“Good to know. Sincewelive close by.”
She blushes a little but smiles. Karessa steals a ravioli the moment I have the lid off my meal.
She hums about how delightful it is then pauses to study me. “Did me eating off your plate bother you? Tell the truth.”
The consideration is adorable. “No. I’m a twin, sharing is a thing. Plus, you have yet to see Oran eat.”
Karessa nods while digesting what I said. “Yeah. It’s a habit from having two sisters, but you’d let me know if it bothered you, right?”
“In the nicest way possible,” I promise. “What some more?”
She smiles sheepishly. “Half of one with some lobster.”
I chuckle and give her a whole one with lobster. “What were you doing all day to forget to eat? Or was it one of those ‘let me see if he feeds me tests?’”
Karessa rolls her eyes. “I do not play those kinds of games. Especially not this early on. You’re not used to considering me, I’d me gambling and setting myself up for starvation.”
I point at her plate. “Lucky for you I’m trying,” she averts her gaze to her plate and I go back to my original question. “What were you doing in here?”
“Reading.” A surprised expression transforms my face before I can stop it. “What?” she challenges. “Didn’t think I could read?”
“No. I just didn’t see it as one of the things you did leisurely. It requires you to be still.”
“Ah. You thought I’m this busybody heiress who can’t focus long enough to read.”
Her eyes flick heavenward. I’m assuming she gets stereotyped a lot.
“No. That’s not it. I was at your graduation.”
“I know. It was a week after prom and the gossip amused you.”
It’s true. The rumor mill was on fire after prom. We had a secret child and everything by the time the dance was over. I thought it’d be best if she finished the year with a bang, so I showed up to graduation like a proud boyfriend. Mellie didn’t give me shit because she understood what I was doing. Nothing would have made better news than “perfect” Karessa being stood up for prom. I simply changed the narrative.
“Yes, but I didn’t want you blasted in the media. High school is hard enough without the media reporting every fucking time you breathe wrong. I wasn’t talking about then anyway. I’m talking about when you had honor sashes and gave a speech. You had that little green number on underneath your cap and gown…”
She swallows and her mouth falls open. “You were at my college graduation?”
“Of course. I’d already made it to one, I couldn’t miss the other.” I shrug because it wasn’t a big deal. I was just showing support. “I had to leave after you walked. Some business came up. I just never got around to bringing it up.”
Karessa continues to stare at me like I just changed colors. “You know, I think it’s crazy that we have all these times where if we had slowed down to talk to each other, we could’ve been great friends.”
“I agree.” I grab the wine to open it. “It’s never too late to work on it. You know what’s weirder? You and I were always around each other when Oran was nowhere to be found.”
Her laugh is cute and raspy. “I was beginning to think you two were the same person.”
“Luckily, we’re not,” I let the statement sit between us as I pour her a glass of wine.
We’re relatively silent as we finish our meal, both of us probably thinking of the ways we missed out with the other. I allow myself to wonder what would have been different had I tried to be with Karessa instead of Layla but it’s a pointless thought. We can’t change the past.
“Cake?” I offer, holding the glass container.
She pats her belly. “I’m full. Just one bite.” Karessa leans in to take the bite off my fork, her long lashes brush her cheeks as she closes her eyes and wraps her tasty lips around the cake. She smiles as she chews then licks the cream off her lips.
Fuck. She’s beautiful.
My dick twitches but it’s not the time. I will romance my wife. “Get ready for bed. I’ll clean this up.”
“Okay,” she agrees, then disappears into the bathroom.
