Page 91 of Desperate Pucker
She shakes her head and pulls out Bruce’s food dish. “Nope. They’re not fans of me.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I’m a lot younger than they are.”
“My brother and sister are a lot younger than I am.”
She looks at me. “Yeah, but you weren’t born as a result of an affair.”
Realization hits me like a punch. That’s why her older siblings don’t like her. Because of something that wasn’t her fault. Something that was completely out of her control.
I walk over to her right as she refills Bruce’s food dish.
“Are you saying that your older siblings mistreat you because you’re their half-sibling?” I ask.
“They’re not abusive or anything like that. They just don’t like being around me. And when we do spend time together, they’re not very warm. They make small talk with me, but they’re not interested in getting to know me. They mostly talk about working with my dad since they work for his company—stuff I don’t know about. They don’t invite me to family events. And when I do go, they kind of ignore me. So I just don’t see them that much.”
“Maddy, that’s fucked up.”
She shrugs. “I’m the kid from their dad’s affair. I’m living, breathing proof of the demise of their parents’ relationship.”
Frustration bubbles up inside of me. “Maddy, that’s not your fault. That’s on your dad for cheating on their mom.”
“I know that,” she says softly. “They know that too.”
I shake my head. “How much older are they than you?”
“In their late thirties.”
“You guys are closer in age than I am to Anna and Nick.”
“My older half-brother has two daughters. So does my older half-sister. I wish I could see them more often, but my siblings clearly don’t want that.”
That frustration inside of me morphs into anger.
“You’re their little sister, Maddy. They should go out of their way to make you feel welcome and loved. That’s their job as older siblings.”
She starts to shake her head, but I step forward, closing the space between us. I cup her face in my hands and take in the sadness in her beautiful eyes.
“I’m sorry your siblings treat you like that. You don’t deserve it.”
She blinks, and the sadness in her gaze fades away.
“You’re amazing. So goddamn amazing,” I say softly.
I kiss her, slow and soft, relishing the way her body sinks into me as she relaxes.
“If you wanna adopt Nick as your little brother, he’s all yours.”
She chuckles. I kiss her again. A second later, Bruce falls on top of my feet.
We both look down. Maddy laughs. “He’s cranky because this is his bedtime. He’s usually curled at the foot of my bed by now.”
“Sorry for staying so late,” I say to Bruce. I look back up at Maddy. “I should go. I’ve got practice early in the morning.”
She flashes a teasing smile. The one that makes my heart skid in my chest. The one I can’t get enough of.
“You’ve got a skating lesson with me in the afternoon too.”
