“Wait, Stella’s?”
“Mmhm,” she mumbles, “I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.”
“What about the job?”
“I’ll still do my job. That’s what they’ve hired me for. Oh, wait!” She shakes her head, “Did you know Isaac is her brother!?”
That takes me back for a moment. “Isaac Shaw?”
It clicks a second later that they share the same surname.
“Right!” She blurts the moment she sees the realization on my face. “I didn’t see it before, but they were in the same room together earlier, and I’m surprised we didn’t notice it. They look alike!”
“You saw Isaac?” Unease works through me. I don’t like him anywhere near her, knowing how he looks at her. I’m sure if he knows about us, he’ll work even harder to try and take her from me.
“Well, yeah, he was at the appointment with his freaking sister! Small world, am I right?”
“What did he say?”
She cocks her head with a frown, “Nothing. I mean, I mentioned we were dating now. Was I not supposed to?”
A feeling of dread curls up in my stomach; my past actions coming back to haunt me. Fuck. I need him to stay away from her.
“No,” I swallow thickly, “I just don’t like him near you, is all.”
It’s not a lie, but not the whole truth either. It’s not like Isaac knows what I did, just like Sidney, but the less tangled it gets, the easier it will be to manage.
It’s not even a big deal.
I tell myself that, but I also know that’s a lie too. It’s a betrayal of trust, and I’m not proud of myself.
“It was fine,” Sid shrugs, completely oblivious to my inner freak out, “He didn’t say much. Congratulated us.”
I don’t fucking like it.
“But she loved my idea!” Sidney goes on, watching the blurred lights of the city through the water on the windows. “Approved it all so I can start ordering in all the supplies for the wedding.”
“That’s good, Sid,” my thumb picks at some raw skin at the edge of my nail, “knew you could do it.”
“What’s wrong?” I feel her dark eyes on the side of my face.
“Nothing, baby,” I lie, “Are you ready for the best night of your life?”
“I absolutely just ate my weight in cheese,” Sidney presses her hand to her stomach, shaking her head. “That waiter looked horrified.”
“He just underestimated how much you enjoy cheese,” I laugh. Dinner was perfect, just the two of us in a small, private booth. I’d ordered ahead of time so she could have a little bit of everything on the menu,but that came with a whole cheese platter that she devoured. Not going to lie, it was hot, but that’s a conversation for another time.
Guiding her from the restaurant, I find our car waiting beneath the covered carport, the rain still relentless with its downpour. Once inside the warmth of the vehicle, I take her hand, my thumb rubbing small, soft circles over her knuckles.
“That was nice,” she leans back into the seat, “Thank you.”
I haven’t forgotten about the earlier unease with Isaac. I think it’ll be present in the back of my mind forever, but I’ve pushed it away enough to be able to enjoy this with Sid. I’ve waited so long for it.
The drive to our next destination passes quickly, and when we roll to a stop outside, Sidney’s eyes go wide.
“The gardens?” She whips her head from me to the huge, dome-like building made of glass, golden lights from the inside spilling through the panes. The place has been under maintenance for quite some time, but when we first moved to the city, she used to come here every other weekend to walk the gardens. I always found it humid and wet inside, but I went with her anyway because watching her eyes light up with awe was worth the discomfort of a little humidity. I know the management of the place have been trying their hardest to get the place back open to the public, but after a fire last year, it set their plans back, and Sidney lost hope of ever being able to come here again. She was sure the plants inside had been destroyed by the fire, but I know better. Especially when I’ve been pouring money into its restoration and get monthly updates about what’s going on inside. She has no idea aboutthat, of course, but that didn’t matter. I only did it so that she has her special place back.
“I pulled a favor,” I grin at her, “It’s open for one night only and just for us. No one else will be here.”
