Page 65 of Seas the Dating Coach

Doubling down, I add, “I refuse to feel shame for sharing a kiss with someone I really like—even if it was in public.”

Brynn reaches to tug at the hem of her t-shirt, but it’s trapped beneath an aqua Seabreeze Beans apron. “It’s just confusing because I thought you liked Atticus.”

The hurt in her words has me dropping my tense shoulders and stretching my fingers to settle over her knee.

“I did, but”—the smile lifting my lips has its own energy—“things changed. Have you eaten?” I know she hasn’t. Brynn typically gets too busy and forgets to eat. “Let me make you an omelet, and I’ll explain everything.”

After quickly using the bathroom, I crack eggs into a glass measuring cup. I wish I had the time to make Brynn tater tots—our favorite food—but I know she wouldn’t wait for them to be ready. Her jittery knee is already bouncing against the underside of our round two-person kitchen table. She hates being away from the coffee shop during the morning rush.

“Do you remember my ocean wish?”

She nods. “You wanted to talk to Atticus.”

“It turned out I needed a little help, so Finn offered to be my dating coach…” I give my sister the rough details of how he took me to Virginia Beach to talk to men, leaving out our practice kiss and how Finn helped me at the Oceanside Artisan Fair, because I still want to surprise Brynn with that later.

I cross the kitchen, setting a simple spinach-and-swiss omelet in front of my sister.

“And then you kissed?”

“Take three bites, and I’ll tell you.”

My twin rolls her eyes but compiles, shoving half the omelet into her mouth like an uncivilized frat boy. Food bribery was something Aunt Tammy used to do growing up when Brynn’s weight dipped into dangerously low territory. Brynn learned the quickest way to get to whatever activity was on the other side of the meal was to gobble it up like a competitive eater.

“I kissed him.” Her fork pauses halfway to her mouth, but I encourage her to continue the action. “I wasn’t quite sure how it would go, but I needed to try.”

“And he kissed you back.”

I bite my lip, remembering how enthusiastically Finn returned my kiss. “Yeah.”

Brynn sets down her fork and stares out the window.

“I really like him, Brynn. He’s obviously gorgeous and incredible at his job, but there’s this soft underlayer that’s even more attractive than what he shows anyone else. I can identifywith that—keeping your true personality to yourself.” When my sister doesn’t respond, I feel as small as I had before I started this process of self-improvement. “It’d be really nice for you to be happy for me.”

Brynn’s dark-brown eyes catch the downturn of my lips, and she shoots to standing, nearly toppling the vase of hydrangeas I put on the table on Friday. Her arms come around me so fiercely an involuntary squeak escapes me.

“I am. I will be. I want to be.” Brynn squeezes me even tighter. “I’m sorry. It’s just…a change.”

Understanding dawns like the sunrise beaming over the ocean each morning.

Brynn does everything the same way every day. It’s as if she’s afraid if she deviates one iota, the world will come crashing down. Our apartment decor and the furniture arrangement hasn’t changed since Tammy moved out. The same goes for the styling of the coffee shop. She only purchases updated equipment when it becomes searingly necessary.

That’s one of the reasons why I waited so long to ask for the space for my store. I knew that separating the family business into two would be hard on her. But when I’d told her how important it was to me, she agreed, and we worked through the renovation together.

I should have considered that making these changes in my life would upset her balance.

“It is,” I say, hugging her back. “I should have warned you so you could process it. I’m sorry.”

Brynn leans back, shaking her head. “Don’t apologize. I’m in the wrong here.”

A part of me wants to joke about immortalizing her words on a plaque and hanging it over the TV, but since we’re actually talking for what feels like the first time in forever, I don’t dare.

“I’ve wanted this for a long time, Brynn. I wanted to prove that I could do something more than smile and nod.” My lungs feel tight, but I fill them anyway. “No one expects much of me on this island. I know they’re trying to be kind, but it makes me feel like I’m still that terrified little girl who just lost her parents. Like I’m trapped in this tight little box.”

Brynn’s hands rub my shoulders, almost too roughly, but I know it’s her way of consoling me.

“But once I made that wish…things started being different. It was hard at first, but I feel like I’m growing and stretching in ways I didn’t even plan to.” A bark of laughter escapes me. “Last night, I went to a boxing class.”

My sister’s eyes fly wide.

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