Page 18 of Our Lips Are Sealed
“If someone were watching us, they would never expect you and I to just take off to New Orleans. Going would throw them for a loop,” Jamison replied. “It’s brilliant if you think about it.”
“I don’t think you understand what the word brilliant means,” Annabeth mumbled. “And your reasoning skills suck, Jamison.”
Evie sighed, not believing what she was about to say. But if this was the only way for them to know peace, she had to try. “If I do this, you’ll give Samuel and me a chance? You won’t hate us?”
“I could never hate you, Evie.”
“What about Samuel?”
Jamison took a minute. “I really don’t know.”
Evie squeezed her eyes shut, unsurprised by the answer. Yes, her sister had a father and two brothers that loved her, but those relationships had only begun to strengthen over the last few years and were nowhere close to the same thing as what the two of them shared. She and Jamison clung to one another emotionally, living their lives as if they had no one else.
Jamison also excelled at holding a grudge but would eventually get over what she thought of as a betrayal from Evie. However, forgiveness for her brother would be harder to come by.
Hell, Evie didn’t even know how long it would take her to forgive Samuel either. This new start in their relationship stood on a cracked foundation as is, with both of them dodging the chasms of the past that seemed to open up with every step forward. Jamison’s lack of acceptance and his lying would be just another set of splits in the earth beneath their feet, blocking them from advancing towards any type of future together.
“Get out, I need to pack.”
“I love you.” Jamison hugged her with a squeal of excitement. “We’ll be back by tomorrow afternoon, and you can beg for his forgiveness then.”
“It’s not only Samuel we have to worry about. Ben will have a heart attack when he realizes we’re gone.” Evie rose to stand, forcing her sister to do the same. “And God help us if Simone finds out.”
The three of them shivered in fear at the thought.
“They say it’s better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission,” Annabeth said. “Although, that’s probably not the case when it comes to my mother.”
Squeezing Evie one last time, Jamison strutted off to her room to pack.
“You’re not really going to do this are you?” Annabeth closed the door. “She’s obviously having a breakdown over finding out about you and Samuel.”
The thought of not meeting Judy before her death pricked at Evie’s conscience, but it was just another disappointment in life she would learn to live with.
“Of course not. I’ll grab a couple of things and play pretend. Once we’re on the road, I’ll talk her out of it.”
Chapter 5
SamuelFairweather’shousewasn’tat all like its neighbors in the Firewater development. Sitting on the powder white sand amongst the Mediterranean-style homes, his was more contemporary, with just a hint of flare that kept it in sync with the others.
Liam rang the doorbell at eight sharp, and Samuel greeted him adorned in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He was barefoot, too, with a head of wet hair as if he’d just gotten out of the shower. It was odd to see him this way. Liam had always assumed men like the Fairweathers slept in their suits.
“Let’s get this over with,” Samuel said, with little preamble, and turned to head deeper into the house. “Do you want some coffee?”
“Ah, no.” Liam stepped inside, closing the door as he took everything in. “Maybe later.”
Samuel led him down a long foyer with an ornate floor-to-ceiling mirror at its end. They turned to their right, past a floating staircase, and entered a living room where the entire rear wall was made of glass.
“Wow.”
Running all the way to the second floor, the view stretched out in front of Liam was nothing short of disorienting with the sand, surf, and beachgoers practically sharing the space. “It must feel odd to have that many eyes on you.”
“They can’t see in.” Samuel sat on the couch and gestured for Liam to take the chair across from him. “But you’re not alone. It freaks most people out when they first come over.”
Liam noted the lack of furniture in the living room, the area furnished sparsely with high end utilitarian pieces in black metals and brown leather. A couch, two chairs, and a coffee table. The room didn’t give away much on the man who was meant to belivingin it.
But as Liam turned away from the beach scene, he saw a large alcove in the room’s corner where three surfboards hung on the wall. Beneath the boards sat a cabinet of framed pictures and mementos.
“All that glass is a little unsettling,” Liam admitted, arranging his phone to record. He retrieved the file he planned to use during their discussion. “So, you surf?”
