Vine does amazing work. Gage is a big supporter, too.”
