Page 19 of Not As Advertised

I hated how much I liked that I had the ability to give her these little moments of pleasure. I collected snapshots of times our skin touched over the weeks. Small brushes past each other in meeting rooms, when I held doors for her or, like now, a quick clasp of her hand while helping her out of the car.

Shutting the car door, I tapped the roof to signal “goodbye” to our driver for the time being and then followed Abbie into the shop. She stopped just inside, not knowing what Claire looked like, and stepped aside to let me survey the patrons sitting in the shop.

Claire had not arrived yet. I saw a stylized booth near the back of the shop that would likely be the most comfortable, and quietest, place to sit.

Now that I was faced with the idea of sending Abbie to her own table—to what? Stare at her phone for an hour? It felt wrong to exclude her.

It wasn’t as if Claire would reveal anything terribly private about me. I hoped, anyway. Claire was the wild card of the family.

I turned to face Abbie and found her marveling at all the desserts behind the glass case at the center of the store.

I couldn’t care less about sweets, but I enjoyed the way she had a literal kid-in-a-candy-shop kind of excitement in her eyes. I pulled a black card from my wallet.

“Abbie, why don’t you find out what they recommend at the counter while I grab that table with the green bench at the back?” I handed over the card for her to pay. “You should sit with us. It would be rude to ask you to sit on your own.”

“Oh. Nooo. That’s okay. There’s a couple tables up front that are open. I don’t want to intrude.” She shook her head. Abbie was unfailingly polite. I could imagine she thought she might be intruding.

Without realizing what I was doing, I put my hand on top of hers, which was still suspended in the air. She held my card aloft as if she expected me to take it back. Abbie’s mouth snapped shut.

“Seriously. It’s fine. I’d like you to sit with us. You’ll like Claire and vice versa. She’s the free spirit of the family. I only hope she keeps the embarrassing stories to a minimum. You know how siblings can be.”

“Not really. I’m an only child. But I have an idea.” An uncertain smile lingered on her face. Did she think I didn’t want her there?

“Please. I want you to. Order whatever they suggest, okay?” I said, squeezing her hand once before letting my hand drop.

“Okay.” She dipped her chin in agreement.

I motioned for her to go ahead to the counter before I walked to the back of the store to claim our table.

There were several people ahead of Abbie in line, so I settled into one side of a booth to review my emails. I’d barely opened my inbox before I heard a familiar voice.

“Aiden!”

Raising my gaze to the front of the café, I saw my sister coming toward me. I waved as I cataloged any potential changes in Claire in the weeks I’d been gone. She appeared as healthy and happy as when I’d left her.

Many years as a student had gifted her a low-key style of cutoff shorts and a tank top with some sort of lightweight scarf around her neck to protect her skin from the early summer sun. Her eyes sparkled with excitement the closer she got to reaching me.

It wasn’t until I stood from the bench that I realized there was a hulking, dark-haired shadow trailing her dutifully. Heath, Claire’s best friend since third grade, had come along as well. Claire hadn’t mentioned Heath coming, but after this many years, I should have expected it. I gave Heath a sharp head nod “hello” and received one in kind.

Focusing back on Claire, I opened my arms, and she stepped forward and wrapped hers around me in a tight hug. God, I had missed her. It was good to see for myself that she was fine and taking care of herself. It was one thing to hear her say she was doing well. It was another to see it with my own eyes.

I would never admit it aloud, but Claire held such a tender part of my heart. I’d never get over feeling overprotective of her.

“It’s good to see you, Aiden. I’ve missed you!”

Letting Claire go with reluctance, the three of us sat down in the booth.

We were a tight-knit group, unused to the distance of even the few hours between LA and Amado. I was accustomed to Sunday meals at my mom’s or Isabel’s home, not brief visits in cafés full of strangers.

My chest pinched at the thought of only seeing them a few times a year. I had to remind myself that I left LA for the financial security that Appealwould provide.

With Claire sitting across from me, the sacrifice of missing them seemed even bigger. At the same time, the need to have the financial means to protect my family sat heavily in my chest. I would feel like I failed them if I moved back to LA into a job that paid less, just to be close to them again. The separation was the cost I had to pay. At least they still had each other.

Abbie returned to the table, pulling me from my thoughts. Her arms were empty.

“Hi. Um, yeah. So I may have gone a bit overboard with the order.” She lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “One of the staff will deliver everything when it’s ready.”

Claire’s face registered confusion, followed by keen interest, as she directed her gaze over to me. I hoped she would rein in her mischievous tendencies for this short visit, but I feared it was unlikely.

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