Page 90 of Filthy Rich Ex's Brothers

The girls make me shower and dry my hair properly, so the curls aren’t lank and smashed against the side of my face. They do my makeup and put me in a cute sundress I got in Italy, which makes me cry, which makes my mascara run.

God, I’m a fucking mess…

When I’m ready, they stuff me in the Pacifica, roll the windows down, and demand I feel the wind in my hair. Georgia gently sets my camera bag in my lap, and I blink down at it, realizing I left it in the hallway. It’s the longest I’ve gone without holding it in… years?

It feels good in my hands.

We drive for a while, and I doze against Lillie’s shoulder. Eventually, the Pacifica stops, and we emerge into a beautiful park I don’t think I’ve ever been to. In the distance, there’s a pond and a large willow tree draping down toward the ground. The sun is high in the sky, giving the air a hazy quality.

Lillie unpacks a picnic, and we eat together. It’s the first time I’ve had a vegetable in a week, and my body greedily sucks in the nutrients.

When the food is mostly gone, Grayson announces he’s going to look for frogs and rises from the blanket. I stand, too, saying quietly, “I might take some pictures.”

The park reminds me of Graham. And Ryan. And Travis. I see them in everything, which makes me feel a little out of my mind. I’m grieving their loss more than I ever did Alex’s.

With each shot I line up, I feel the pain of their absence. The park is huge, and I have no idea where everyone else went. I just let my feet carry me from place to place. There’s a playground built from wood, made to look like a castle. There are no kids around, but I can hear what the bridge would sound like if someone bounded over it, and I try to capture that feeling in the photo.

After the playground, I find the path down to the water and follow it, zooming in on the lily pads down on the water, then following that zoom over to the weeping willow, which stands tall and creates a canopy.

Through my viewfinder, I see Grayson, standing with his hands outstretched, cupped around something small. Even fromthis far, even without seeing his face, I can tell he’s smiling. A shadow moves into frame—Sid. He takes the frog with gentle movements, walks it to the tree, and sets it down beside the trunk. Grayson says something and walks toward Sid.

Sid turns around, catches Grayson around the waist, and kisses him.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Sid’s hands sliding up under Grayson’s jersey. Their bodies crushing together with a grace of familiarity. This is not a first kiss. This is one of a million, knowing and certain. Comfortable.

Grayson and Sid. It had never—not once—occurred to me.

“Serena.”

I break away from my camera, gasping, realizing I’ve been shooting this whole time, taking picture after picture of them together. It was mesmerizing, beautiful and tender, but I didn’t mean to take the photos.

“What are you—?” Lillie asks, then her gaze shifts over my shoulder. When she sees Grayson and Sid together, far enough that they’d have to strain to see us all the way up here at the top of the hill, she doesn’t look surprised. “Oh,” she says, wincing a little. “Bet they didn’t want you to see them.”

“I—” I swallow, shake my head, my brain still processing. “How long—? You knew—? Are they?—?”

“Come here.” Lillie laughs quietly, tugging me away so the guys won’t hear us. When we get back to the blanket, Lillie announces to Georgia, “Serena saw Sid and Grayson.”

“Oh,” Georgia looks up from her book, squints at me, and says, “Wait, you didn’t know?”

“No.”

“It was so obvious,” Georgia laughs, waving her hand. “Those two have no subtlety. But you’ve also been gone for a few weeks.”

“It’s new?”

“No.” Lillie reaches for another strawberry, drags it through chocolate, then bites into it. “They’ve just gotten lazier with hiding it. I don’t knowwhythey are, not like we’d care. But you know how private Sid is. Just likes to keep things to himself. Whenever they decide to tell us, we figured we’d act surprised for their sake.”

I try to say something, but a garbled noise comes stumbling through instead.

Sid and Grayson.

It’s not what I thought, what I expected. Secretly, I’d always thought it would be Lillie and Sid, Grayson and Georgia.

It’s not what I thought, but it is beautiful. Real. Love I could feel from that far, and through my camera. Art through motion. Throughemotion.

“Is she having a revelation?” Lillie whispers under her breath to Georgia.