For a few seconds, none of us spoke.
“So, what were you two talking about?” Mila eventually asked.
“Sebastian was just asking me about my instruments.”
“Really?” Her voice jumped an octave. “That’s interesting.”
“Don’t, Mila,” Sebastian said quietly, almost pleading.
“Don’t, what?” I asked, suddenly aware I had missed something.
“You play the piano, and my little brother here,” she said, shooting him a sideways look. “He sings.”
“You do?” It burst out of me. All the songs I wanted to hear him sing rushed through my mind at once.
“Iusedto.” His fingers tapped against the table. He shifted his head left and right as if weighing how much he could say before glaring at Mila. “And I’d appreciate not being forced into this conversation.”
“Oh, come on. It’s old news,” Mila nudged his shoulder, her laugh a little too forced. “He tried to go pro a few years ago, but it didn’t work out the way he’d hoped, and?—”
“Mila!” he snapped. “Could you pleaseshut up?” His voice rose loud enough that the chatter around us quieted, drawingthe attention of everyone to us. His legs bounced hard enough that I could feel the floor vibrate.
The three of us sat there, Mila hiding behind her hand for a moment before flashing a quick smile and waving at the others. Gradually, they all turned back to their conversations.
“I’m sorry about my brother,” she said to me. “He used to be more open about it.”
Sebastian turned away but stayed seated, almost as if he was forcing himself not to storm off. Whatever had happened, he clearly wasn’t ready to talk about it—at least not with his family around.
“You know what,” I said, pushing back from the table. I wasn’t interested in getting between them now. They clearly had things to work out. “I’ll leave you two to it, so you can fulfill your duties.” I gave them both a nod, but let my gaze linger on Sebastian a little longer. “We’ll talk later.”
I turned around and walked away. I lost Sebastian’s voice in the chatter—or maybe he stopped talking altogether. I couldn’t tell because the moment I stepped away, the noise crashed in on me like a tsunami. I hadn’t realized how much his voice had grounded me, how it allowed me to stay in a room I would have fled after a few minutes if he hadn’t been there. But now that our conversation had ended, the chatter felt twice as loud, pressing in from every direction.
I needed some air and a minute to steady myself.Damn. I liked Mila, but why did she have to interrupt us right when things were getting good?
