Page 89 of Unbidden

Not three or four pictures but closer to fifty.

I trail my fingers over it as I look at his past.

Pictures of him and Tinsley. Of him with Keaton. Of all three of them. Pictures of him holding a baby. Feeding the same baby. My eyes tear up as I get a glimpse into his life before now.

“Tinsley made that for me for my birthday last year.”

I turn to face Reed. “It’s beautiful.”

“Tins is crazy creative. I think she could be an artist of some kind one day.”

“I can see that too.”

Reed takes my hand, leading me to the couch on the other side of the room that I hadn’t even noticed. “Do you still want to watch a movie?”

“Can we talk for a bit?” I say instead.

“Sure. What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”

My heart warms at the term of endearment. He’s been using them a lot lately, and it makes me want to punch myself for not realizing what it meant.

“You’re a great brother for your siblings. Tinsley loves you to death. Was it hard raising them?”

Reed turns towards me on the couch, laying his arm across the back. He begins twirling my hair as he considers his words.

“Yes and no. I suppose raising any child is hard. Was it harder because they’re my siblings? Yes. Many times, they wouldn’t get their way and would threaten to call our parents. They learned much too quickly that it wouldn’t do them any good. My parents were happy to leave me and the nannies here.”

My heart aches for him. My mom was always there for me. She always showed me she loved me. Elijah… well, he’s trying his best. At least he’s here.

“I’m so sorry that your parents abandoned you. No one should have to deal with that.”

He gives me a sad smile. “No one should have to lose a loved one, go into foster care, or deal with dickhead bullies, but life is what it is. There’s no controlling it.”

“That it is. The adversity you face will only make you stronger.”

“So that’s why you’re so strong,” he teases.

“One of the reasons. The other being that I had a strong woman to model myself after. The fact that the people you’re supposed to look up to have all but vanished and left you to survive on your own is a testament to your strength. It takes a lot to love and care for two other children, especially when you were a child yourself.”

“I did what I had to do. I would do it again too. My siblings mean the world to me.”

“That’s one of the things I like about you most. Your loyalty and love for your siblings.”

A full-on smile breaks out on his face. “You like me?”

I roll my eyes, but a smile covers my face as well. “I mean, you’re more tolerable now. Perhaps ‘like’ is too strong a word.”

He moves in closer, wrapping one hand around the side of my neck, pulling me in to him. “I more than like you, Sage Miller. I dream about you. You’ve taken over my mind.”

A goofy grin covers my face. “You like me?”

He chuckles. “That would be the one piece you gather from that. I do. I like you a lot.”

“Actions, Reed. Actions mean more than your words.”

This time, instead of crushing me into a kiss, he takes his time. First kissing each corner of my mouth, moving to my upper lip before switching to my lower. Then he kisses me full-on. After a couple of quick pecks, he deepens the kiss, his tongue tracing the seam of my mouth.

I eagerly grant him access, begging for more by pressing closer to him. Within seconds, I go from sitting next to him to straddling his lap.

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