Page 23 of Wish You Were Mine
“Are you serious?” Nora gasped, her jaw dropping as she glared at her brother.
“Pretty sure I am,” Ky said with a playful smirk, clearly enjoying the sudden discomfort he’d caused.
“Okay,” Nora said with a shrug. “But just remember that two can play this game, bro.”
“It’s all in good fun, right?” Ky laughed, unbothered.
“Whatever you say,” she muttered, shaking her head before taking a sip of her drink.
Then, not missing a beat, Nora said, “Okay, I’ve got one,” her eyes gleaming with mischief. “Never have I ever painted my bedroom walls with poop.”
Lucy gasped, half-laughing, half-horrified. “Man, I would hope not.”
“That’s a very specific thing to say,” I teased.
Nora smirked, her eyes locking in on Ky. “I think you forgot to take a drink.”
Ky looked at her, narrowing his eyes, but he complied, taking a sip and muttering, “Not cool.”
“I mean,” Nora said, “I could always tell them about the time I walked in your room one night and found you?—”
“Okay, okay, we’ll call a truce,” Ky cut her off quickly, hands raised in surrender. “And in case you’re wondering, I was two and got very creative during naptime, all right? I promise it hasn’t happened since then.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the playful exchange. Gotta love it when siblings hang out in the same friend group.
Is this what it would have been like if Callie, Asher, and I had gotten to hang out as adults? Would we have enjoyed spilling each other’s secrets all for everyone’s entertainment?
A sharp pang of grief hit my chest. How old would Callie be today?
She’d been just twelve when she died, so…twenty-two? Almost twenty-three?
Close to Nora and Lucy’s age. Probably just finishing up college or getting her first real job.
“So…” Nora turned to look at her brother, raising a sculpted eyebrow. “Maybe we’ll let some of our sibling secrets stay secret?”
“I guess.” Ky rolled his eyes. “For now…”
6
LUCY
“You guysstill want to keep playing out here or should we head back inside?” Ky asked after we’d been in the hot tub for about twenty-five minutes, playing the game. “It’s getting pretty close to midnight.”
“I’m good to stay out here a little longer,” Miles said, glancing at his watch. “I’ll need to head back to Ian’s place shortly after midnight if I want any sleep before my drive back to Eden Falls, but it’ll be fun to ring in the New Year with all of you out here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Bash said, glancing at Alessi who I’d noticed him checking out all night.
From what I’d gathered, it sounded like Bash and Alessi had dated briefly a few years ago—back when they were both in college. And while I didn’t have any boyfriends that I was interested in reigniting any sparks with, these two were actually really cute together.
“I’m good to stay out here for a while,” Nora said from beside me. Then looking over at me, she asked, “What about you?”
And even though I was feeling waterlogged from sitting in the hot tub for so long, I knew I’d already teased her enough tonight that I might as well help her stay close to Miles’s side so she could at least have a chance of that hot-tub-kiss dream of hers coming true.
Maybe Miles was into kissing at the strike of twelve?
Though, if Ky was out here when the New Year arrived, Miles might not be the type to kiss his good friend’s little sister right in front of his face.
Maybe I should get out and make up an excuse for why I needed Ky to join me inside?
