Page 72 of Starry Skies, Stolen Kisses, and My Best Friend's Brother

“I don’t know if I did something wrong or if it’s something else entirely.”

“Chances are it’s you,” he says with a snigger.

I sit across from her and Abi, but Mae won’t meet my eyes.Her fingers tremble a little as she finishes her dinner.It’s definitely me.

I shovel food into my mouth and eat as fast as possible so I can grab Mae, drag her outside, and demand she tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it.

With a sigh, Mom takes the chair beside me, pulling out her planner and pen.She flips through the pages, asking detailed questions about the upcoming events for our hideaway weekend to ensure everything is organized properly.She’s been fairly involved with everything already, and I think she just wants to make sure she hasn’t missed anything.

“Hey, Mae, can we talk?”I ask, trying to catch her eye.

She keeps her gaze on her plate.“Sure, what’s up?”

I glance around.“Maybe somewhere more private.Like the porch.”

She simply nods and follows behind.I gently lift her chin and force her to meet my gaze.Her eyes are ablaze with intensity and emotion.

“What’s wrong?”I ask.

She purses her lips.“You left this morning without saying anything.”

Relief floods my chest.ThisI can fix.I get why she’s angry, but at least it’s something easy.

“I know.The wifi in my cabin went down last night and still wasn’t working when I left this morning.I couldn’t send you a message.I figured you’d make the connection that I was out hiking with Mark and Levi.”

She gives me an incredulous look.“You’ve never gone hiking with them before.Your car was gone.”

I didn’t peg Mae as the controlling I-have-to-know-where-you-are-every-second type.I frown as I think about how to respond to this.It’s not a deal breaker, but I’m also not going to apologize for spending time with my brothers.

“I don’t know what you want me to say.Why are you so angry?”

She presses her lips together, her jaw tight.She looks cute when she’s mad, but she’d probably hit me for saying so.

“I thought you were gone-gone.You told me last night you had something to talk about, and then this morning, you disappeared.I thought you had enough of it here and left.”

“Why would you think that?”This makes no sense.She has no reason to believe that I’d just abandon her.

Her eyes get glassy, and she rubs at them.I don’t want her to start crying, but I do need to understand what’s going on.She sinks onto the porch swing, and I join her.I sit close but not close enough that she’ll want to shove me out of her space.

“Because that’s what you did before.”Her voice is small and sad.“Because that’s what my mom did.”

Images of Mae fill my mind, her sitting alone at the park after school, waiting for a mother who never showed up.How could her mom leave her like that?I clench my fists, feeling the urge to confront the woman and demand answers.But I can’t do that because no one knows where she is.

I reach over and gather Mae into my arms.She doesn’t fight me.I pull her up onto my lap and kiss her temple.I can’t believe I was so insensitive to her past trauma.I didn’t consider what just disappearing for a day might do to her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going and that it caused you to worry about me.I promise you right now that if I ever plan on leaving for more than a few hours, I’ll make sure you know that I’m coming back to you.Because, Mae, I will always come back to you.I want you to know that.I love you, and nothing will change that.I will never leave you.You understand?”I mean every word of it.I’m with her, wherever we end up.

She nods into my chest.“I thought for sure you were gone and were going to text me from Hong Kong or somewhere else without me.I know you feel trapped here and want to go, but I need you to take me with you.”

“You know, ever since you showed up in my life, thoughts of all the places I want to travel to are gone.Well, they’re still there.I just can’t imagine visiting them without you.We’ll figure this thing out with your dad, and then we’ll have a huge wedding right there in that gazebo you love so much.”

She pulls back, disbelief on her face.“Did you just propose to me?”

“Not exactly.I will though.So be prepared.”

“What was the important thing you needed to talk to me about?”Mae says, playing with the buttons on my shirt.

“Oh, it can wait.I want to make sure we have the right information.”

---