Page 94 of Moonlit Kisses

He huffs out a breath and toes the ground with his shoe. “You draw girly stuff.” He flings his arm out in my direction. “Molly draws cool stuff like cars.”

Oh shit!My eyes widen. I don’t want to compete with my newly found sister. “I love Holly’s clothing designs. The stuff she draws comes from her imagination. I just draw what I can see.”

Holly’s eyes snap up to mine and I gesture toward the picnic blanket for us to take a seat. Noah eyes off the array of snacks as he sits as close as possible to the food and I quickly open the containers for him. “Help yourself. I didn’t know what you guys liked, so I packed a few different options.”

“Thanks,” Noah replies as he reaches for a chocolate cupcake.

“Holly, what would you like?”

She scans the food then takes a carrot stick, dipping it into the hummus. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” I grab a couple of strawberries and enjoy their sweet juice on my tongue. Max always insists on having berries in the house because they’re my favorite.

We enjoy the snacks in silence for a while, then Noah points toward the scrapbook and sketch pads I brought along. “Is that your book? The one with the car sketch I saw.”

I chuckle at his enthusiasm. “Yeah.” I glance between my new siblings. “I, uh, I also brought my brother’s scrapbook to show you. I figured you’d like it because he only drew cars.”

My heart pounds as I share something that’s deeply precious to me.

Holly’s eyes go soft and she glances over at her brother. Creases form between her brows and then she reaches across to smooth down Noah’s unruly hair. He pulls away, giving her a puzzled look. Her gaze comes back to me and it’s full of sorrow and I know she’s thinking about what I’ve lost.

Noah breaks the moment with his excitement, completely oblivious to his sister’s sadness. “Really. Can I see his drawings?”

“Of course.” I select Ethan’s book and shuffle closer to Noah, then open to the first page. “This book shows his progression clearly. You can see this first drawing is quite basic. But wait until you see his sketches at the end of the book.” Holly balances on her knees behind us, studying E’s drawings closely as I turn each page.

Her hand creeps between Noah and me, stopping me from turning to the next page. “This is where his skill leveled up.” She traces her finger over the line of the roof of the car. “You can see the confidence in his lines.” She snatches her finger from the page. “Sorry. I probably shouldn’t have touched it.”

“That’s okay. And yes, you’re right. This was the turning point.” I flick to the next page.

“They all look really cool to me.” Noah glances at me with wide eyes. “Do you think I could draw like Ethan?”

“I don’t see why not. Shall we get started?”

“I’m ready.” He reaches into his backpack and pulls out a sketch pad and some pencils. Holly and I chuckle at his excitement.

Holly and I spend the next couple of hours showing Noah some basic techniques, reminding him to draw what he sees, not what hethinkshe sees. “That’s the trick. Our mind wants to fill in the spaces, but we mustn’t let it, or our drawing won’t be accurate.” He nods, his face full of concentration.

When I glance at Holly’s sketch pad, I notice she’s drawing a new outfit. I tip my head toward it. “That looks beautiful. You’re incredibly talented.” She glances up at me with a smile.

“She designed and made that outfit she has on,” Noah states proudly.

“Yeah?” She flushes a pretty pink and tucks her dark hair behind her ear. “It’s gorgeous. Did you apply for Art College?”

“Yeah. I got accepted and I’m excited to start!” Her eyes sparkle with delight. “At least I’ll finally be doing something I enjoy.”

I wrap my arm around her, pulling her in close for a hug. “Congratulations. I’m honestly not surprised you got accepted. They’d be crazy to reject your application.” I lean back, releasing her.

I swallow down my nerves because I think now would be a good time to ask her to be in my bridal party. “You know how Max asked me to marry him, and we’re getting married really soon?”

Noah and Holly nod. “Yeah. I really like Max. Well, I mostly like that he works with cars because I don’t know him all that well, but he seems like a cool guy.”

I chuckle at Noah. “Heispretty cool.” Then turn my attention to Holly. “Well, Holly, I was … uh … wondering if you would be my bridesmaid?”

She squeals and leans forward, wrapping her slim arms around me. “I’d freaking love to. This is amazing. Thank you so much.” We sway awkwardly from side to side, giggling with happiness. It feels fabulous to have a sister.

“God, you girls are weird!” Noah huffs out as he steals yet another cupcake.

Holly and I giggle. “Would you mind if I designed my bridesmaid dress?” Her eyes are filled with excitement.

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