Page 73 of Always a Roommate
“I’m serious. Who gets to say whatever is happening between you guys isn’t real? I saw the way you looked at her a few minutes ago, and I also saw the way she looked at you. You two are some of the most important people in my life. I always hoped one of my brothers would realize how amazing she is. I just never imagined it would be you.”
“Rae is…” What was she? Kind. Smart. Funny. So beautiful it was hard to breathe.
Finley nodded as if she’d read my mind. “She is.” A tear tracked down her cheek.
“Please don’t tell me you’re going to cry over this. I never even admitted to anything.”
She sniffled. “I’m sorry, this is just like a dream come true.”
“Fin.” I groaned. “Stop.”
“You and Rae.”
“There is no me and Rae.”
“My big brother is in love.”
“No.”
She reached into my glove compartment for a tissue to wipe her nose.
“I’m taking you back,” I grumbled, pulling out onto the road.
“I’m going to be the maid of honor in your wedding.”
I sighed. “How did I get stuck with you as my sister?”
“Luck. Pure dumb luck.”
“Yeah, yeah, just stop crying.”
“I will when you tell her how you feel.”
Oh, so we were at emotional blackmail now. When I looked at her, she was smiling. My diabolical sister. “Get that thought right out of your head.”
When we got back to the Hut, I found Knox inside with my mom. “My sister is your problem,” I said.
“Shane,” my mom chastised.
I leveled a stare at her. “And it’s your fault for birthing her.”
Then, I stalked away, right past a laughing Rae.
29
RAE
“This is only possible because of Shane.”
Tanner’s words trailed me for the next few days as I prepared the final touches to Drew and Lola’s wedding.
“He backed out of the house sale and forced me to take the down payment money.”
Fifty thousand dollars. Every penny Shane had saved. He gave it to his brother to save the Hut.
How did I reconcile that with the man who’d barely spoken to me since moving out of my house?
I walked through the wedding venue, making sure each aspect was perfect. Drew and Lola deserved it.
