Page 102 of Reckless Hearts
“Yep. It’s fine.”
I scrub at a particularly stubborn grease spot, the rhythmic motion oddly soothing.
“Did you see the cricket match against Australia?” he asks.
“No. I didn’t watch it.”
Silence settles between us as we clean.
I hear the sound of the door to the deck opening, and Saskia comes out, chatting into her phone with a large smile.
She heads over to us.
“Say hi to Seb and Dad,” she orders, flashing the screen in my face.
My stomach clenches. It’s Marcus.
He’s sitting on his outside couch by his pool. The one time I visited him in LA, we had incredible sex on that couch, ending in a tangled, sweaty mess of limbs and sun-warmed cushions, the LA heat making everything feel languid and dreamlike.
“Hi, everyone,” Marcus says.
“Uh…hi,” I manage.
Saskia smirks as she pulls her phone away from me.
“You’ve got to help me persuade Seb to go out with my colleague’s little brother. He’s an optometrist, and I think he’d be perfect for Seb.”
“Well, you would get free optometry care, which would be a perk,” Marcus says.
I swallow the lump in my throat.
“I’m not sure if I plan on dating someone just to reduce my optometry bill,” I say, trying to match his light tone.
“At least he’ll always see eye to eye with you,” Marcus says.
Saskia laughs. “He does sound fairly spec-tacular, doesn’t he?”
Marcus’s low chuckle comes out of the phone and hollows my stomach. I’m so used to that chuckle now that part of me believes it belongs to me.
“Anyway, come and say hi to Mum and see the remnants of the amazing pavlova we just had for dessert.” Saskia heads back inside, leaving my father and me alone together.
For a minute the only sound is the scraping as Dad methodically cleans each grate.
Finally, he breaks the silence. “Have you had any contact with Marcus since Fiji?”
My cheeks heat.
“Um…yeah. We’re in touch,” I mutter.
Dad just shakes his head. Then we go back to cleaning the BBQ in silence.
Why don’t I want Saskia to know Marcus and I are in a relationship?
Because I know that somehow, Saskia will force him to choose between us.
And I’m worried Marcus will choose Saskia. I’m worried he’ll be like my parents. My gorgeous, charming sister has always been the brighter star, outshining everyone around her.
Even after all this time messaging constantly, spending time together whenever we can, I can’t make myself believe Marcus would choose me.
