Page 41 of The Last Lavender Sister

Brynn paused and dodged. “Let’s keep walking.”

“If you want.” Aster obliged, and a short while later they found themselves at the entrance of the community park.

“Closed,” Brynn said, eying the sign.

Aster turned, walking backward right past it. “That has never stopped me, and since I’m already behaving recklessly tonight, why not?” She bounced her eyebrows to Brynn, challenging her to follow. Brynn couldn’t come up with a reason not to break laws with sexy Aster Lavender tonight. That’s right. She’d said it. How many chances did she get to do that?

She laughed as she picked up her pace. “You’re corrupting me now.”

“You’ll thank me one day,” Aster called.

Her heart thudded at the sentiment. Exhilaration coursed through her bloodstream. “And where are we off to?”

“Swings.”

Brynn laughed because what a night. Aster went toe-to-toe with her angry brother-in-law and then searched out a playground for a session on the swings. Not that she was opposed. Brynn just hadn’t been on a swing since she was maybe ten. Aster seemed right at home, however. With dark hair bouncing on her back, she jogged over tothe nearby swings and hopped on. Brynn watched as she pumped her legs, established a good pace, and smiled. That did it. The smile was everything and affected Brynn more than anyone else’s smile ever could. She knew why. Because nothing about Aster was manufactured or put on. She simply wasn’t capable of false emotion, and that made everything she communicated important. These swings clearly made her happy, carefree, and that lifted something in Brynn, as well.

“Coming?” Aster called from midswing.

“I think I have to.” Brynn hopped onto the swing next to Aster’s, and in under thirty seconds, she joined her, slicing high through the air, bursting toward the sky full of stars. Their timing was opposite, with Aster swinging forward as Brynn swung back. They passed each other looks and fleeting smiles in what felt like private moments in time, set aside for just them. No one else.

“How’s it feel?” Aster asked.

“Exhilarating,” Brynn admitted. “But I’m a doctor on a swing set, so also a little bit like I’m breaking the adulting rules.” She passed Aster on her way back down. She pumped her legs to sync them up and did in a matter of moments. The joint rhythm, swinging in time with each other, linked her to Aster. In that moment, it felt like the fog cleared. Her stresses all fell away, and it was just them and the night.

“Doctors, probably even more than other people, need to let off a little steam. A good swing set could probably take a decent chunk off a stressed person’s therapy bills.”

“I wouldn’t have believed you until tonight.”

Aster leapt off, impressing Brynn with her ability to gracefully stick the landing like a cat. “But we are breaking rules tonight. This park is closed, remember? And you’re not supposed to be out with me.”

Brynn let her swing slow, having no business attempting Aster’s youthful landing. When her feet touched the ground, she met Aster’s gaze. “True about the park. But why can’t I be out with you?”

“You tell me.”

Oh, that was bait, and Brynn would be smart not to take it. Play dumb. Because the back of her neck was prickling, and her cheeks were warm at the suggestion that she and Aster were forbidden. They were. Her emotions were a hurricane of unexplained feelings anytime she was in Aster’s presence, and time had only amplified that effect. How?Boston Aster came with a new skill set to unnerve her, turn her the hell on, and make her long for things unnamed. Some sort of voice calling to her in the night. Tempting, but dangerous.

And there was Micah.

Her real life. Her sturdy life. The one she depended on for sanity and safety. The risk was low, and wasn’t that just what Brynn craved?

It was not something to be ruined for a sexually tense romp on a playground with a woman she was infatuated with. She closed her eyes, knowing that was an understatement, and brushed the sentiment to the side. What she felt for Aster was not lust alone. Their friendship was deep, and that was the scary part, the component that had her holding Aster at arm’s length. “I don’t think there’s anything to tell. Being with you is not breaking a single rule that I know of.” She boldly walked to Aster, closing the distance between them, prepared to show that she wasn’t afraid of proximity. See? No crazy chemistry here. She swallowed against the energy that swarmed now that they were face-to-face. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket. Correction, Aster’s jacket, that smelled like her and hugged Brynn like the most wonderful glove. “Tell me about your time in Boston.”

Aster’s eyes lit up. “It took a while for me to feel settled and relax, but once classes started, I was so enthralled and focused that I forgot to be nervous. I made a couple of friends, which was really cool.” She nodded as if approving of the memory. “I was surprised to learn how much I didn’t know about food.”

“You seem like you’d enjoy studying.”

“If I admit that, am I a complete nerd? I’m okay with maybe ninety-five percent nerd, but I might be approaching the full one hundred.”

“Join the club. I love to study and learn new things. I miss school.”

Aster seemed enthralled. “Yes. That’s exactly it.” She began to walk in the direction of the playscape, and Brynn followed. “How is it that I’ve lived on this earth three decades and know so little? I want more. I want to know all I can about the things I love. I want to cook for you.”

“What?” That pulled Brynn up short, the non sequitur.

“One day. I want to make you an entire meal made up of things you love.”

“Oh.” She imagined such a night, and her stomach tightened. The image of Aster focused on a series of pans, tossing in ingredients, andpassing her that sideways smile, the one she was known for in Brynn’s mind. She then flashed on the night she had Aster up against the wall of her kitchen as she kissed her face off with their breasts pressed against each other through their clothes, and oh, it was something.

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