Page 64 of Just Say Yes

MJ laughed. “Fine. My sister works at the Sugar Bowl, and I wasn’t ready for all the questions yet. My aunt Bug already knows something is up, but at least she isn’t a gossip. The rest of Outtatowner?Woof.Being a hot topic of conversation is the last thing I need right now.”

As I came to a stop sign, I leaned closer to whisper. “Can I let you in on a little secret?”

She turned her face toward me, only inches away. My eyes moved from hers, down to her lips, and back up again.

“It’s not gossip if it’s the truth.” I popped a quick kiss on her surprised mouth and sat back with a satisfied smile. MJ blinked as she stared out the front window. I pointed toward the radio. “Okay, as Passenger Princess, you’re in charge of the music selection.”

Beside me, she grinned. “I think I can handle that.”

A few hours simply wasn’t long enough. We cruised down the highway, making our way toward Chicago. MJ fiddled with the radio, and I learned she liked a mix of pop music, country, and eighties power ballads. We hit a bit of traffic crossing the border from Indiana to Illinois, but I leaned into the extra time it gave us.

My hand found its place on her thigh, and when she didn’t move away, I let it creep just a little higher. “So tell me about your siblings—the ones you grew up with, I mean.”

MJ exhaled. “Well ... there’s not much to tell, I guess. Abel is the oldest. He owns the brewery, mostly keeps to himself. He’s married to Sloane, and she’s got two kids, but Abel loves them like his own. Then there’s Royal.” She chuckled to herself. “He’s always having a good time. Veda keeps him in line, mostly. Whip is a firefighter, and he’s with Emily, our local librarian. I swear, they are the cutest couple ever.” A wistful sigh escaped her lips, and my hand rubbed her thigh. “Sylvie married Duke Sullivan—you met him.”

I nodded, remembering the protective stance he’d taken at the farmers’ market. “He’s definitely got older-brother energy.”

MJ laughed. “He does. He’s a lot like Abel in that way. But he brought Sylvie back to life. He loves her and the family they’ve made with everything he’s got. JP is after her and probably who I am closest with, outside of Syl. He’s always been a little misunderstood. Dad put alotof pressure on him to carry on the family business. He met Hazel, and it was like a light was turned on inside him.”

Her words settled over me. “I like that—a light. It’s nice,” I replied.

The way she talked about them made it clear they were her anchor. Every sibling, every story—it all painted a picture of a family who had weathered storms together and come out stronger. She didn’t just love them, she admired them.

MJ smiled. “So that’s them, I guess.”

Something in the way she mentioned her father stuck with me. She had said before that her father wasn’t a good person. There was more to that story, and I was curious to know what it was. “Sounds like your dad was kind of intense.”

Her eyes flicked to the back seat as if he could overhear our conversation. “It’s extremely complicated.”

I nodded. “Most families are.”

“We aren’t most families.” She gently shook her head and looked out the passenger window. “I should hate him—he was dismissive and cruel and he ki—” She stopped whatever she was about to say and cleared her throat. “I’ve learned he was not at all the man he pretended to be but ... he was still my dad, you know?”

I swallowed hard. Her voice wavered, and I could tell she was holding something back. Whatever it was, it ran deep, like a wound that hadn’t fully healed. I wanted to ask, to take that weight off her shoulders, but I didn’t. MJ would tell me when she was ready—or maybe she wouldn’t.

On some level, I knew what she was talking about. My mother was a saint, but my father? The only memories I had of him were random weekends with random women. I saw the hurt in my mother’s eyes every time there was someone new he wanted me to callMom.

I still carried the shame that I’d done it, simply because I was a child who wanted his approval. It pissed me off, and I had spent my entire adult life secretly trying to make it up to her.

“What about you?” I asked, shifting the focus back to her. “Where do you fit in with all those personalities?”

“Ahh ...” She chuckled and pointed to herself. “Resident baby sister. Part-time comic relief.”

“Really?Huh.” I watched her bristle out of the corner of my eye and tried to suppress a smile.

“What?” I could feel her stare boring into the side of my face.

“I don’t know ...” I lifted a shoulder and tried not to laugh. “It’s nothing.”

MJ turned in her seat, leaning against the door to look at me and crossing her arms. “Well, what is it?”

I did my best not to smile. “I guess you’re just not all that funny.”

A shrill, shocked sound erupted from her throat, and I finally cracked, laughing a hearty chuckle.

“I amhilarious, I’ll have you know.” Her pout was pretty fucking cute. “In fact, if it wasn’t for me, Royal wouldn’t even be all that funny. Nine times out of ten, he just overhears me say something funny and then repeats it louder ... and everyone laughs and laughs at how he’s the funny one.”

It was me who was laughing now. “Maybe your delivery just isn’t that great.”

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