Page 46 of His Reward
My gaze drifts to the picnic table again.To June.Sunlight shining through the tree branches dapples her skin, her smile radiant as she leans in with interest, listening to something Daphne’s saying.
It’s obviously a funny story judging by Daphne’s animated hand movements, and the women laugh at the ending.As her humour fades, June catches my stare, and it feels like it’s just the two of us in the backyard.
Every part of me wants to march over there and grab her, haul her into the house and claim every inch of her the second the door closes behind us.
The spell is broken when Daphne swings a look over her shoulder at me.I quickly turn my head and focus my attention on Paul adding more meat to the grill.
18
June
“Hey, June?Can I talk to you about something real quick?”
Daphne stands and beckons me to follow her from the picnic table to the shade tree, out of earshot of everyone else.
I’m curious about what she’s going to say, but I’m a little nervous too.There was a suspicious look in her eyes when she caught Malcolm and I staring at each other.
We stand under the tree and she folds her arms, staring at me.I squirm under her sharp gaze.
“What is it, Daph?What did you want to talk about?”
“There’s a weird vibe between you two.”
Oh, no.I still had a small hope that my sister wanted to talk about something innocent, like my opinion on some aspect of her wedding planning.I guess not.
“I don’t know what you mean by that.”
She frowns.“Don’t play dumb.Whenever you and Mal are in the same room together, he can’t take his eyes off you.And you’re always looking at him too, sneaking glances when you think nobody’s watching.The look on your faces…” She shakes her head.“Nobody else sees it, butIdo.”
My sister has always been sort of self-involved, her attention span fickle.I’m speechless by her unusual display of shrewdness.
I struggle to defend myself, then decide to go on the offence instead.I summon my best scandalized look and tone, then use a dishonest politician’s tactics—lie, insult, and deflect.
“What you’re implying is wrong, and you need to get your eyes checked because you’re also seeing wrong.”I straighten my back.“Now let’s go back and enjoy Mom and Dad’s anniversary lunch and forget we had this conversation.”
She snorts and rolls her eyes.
“Bitch, please.I love you but don’t try it.You know I’m right.You’re into each other.”Her eyes widen and she leans in close, her voice low.“Has it gone further since he moved in with you?Are you guysdoing it?”
“No!”
The word bursts out of me faster than the speed of light, which seems to further convince Daphne that I’m lying.Her eyes huge, her mouth is an O before she covers it with her hand.
“Oh… my…god!You are!”
My heart beats faster.“We aren’t!”
But we almost did…
“Then why is your face getting pinker?”
“Because I’m upset that you’re accusing me of doing something I didn’t do!”
“No, you’re embarrassed that I found out the truth and you’re afraid I’m going to judge you or tell on you.”Daphne’s expression turns sympathetic.She grabs my wrists, gently slapping my palms together like she used to when we were younger.The affectionate action calms me down.“I’m not going to do any of that, I promise.Your secret is safe with me.”
She glances over her shoulder at the grill where Dad and Malcolm are chatting, then she meets my gaze again, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“You want to know my secret?When he first moved in, I had a crush on him too.I felt so bad.I love Jeremy more than anything.But the man is hot, and he’s a nice guy.No straight woman can resist.”She chuckles.“Auntie Erica couldn’t either and he isn’t even her type.”
