Page 29 of Because of Her

My chest cracks. This place is perfect for her, it physically hurts she might have to give it up. “It’ll work out,” I promise her. I’ll make sure of it.

She shakes her head as she turns away, and I think I hear her say, “You don’t know that.” But the words are so mumbled I can’t be sure, so I keep quiet.

We unload the rest of the boxes in an uneasy silence. Cassidy is mulling over her struggling business and I’m busy trying to figure out a way to help solve her problem.

“Do you need help unpacking them?” I ask, as I place the last box on the pile. My phone has been buzzing in my pocket all morning, but it’s been a pleasant change to not thinking about work for a few hours. I’m not ready for the break to end.

“No.” Cassidy’s answer is sharp, forcing me to take a step back.

“Okay,” I say, preparing to leave. I feel bad my praise earlier set her on a path of worry, but nothing I can say will make her feel any better.

She barely looks up as I call goodbye.

CASSIDY

Normally, a lack of walk-in customers concerns me. But after this morning’s complete fuck around, I’m almost thankful I haven’t had to be social today. Plus, I’ve been busy assembling Betty Blooms’ latest masterpiece, so I’m glad I haven’t been constantly interrupted.

I’m also, admittedly, still sour about kissing Callum, his blatant rejection, and the way he acted like none of it happened when he ran around the corner this morning. Although I was beyond grateful for the help, his flip flopping mood is confusing. Especially when it sits on top of my own messed up feelings.

I really, badly, wanted that kiss. Just like I really, quite badly, want Callum. I feel like my teenage self all over again, with an added layer of desire I was too innocent for back then. I can’t forget how his cock felt pressed against me this morning. Standing on the ladder, I squeeze my thighs together at the thought of our bodies colliding.

Sending him packing as soon as the boxes were out of his car was probably cruel. Even more so considering I didn’t even thank him. But I needed him to leave so I could start to think straight again. Instead, I’m standing on top of a ladder thinking about him when I should be creating a floral wall.

The bell next to the entrance chimes behind me and I have to hold in a groan.

I stretch, further than I should when I’m standing on the top rung of a ladder, to position another silky flower to theexpanse of greenery. Once I feel the magnet click into place, I descend the ladder and spin to face my customer.

When I see her, my smile stretches across my face, puffing out my cheeks so they squeeze my eyes.

“Madison!” I brush my hands on my apron as I walk towards her.

She skips further into the small shop before throwing her arms around my neck.

Wrapping my own arms around her back, I squeeze my younger sister.

We’ve always been close. ‘Irish twins’ we would get called. She is younger than me by less than a year and has been my best friend from the day she was born. We might not have shared a womb the way twins do, but we shared everything else, and the bond between us is unmatched.

It’s been too long since I’ve seen her. So, I squeeze her harder as we sway back and forth, losing our balance in the centre of the boutique.

“How was the trip?”

She looks incredible. Exactly how you would expect a woman to look after her belated honeymoon. There’s a light caramel glow to her skin, and her blonde hair looks lighter. My sister has always been naturally beautiful, but something about her sun kissed look is mesmerising.

It was too hard for her and her husband to travel right after their wedding, so they waited. Two years into their marriage, Madison and Oliver were finally able to travel to southern Italy like they had always wanted.

For a while, their relationship was a bit of a sore spot. My sister met Oliver not long after I left Melbourne with Blake. While their love grew and blossomed, mine slowly started to crumble. They made it through everything, despite the situations trying to hold them apart. I’m not proud of theway I acted towards their relationship when I first returned to Melbourne.

I resisted Amira’s gentle urges to see a therapist, but when I finally did, I learnt my issues laid far deeper than just being jealous of my sister’s relationship. I was able to process the sharp drop off of my own engagement and everything that had caused it. Now, I couldn’t be happier for them. I love that my sister has found her great love.

“It was great!” She steps back with a laugh, grabbing her tote bag with both hands so it sits across her front.

“That’s all I get? You go to southern-freaking-Italy and all you can say is ‘it was great’? Come on Madison, you’re supposed to be the writer of the family.”

Her hands relax on the tote a fraction, and a tension I didn’t realise she was holding starts to release. She winks, before digging one hand into the bag and pulling out a small parcel.

“You get ‘it was great’ andthis.” She beams as she hands it over.

I greedily grab the gift, pulling at the brown paper. It’s heavy in my hands.

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