Page 65 of Moonlit Temptation

My sister was waiting for me at baggage claim in a gray and pink tapered pantsuit, so she looked more stylish than frumpy, with her long dark brown hair slicked back against her head.

She didn’t see me approaching, too busy rapidly texting on her phone, so I was able to sneak up behind her to tickle her sides, shouting, “Boo!”

She screamed, falling flat on the ground with a hard thud. It was like her legs just gave out on her.

I wheezed from laughing so hard.

“God, Mady!” Jessa glared at me. “What is your problem?” Grabbing her phone, she took my extended palm with her free hand. “People get detained for stuff like this!”

Oh, she was seething.

As I pulled her up, I noticed a police officer watched us with intense eyes. I gave him my most innocent smile as Jessa wiped the back of her pants.

I wasn’t sure he bought it.

Turning back to my sister, I held out my arms. “So. Did you miss me?”

“The house was quiet.” She looked back down at her phone.

I sighed. Same old sister.

Between all of us, Jessa was the most like our father. The most emotionally detached.

We didn’t talk about it, because it was about Mom, but I always thought Jessa took her death the deepest, which made her keep everyone else at a distance. Even her siblings.

After our mom died, Dad had everything of hers removed from the house. Pictures, clothes, anything that would leave a reminder of her in our lives.

With every piece of Mom’s that was removed from the house, Jessa withdrew more into herself.

My sister measured life in achievements and failures. It was either an A or an F with no in between, and I think, like me sometimes, she blamed our mom for failing treatment.

It sounded awful, but we were two young girls who lost our mother. Physically and emotionally.

Jessa preferred solitude, silence, order, and everything that ran away when I got near.

I was sure my time away was a staycation for her.

She eyed my new suitcase that I had to buy before leaving London thanks to the airline not finding my lost one, not questioning where the other went. “All set?”

I nodded, and we walked to the car. I almost waited for her to tell me I was driving since her head hadn’t lifted from the screen our entire journey through the parking garage.

She didn’t, though she sent off one more message before tucking the device into her large tote bag.

“Hot date tonight?” I couldn’t help but pry. As much as she was my opposite, my sister was the closest thing I had to a best friend.

“I don’t know.” She sighed, hands wringing the wheel. “I hate dating apps. They make me so nervous.”

“Wait, dating apps? I thought you were still seeing Tiffany.”

A neutral expression graced her delicate features as she shook her head. “We broke things off while you were away.”

“Well, yeah. Obviously.”

Jessa rolled her eyes as she backed out of the parking space.

Before I left, Jessa was infatuated with the girl. In a way I hadn’t seen since she came out as bisexual in high school.

My sister didn’t crave companionship. She craved sexual connections, the comfort of another person, monogamously. She wasn’t one for hook-ups like our brother.

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