Page 23 of Unveiled Wishes

I’d spent the drive to the airport thinking about this morning. I had seen none of this coming, and it made me wonder: had I missed it all those years ago, or had I just put blinders on because I didn’t want to question it? Either way, it didn’t matter. I could see it all clearly now.

My best friend wanted my sister, and surprisingly, I was okay with that. If it had been any other brother, my fists might have clenched just at the thought. My loyalty ran through my blood, and I didn’t have a problem laying down my life for any of them. However, I could name at least four brothers who were complete assholes. I wouldn’t want that for Em. Zook would take care of her, and that was all I could ask for. If I was wrong, and he mistreated her, I’d step in and beat his ass.

My lips smirked as I thought about ways I could play matchmaker. My sister wouldn’t rock the boat. She kept saying that she was here to visit me for Christmas, but I didn’t thinkshe was being honest with herself. Zook wouldn’t make a move because he didn’t want to be the reason that her visit didn’t go well. Christmas was the season of miracles. If that didn’t work, I could always use the mistletoe that was hanging on the kitchen door to my advantage.

I was watching the escalator when I saw her at the top. Emily. My kid sister was no longer a kid. She wore a navy-blue blazer with a cream blouse underneath, and jeans with at least four-inch heels. The gold chain with the blue star I had bought her for her eighteenth birthday hung from her neck.

She was on her way down when she caught sight of me. Shifting her winter coat to her other arm, she waved. “Eric!”

I couldn’t help but smile, glad that she was here. Zook’s discharge had come first, and I had made him promise to stick around the base so that I could find him. The day I had officially completed my military service, I had walked out of the base with my duffle bag slung over my shoulder. Zook had been sitting on his bike on the side of the road.

“I heard they were letting the riff-raff out today,” he’d said.

“Yeah, even the military lets go of the scoundrels,” I had replied, smiling as I walked over to him.

I’d climbed on the back of his bike and told him to take me to the dealership. I had bought a bike with cash, and we had hit the road. We hadn’t had any plans, letting the open road decide where we were heading. I could have pulled money from my trust fund, but I had worked odd jobs alongside Zook. It had been the best thing to do as we adjusted to civilian life. We had been working on a construction crew when we heard about the Iron Shield, and the rest was history.

“Em!” I waved back at her, waiting for her to step off the escalator. She walked towards me, wheeling her suitcase, still waving her arm around. I had kept in touch with the occasional phone call or text, but I hadn’t been to New York to see her.Reaching me, she dropped everything to wrap her arms around my back, and I held her close to me. “I missed you, Em. I am so glad you’re here,” I whispered into her ear.

“I am glad I am here, too. It’s been too long,” she said.

“Let’s get out of here. You hungry?” I reached for her suitcase, and she let me grasp the handle as we walked towards the parking garage.

“I could eat,” she said, walking next to me.

I took her to the club’s diner, making small talk on the way there. She told me about the latest New York gossip, and I interjected every now and again. We’d finished cheeseburgers and fries, and now we were relaxing in the booth. I was trying to build up my courage to ask her what I wanted to know.

Finally, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Hey Em? What’s going on with Christopher and the Nelsons?”

“Why do you want to know?” she replied, taking a sip of her soda.

“I thought it was suspicious when you called out of the blue and asked to visit. Don’t get me wrong, I love having you here, but I have to know that you’re alright.” I leaned forward in the booth, trying to invade her space so that she’d talk to me.

“Do you feel guilty that I am still on the path that was set out for me?” Her eyes avoided mine, focusing instead on the way her finger twirled around the top of the plastic glass.

“Yes. No. Maybe. I am not really sure, but I know that something doesn’t feel right, and if I can help, I am going to stick my nose in it.” Suddenly, my mouth was dry. I took a sip of my soda.

“Did you see the article the Nelsons had published in the newspaper about our engagement and the merger?” she asked, raising her head.

“Yeah. Cyph keeps track of any information that pertains to the brothers. He got a hit on the article because of the company.” I took another sip, letting her lead the conversation.

“He never asked me to marry him. Christopher assumed it was time, and the parental units weren’t in town. The Nelsons put that piece out, which is why it didn’t have a picture. I went with it because I wasn’t sure what to do, but I called it off after Thanksgiving. He’s been pressuring me ever since.” She shifted in the booth.

“I wish I would have been there to beat his ass.” Christopher wouldn’t have stood a chance. The only violence he’d ever seen was when that water polo ball had broken his nose in high school.

“No,” she said. “It would have only made it worse, and I took care of it. I told him no, and if Mom and Dad wanted the merger to go through, there were plenty of legal ways to complete the mission.” She took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to put a happy face on for their holiday party, so I called you.” Her lips quirked into a smile at the edges, and I felt mine doing the same thing. As her smile widened, so did mine. If she didn’t want Zook, I’d try to talk her into at least moving here so that I could see her regularly.

“There’s something else I have to know,” I said to her. “What’s going on between you and Zook?”

Her smile disappeared. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Emily tilted her chin in defiance.

“You don’t have to protect him. I knew you wrote him letters and sent care packages, but he never told me he caught feelings over the words. It came out this morning over breakfast, and I didn’t see that coming.” I wiped my lips with my napkin for something to do.

“What are you doing right now?” She wrapped her arms around herself.

“I want to know what happened.”

“Nothing happened. He asked if I would write to him, and I did. When the two of you left the military, the letters stopped.” She raised her chin again, trying to protect herself.

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