Page 44 of Finding Emotion

“Well,” Jami said, but she didn’t seem to have any words to follow it. She stared down at her hands again.

“Oh, except that time I found Mom’s guitar!” Skylar sighed as she leaned against the back of her stool, resting her arm over it as she gave it a little swing. “Remember? I was looking for something for some school project in the attic and found that wooden beauty. I couldn’t believe it had been Mom’s.”

“She’d stopped playing while you were still little,” Jami said. “I had forgotten until you pulled it out.”

“I was surprised when she let me keep it. Best present I ever got from her.” Skylar smiled.

Damon liked the soft tilt of her lips. “Do you still have it?” he asked.

The smile disappeared. “Ah, no.” She reached for the glass Malcolm dropped off. “I’m not sentimental like that.”

“Was it still in the attic when…?” Jami swallowed. “The fire didn’t take it, did it?”

“Nah, I had it with me when I took off.” Skylar chugged some of her sparkling water. “Let’s talk about other shit, okay?”

Laughter broke out by the door, and Jami looked over her shoulder. “I should get back on shift,” she said, scrambling up. “The dinner crowd is starting to show up.” She patted her sister’s shoulder before moving toward the entrance.

“My sis the waitress,” Skylar murmured. “Fuck, she was almost valedictorian.”

Damon flushed as he remembered he’d almost had that title as well. “She seems happy.”

They both watched Malcolm join her. The pair of them made quick work of getting the sudden crowd settled.

Skylar waved a hand at his friend. “Well, Muscles rocked her world. Though I’m happy she’s pursuing her own thing too.” She snorted, swiveling back to face the bar. “Hell, she was always into all that romance crap, both reading it and writing it. Drove our mom nuts.”

“It did?” Damon still couldn’t quite get a picture of the woman.

“She told Jami reading smut set unrealistic expectations for love. Mom was a weird one. She was all in when it came to our dad, but she’d settled for him too.” Skylar folded her arms on the bar, resting her head on them as she looked at Damon. “My favorite memory was when I nagged her into playing that guitar. She only did it once. She was good.”

“Sounds like she inspired you. My mom did that for me.”

“Momma’s boy,” Skylar murmured, but there was no sneer.

Damon hated the empty seat between them. He nudged his glass over as he switched stools.

“Can’t stay away, huh?” Skylar asked, her arm blocking the edge of her smirk.

“Well, this is kind of our first date.” Damon’s heartbeat sped up just from saying it, which was stupid.

She straightened, blinking at him. “Oh, shit, you’re right.” Her gaze skimmed around the bar before she reached for her glass, lifting it toward him. “To firsts,” she said, clinking it against his when he lifted it. She leaned closer without taking a drink. “We’ve had a few of those already, haven’t we?”

“Neither of us were virgins, Skylar,” Damon said. Her scent distracted him. She smelled like flowers again.

Her finger found his cheek. “There’s that cute blush. I meant, first times together.”

A basket was placed in front of her. “I thought things between you weren’t serious,” Malcolm said. Those sharp eyes of his lingered on Damon.

“Oh, do we look serious?” Skylar asked. She reached over, her hand going for Damon’s pocket.

“What?” he sputtered, but she’d gone for his phone. Tingles still crawled over his thighs from her brief touch.

“Oh, expecting something dirtier?” Skylar winked at him as she passed the phone to Malcolm. Then her arm wrapped around Damon’s neck, dragging him closer. “Let’s get a pic for your social media people. Your fans will like the scoop better than mine.”

“Sure,” Damon murmured, wondering what his face looked like when Malcolm snapped the picture. He reached for his drink after she released him, pausing as he remembered Skylar didn’t drink.

She was grabbing a fry. Her eyes closed when she took the first bite. “Fuck, this is fried deliciousness. I’m gonna want more.”

Malcolm smiled. “That can be arranged. Just let me know.” He left Damon’s phone on top of the bar as he went to pull some beers for other customers.

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