Page 66 of Moonlit Temptation

She was with her partners for a long time, but hardly let them fully into her heart. Unlike me, who let Saint in the moment his lips brushed mine.

Another way we were opposite.

I felt with my whole being, while she was afraid of letting people in. Again, lasting damage from losing our mom. She was afraid to lose another person who meant so much to her.

Which was why she kept even me at arm’s length.

Not that I minded, I was used to it. But I knew it’d been a problem in her past relationships before.

“What happened?”

“The same thing that always happens.” She flicked on her blinker. “I wasn’t opening up enough for her. I get it. If the roles were reversed, I’d get sick of constantly being pushed away when her emotions became too much.”

If I knew it wouldn’t piss her off, I’d reach over and grab her hand. But it wasn’t my comfort she needed.

“I’m sorry, Jess.”

She shrugged it away. “Eh. It’s whatever. I have a date tonight.”

“How long ago did you two break up?”

“Is that judgment I hear?” She cut me a quick look before focusing back on the road.

“Not at all. You just didn’t talk to me at all while I was away. I’m trying to catch up.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the phone work both ways? I don’t recall any messages from you, either, Mads.”

Mads. It was weird hearing my nickname after going so long without it. With Saint, I was always Madelayne. The occasional Mady. Never Mads.

“Touché.” I knocked my elbow against hers on the center console.

A small smile touched her face. She might pretend otherwise, but I knew she missed me.

“This is where you ask, 'How was your trip, Mads?’” I supplied when she didn’t offer any more conversation.

She rolled her eyes. “Well, obviously it was good. We already established you didn’t call me, which means you weren’t miserable, because if you were, my phone would’ve been going off from messages from you. We don’t need to waste time talking about something we both already know the answer to.”

I stared at her profile for a long time before whispering, “You know, sometimes you’re a lot like Dad.”

Her grip tightened around the wheel, and she shot me a pained look. She hated being compared to him. For so many reasons. “So are you, Mads. You know exactly how to make words hurt like him.”

Now that we both felt like crap, the long drive home was filled with tension and an audiobook Jessa turned on as soon as we hit the highway.

And it wasn’t even an audiobook I could enjoy with her.

It wasn’t magical or romance-filled. Instead, my sister listened to a law book.

A law book!

My ears wanted to cry.

With no other source of entertainment, I turned to my phone, something I was trying to avoid. As soon as we landed, I turned it back on, hoping to see a text from Saint.

I didn’t.

Disappointment wilted inside me, and I wanted to smack myself.

I had never been one of those girls who constantly checked her phone in hopes the guy she was waiting to hear from had finally texted her.

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