Page 61 of With a Broken Wing
I nudged her with my elbow and giggled. “He’s incredible, and he takes care of me.Reallytakes care of me. But also, everything about him is intimidating in the most mind-blowing way. Like when I tell you he’shuge…”
“Oh, I definitely donotwant to hear this!” Auston complained, walking into the room. He turned his attention to me. “Come here.”
Climbing from the couch, I ran to my brother, throwing my arms around him. “I’m okay, I promise. I’m sorry.” I whispered against his chest.
“I know. I forgive you because I’m glad you’re alright, but this is the first time in your life I wasn’t the one to protect you.” His voice sounded pained. “I didn’t like that, but I understood.”
I nodded. “You’ve always been my hero, Auston.”
He laughed. “I think you have a new hero now. I do like the guy, though.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I saw how he acted yesterday when he got rid of Fisher, and I saw it again when he realized you were gone. Does he make you happy?”
“He makes me happier than I’ve ever been. Happier than I ever thought I deserved.” I hugged myself, thinking about being back with Demetri. I missed the smell of oak and mint that meant comfort.
Auston smiled at me, nodding. “Before I forget, I brought your birthday gift.”
He got me the same gift every year. A single cigarette. On our thirteenth birthday, he stole the cigarettes from our grandpa. We smoked them behind the shed, and they made us sick, but we got away with it. It was our little secret. Every year after that, he gave me a cigarette on our birthday.
Auston pulled the stick from behind his ear and handed it to me, producing one for himself from behind the other. “Shall we?” he asked.
I nodded and placed the cigarette between my lips, following him to the balcony. He flicked the lighter, holding it in front of me, and I laughed. As long as we’ve had this tradition, I’ve never been allowed to light it myself.Pretty girls don’t light their own cigarettes.
The smoke filled my lungs when I inhaled, and when I released it, the cloud floated away from us on the breeze. He sighed on his exhale. “If he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”
“I know you will. He won’t hurt me.” I took another long drag, letting the bitter smoke float over my tongue. It dried out my mouth and the buzz sparked behind my eyes. “And I promise to start seeing a therapist again.”
It had been a sensitive subject for us, usually ending in an argument and a slammed door. He was right that it was beneficial, but I didn’t like to make myself vulnerable to a stranger who was just being paid to listen to me. I felt better when I went, though. It helped to sort out my thoughts.
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and let out another breath of smoke. “I know you will.” He hummed before mumbling, “I already asked Demetri to make sure you do, and he promised you would.”
“You’re impossible,” I said, and he shrugged, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and squeezing. “But you’re my favorite brother.”
“I’m your only brother.”
Andy tookanother sip of champagne from her glass, licking the bubbles from her lips. Even under the dim lights in the restaurant, she still glittered. The floor-length pink dress she wore bared most of her back, but the slit in the skirt that cut almost to her hip drew my attention to her legs.
When the waiter sat dessert on the table, she was giddy. Her fingers twitched against the tablecloth as she took in the intricate dessert—a piece of chocolate cake decorated with fresh fruit and curled chocolate shavings. “Happy Birthday” was written on the plate in chocolate they had somehow turned gold.
I slowly dragged my gaze from her bare thigh to her face. “Have I already mentioned how absolutely striking you look tonight?”
“You have, but I could hear it again.” She winked and a smile pulled at her lips. It was a real smile, one that made my heart pound in my chest.Sunshine incarnate.
“You’re breathtaking. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” I raked my teeth over my bottom lip, suppressing the urge to change my mind about the dessert and take her home when she slid the fork from between her lips. “You don’t know what you do to me.Idon’t know what you do to me, sunshine, but fuck… I have never wanted anything more.”
She looked down, a blush tinting her cheeks. “I don’t know what you do to me either, but I like it. You make me happy.”
She picked at the cake until only remnants of frosting and the smudged words were left on the plate. Drawing the fork from her mouth with a slow moan, she sat it on the table. My mouth hung open, and I closed it.
“Okay, you’re being too quiet,” she said with a sinister smirk. “Let’s play a game.” When I laughed, she crinkled her nose and tilted her head.
“What kind of game?” I asked.
“Truth or dare.”
She was grinning, and I couldn’t contain the bursting feeling in my chest. I humored her, remembering the first time we played. “You want to play truth or dare?”
