“Never mind. I love you, too.”
A long pause ensued, then, “Were you ever going to tell me?”
I closed my eyes as my throat clogged. “I don’t know. Yes. Maybe. Some day.”
“I had no idea before today.”
Tears burned my eyes. I took shallow breaths to ward them off, but they wouldn’t go away. “I’m sorry.”
“There is nothing to be sorry about. You could have told me.”
“I didn’t know how.” The words got caught in my throat, and my vision blurred. I pressed my face against Olivia’s leg so she wouldn’t see me cry. It was pointless. She knew me too well.
“Oh, Gale.” She slid down to lie beside me and pulled me into her arms.
The dam broke. My chest convulsed. It was so stupid. The relief of finally telling my sister caught me off guard. I’d been holding onto this secret for years, to the point of destruction, but I wasn’t alone anymore.
She let me cry, rubbing my back until I managed to pull myself together.
When I settled, she took my face between her hands and kissed my forehead before drying my cheeks. “Why are you crying?”
“I don’t know. Relief?”
“Oh, Gale. All these years, we could have been gossiping about boys.”
I snorted a wet laugh. “What was I thinking?”
“But seriously. You and Ozrik? Are you two a thing? Since when?”
“Since—”
She gasped, cutting me off. “Since you ditched the Jeep.”
I nodded. “He kissed me. It… was a surprise. I wasn’t… I didn’t… He saw through me. No one has ever seen through me, and it freaked me out.”
“That’s why you were upset when I found you.”
“Yeah. We’ve met up a few times since.”
“I always thought he was a jerk. Please tell me he’s not a jerk, or I will kick his ass.”
“He’s not so bad.”
“If that changes, let me know.”
“I can fight my own battles.”
She snorted. “Since when?”
I pinched her and shoved her away. “You brat.”
We both dissolved into laughter. When it calmed, she tugged me close again. “Are you okay?”
“I’m not ready to fully come out.”
“That’s fine. Who all knows? Does Dad know?”
“He suspects. I’ve never confirmed it. Noah knows. He… walked in on us this morning.”
