Page 55 of The Double Play

I take the bite of the sandwich, savoring the buttery, cheesy goodness while glaring at him. He sets the rest down on the plate in my lap. Then presses his lips to my forehead. My whole body stills.

“Rest for me, Wildflower. You can go back to taking care of everyone tomorrow,” he whispers against my skin.

He steps back and walks away before I can form so much as a coherent thought. I reach up and touch the spot where his lips touched me.

Emmett Foster just kissed me.

“I’m just across the hall if you need me, okay?” I say to Raven.

She’s doing her skincare routine in the en suite bathroom while I sit on the corner of the bed. I offered to have a sister sleepover, but she took one look at the incredible guest bedrooms Emmett has and wanted her own. This room is the size of half of my apartment, and that’s being conservative. I never thought my apartment was small until I came here.

“You’ve said that eighty-seven times already.” Raven has a tendency to exaggerate, and her favorite number to use is eighty-seven.

“I want to make sure you werelistening.” I smooth out nonexistent wrinkles on the bedspread.

“I’m not a little kid, you don’t need to baby me,” she says as she walks into the room. She’s got her hair in one of those heatless curler rods. Those never work for me, but her curls come out perfect every time.

“You’ll always be my baby sister,” I coo and wrap her in a hug, smushing my cheek to hers.

“Stooooop,” she groans, but I can hear the smile in her voice.

I squeeze her tight enough that her back pops, which makes us both dissolve into laughter. Her eyes are a bit brighter when we pull apart, and I know my job is done. She needed a dose of happiness before going to sleep tonight. I did too, for that matter. The dark always brings out the thoughts buried during the day.

“Get some sleep, kiddo.” She rolls her eyes at my term of endearment. “Tomorrow will be a new day, full of amazing possibilities.”

“You sound like a Hallmark card.”

I snort. “I was going for motivational speaker, but that works too.”

A small smile stretches her lips. “Thanks, Hazel. I hope you sleep better tonight.”

“Me too,” I say with a soft laugh. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she says as she gets in bed. I’m grateful she’s not looking at me straight-on. She’d be able to see the tears in my eyes. It’s not like she doesn’t know I cry at everything, but I don’t want to worry her all the same.

I start to walk to the door.

“Hey.”

I turn around at the door, my hand hovering over the light switch. “Yeah?” I wait for her to ask me to stay, but she surprises me with her words.

“You really like him, don’t you?”

My brow furrows. “Emmett?”

She bobs her head, the curling rod bouncing with the movement.

“He’s my friend, of course I like him.” I trace the frame of the switch.

“You know what I mean.” Her exasperated tone makes me smile.

“Yeah, I do,” I admit.

A small smile stretches her lips. “I knew it. You’re totally in love with him.”

I roll my eyes, ignoring the little tug in my chest that says she’s not far off from the truth. “Goodnight,babysister.” I turn the light off to the sound of her soft laughter, but pause before leaving the room. “What do you think of him?”

She’s quiet for a moment. The blankets rustle as she settles in. “I like how much he looks out for you. And how you smile your real smile a lot more around him. I wouldn’t mind if you dated him.”

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