Page 63 of The Sweetest Risk

“You don’t have to.” I wince. “It’s in the hallway bathroom. In the medicine cabinet.” Dammit this hurts so bad. The cold water gives me some relief. Never in all my years of baking have I burned myself like this. If only I hadn’t been so distracted. Gosh, why does my mom always have to compare me and Bradley? We are different people and I am successful at my teaching career. Can’t she just be proud of me for that? Although she doesn’t outright say it, I know that she is disappointed in me not staying with Nick. He was stable and provided security for me, just like my dad did for my mom. But, there was no spark there. She doesn’t understand that I want more than what she wants in a relationship.

Tristan appears with the first aid kit. “You haven’t moved an inch.” Then he leans into me and whispers, “Good girl.” My breath hitches slightly. Tristan quickly places a soft kiss on my shoulder, causing shivers to run up and down my body. I look up at him and he winks at me. He knows what he is doing to me and it’s not fair. We aren’t alone, even though I desperately want to be.

I know the water is soothing my burn, but I am still terrified of looking at the damage. I start freaking out, tears leaking from my eyes.

“Just breathe, Cupcake. Everything is going to be okay.” He opens the first aid kit and pulls out some burn cream and has a Q-tip at the ready.

I squeeze my eyes shut. “Do you think it will scar?”

“It might, but scars are sexy.” He swipes some icing off a cupcake and licks it off his finger, reminding me of the very first night we hooked up. He still has that same devious smile and hungry eyes.

“First of all, stop looking at me like that. And second, how long do I have to keep my arm under this water?”

“For the next fifteen minutes.”

“Are you serious? I don’t have fifteen minutes, Tristan. I have to finish icing all the cupcakes, then go freshen up so that my mother doesn’t say anything about my appearance. She already hates this dress that I am wearing for some goddamn reason. Just what she needs is for me to have my dirty apron still on while guests show up – or worse, that on some conspicuous part of my body, there is a drop of batter.” I place my available hand on my forehead and lean over the sink.

“Breathe, Brooke. That’s a lot going on in that head of yours. Look, I’ll help with the cupcakes. As I can recall, I’m decent at that – your words, not mine.”

I sigh. “You’re right. I did train you well.”

“As for that dress…” He wraps his arms around me, nuzzling his face into my neck. He’s distracting me from the pain and I am so grateful.

“Go on,” I say as the water continues to soothe my burning skin.

“Your mother’s fucking insane if she thinks anything is wrong with that dress. You look incredible and beautiful, as always.” He moves my hair and brushes his lips against my neck. He takes hold of my dress by my hips and presses me back against his hard body. This isn’t helping my already flustered state.

“Are you stealing kisses from me, Lawson?” I breathe out, trying to ground myself with the water on my skin. “My parents – or worse, Bradley – could walk in at any second.”

“Your mom is going to take at least another thirty minutes upstairs, your dad is outside getting the chairs and tables set up and Bradley is helping string more lights in the trees.” He licks my neck with the tip of his tongue. “Let me at least kiss my girl like this, since kissing on the lips is off-limits, apparently.”

“The only reason it’s off-limits is because if you do kiss me, I’m not going to want to stop. You are too damn good at it, Hot Shot.”

I hear a not-so-distant, “Hold on, I’ll get it Dad!” coming from outside the french doors that lead out to my parents’ backyard. Reluctantly, I elbow Tristan with my available, non-injured arm to move away from me. This is not the time for Bradley to find his best friend in the world planting kisses along his sister’s very exposed neck.

To be honest, I don’t know when is the right time to tell Bradley about me and Tristan. There may never be one.

Still, I’m not ready for everyone to know. Not that I am ashamed of our relationship. It will just change the dynamic of their friendship and even possibly my relationship with Bradley. No matter how flawed, he’s still my brother and I love him unconditionally.

Tristan realizes that Bradley is coming into the house and pretends like he is busy folding kitchen towels.Smooth, Hot Shot.

“Oh hey, Lawson! I didn’t realize you were already here! I need to grab a tool from the garage and the bluetooth speaker for the music tonight.” After Bradley walks over and shakes hands with Tristan, he directs his gaze to me and my arm under the sink. “Brooke, what the hell happened?”

“I’m fine. I got distracted and burned my wrist. It’s going to be fine.” I have to constantly say those words to believe them for myself. Bradley comes over and twists my arm so he can see my wrist.

“Jesus, what was distracting you?”

“Mom kept pressing me with questions about what I was making and the potholder slipped, but I’ll be okay.” I don’t have the capacity to talk through the real reason I am upset with our mom. Bradley will not understand because he is also part of the problem.

“Brooke.”

I glance over at Tristan as he looks at his watch and declares, “Time’s up.”

“Finally!” I turn off the water and open the drawer next to the sink to get a clean towel. “It doesn’t matter. I got it, Bradley. You better go get the stuff that Dad needs from the garage.”

“Okay, are you sure you’re good? That looks pretty bad, B.”

Now I am even more terrified to assess my own wrist. “Mmm hmmm,” I lie so he will leave me alone.

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