Page 33 of Fake It Till You Break It
As though she could sense my confusion, Mia’s voice softened as she lightly touched my shoulder. “I’m just saying… if you miss him at all, maybe you should consider giving him a chance to make things right.”
I reached out to push her hand off, but I ended up claspingit for a second, squeezing it, before letting go. “He doesn’t deserve a second chance.”
“Everyone deserves a second chance. I love your brother. Heck, I wish he could bemybrother, except I also think he’s kind of hot so that would be weird. LikeGame of Thronestype of ickiness. Maybe he could be a distant cousin.…”
She trailed off, and her face had a faraway look. Not wanting to know what freaky fantasies she was having about Finn, I snapped my fingers in front of her face. “Focus.”
“Oh, sorry.” Mia suddenly reached out and held my face between her hands. Startled, I automatically jerked my head back, but her grip was both soft and tight at the same time. And she didn’t let me move an inch. Man, she could be damn strong when she wanted to be. This was coming from the same girl who could never drag her own luggage through the airport.
Her brown eyes were dark and sparkled a bit in the moonlight. “You’re brothers. You love each other. And you’re going to have to work this out sooner or later. Might as well be now.”
She made it sound so simple. We’re brothers, so we’ll work it out somehow. But this wasn’t a sitcom that would resolve itself in half an hour. Nothing about any of this was simple at all. Just thinking about seeing him again made my whole body tense up and my head hurt. I didn’t know how I was going to suffer through the cruise trip if this breakup didn’t work out.
“How could you love someone who’s never around?” I joked. Half joked. I was kind of serious.
Even if Ididwant to forgive him—and I’m not saying that I did—I didn’t even know how to start. I spent so long hating him, ignoring him, that I didn’t know how to fix it. Bury the hatchet. Mend the rift. Whatever.
“You just do. Because they’re your family.” Finally, she let go and leaned forward until she was staring right into my face. I could count her lashes if I wanted to. Kiss her again if I wanted to.
Which I didn’t. I don’t know why that thought suddenly popped in my head.
“You kind of don’t have a choice,” she said. “Just like us. We’re always going to be a part of each other’s lives, whether we like it or not.”
That was true. But now I was beginning to think that having Mia in my life wasn’t quite as bad as I originally thought it was.
“Careful. It’s starting to sound like you like having me around.” My left elbow leaned to balance my weight. “Are you—”
“Hell, no,” Mia automatically said before I could even finish my question. “Not even if I needed a kidney and you were the only person available.”
“Ouch. Don’t take your time to think about it or anything.”
Shrugging, she smiled so wide that her eyes squeezed into cheerful creases. Two dimples popped up on either side of her cheeks. I smiled back even though she had basically just insulted me.
But before I could say anything else, Mia grabbed my arm and pointed up at the sky. “Wait, is that one? It is, isn’t it?”
“Uh…” I peered in the direction that she was pointing. There were some stray clouds, but I could make out a small light making its way across the night sky. Slowly. Way too slow to be a meteor. “I think that’s just a plane.”
“It is?”
Looking down at her hopeful face and pouting lower lip, I felt myself melting a bit. Didn’t want to rain on her parade. “No, you’re right. It definitely was a meteor.” I lied again for the second time that night even though I knew that it was just a plane. “Better make a wish now before it’s too late.”
Her eyes lit up and she closed them. Hands clasped together in front of her chest.
I clasped my hands together, too, but didn’t close my eyes. Instead I just looked at her. Watched her. In a totally nonstalkerish way. Being by her side was comfortable. Made me relaxed and happy.
A wide smile crossed her face as she opened her eyes, making me freeze. I couldn’t do more than stare at the way the smile made her face brighten. At the way the moonlight hit her face perfectly, illuminating her features.
“That’s one thing I can finally check off. I guess we could go to sleep now.”
“Right.” I was reluctant to move, but I couldn’t think of a reason to stay.
I don’t know if Mia was in a rush, but she climbed down the stairs right after me. Her legs were right above my face and her ass was coming toward me, molded in the soft cotton shorts Mom bought her for Christmas last year.
Shit. Shit. Shit. I gulped and looked away, but my mouth and throat were as dry as sandpaper by now. And my arms no longer knew how to function. I froze, but she kept coming down until my arms encircled her legs and now her butt was…
Yeah, this was a big mistake.
She twisted in my arms. “What’s the hold up?”
