Page 107 of Falling for my Brother's Best Friend

She turns away from me, glancing at the one of Calista in her flower girl dress. She’s looking at the front of the aisle, at Rome, while placing flowers on the ground. They’re smiling at one another.

Savannah sits on the stool and just stares. A tear slowly falls off her cheek. She brings her knees to her chest as another tear races down her face.

“I didn’t bring you in here to make you sad.” I come alongside her, and she leans into my chest.

“I know. They’re all so beautiful and life-like. It hurts that my parents never got to meet Calista or Dion or Holly or Wyatt or Harley.” She turns and looks at me. “What do you think they would think of us?”

I swivel the stool around and bend down to her level. “I like to think they’d be happy. Probably surprised like the rest of your family, but happy for us.”

A small smile graces her face. “Thank you for sharing this with me. Here I thought you just had cars or some giant beetle collection in here.”

I laugh, gripping her hands and helping her stand. I wipe away the tears that have stained her cheeks. “Beetle collection as in cars?”

She shakes her head. “No, I thought, like, insects or something.”

“Why would you think that?”

She shrugs. “I have no idea. But I never would’ve imagined this.” Her gaze circles around and rests once again on the stack in the back. “Are all of those from before?”

“Yeah, there’re some of just my parents, my childhood home, my bike.”

“So they’re not all so emotional?”

I chuckle and pull her into me. “No. It’s just whatever captures me, and I want to recreate.”

“Liam?” she says into my shirt.

“Yeah?”

When she draws back, her blue hues meet mine. “Why don’t you share these? People would buy these, they’re that good. I’m sure Rome would love the one of him and Calista. Your mom would love that one of our moms laughing with coffee mugs in their hands. You should be proud of your talent.”

I shake my head. “I’m not ready for that step. I’m not sure I ever will be. I’m sharing this with you because you need to know that when I’m in here, I’m not watching porn or, like you thought, playing with my beetles.”

She laughs and her forehead hits my chest. “Okay.” I hold her even tighter. “Thank you for sharing.”

I bend down and kiss her lips. “Thank you for not freaking out too badly.”

“Am I allowed in here?” she asks, biting her lip as though her mind is working overtime.

“Yes. Whenever you want, but I have to warn you, there are some pictures that might be painful to see.”

She nods. “Thanks for the disclaimer.” The buzzer on her phone goes off. “Time to eat.” We’re on the brick path outside when she looks over her shoulder. “Maybe you could paint me like in Titanic?”

“I’m not sure I have Jack’s self-control.” I pick her up by her waist and swivel her around so that her legs are wrapped around me. “Want to paint with me tonight?”

Her face pales. “I’m not like that, Liam. I’m not creative.”

“You don’t have to be. The fifth step is for you to paint whatever you want. Just sit there for an hour or longer. Believe me, it’s calming. You could paint a rainbow or a flower or a tree. It doesn’t have to be people.” Her face twists in an I’m not sure about that motion, so I change topics for the time being. “Let’s just eat first.”

There will be plenty of time for me to convince her of a lot of things.

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