Page 11 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Kristyn pops up beside me, setting a calming hand on my shoulder. “Just breathe. This isn’t a big deal. He’s your friend. He’s going to be happy you’re here.”
Her words are simple, but it’s just enough of a pep talk to help me refocus. I nod. “You’re right. I can do this. No big deal.” I turn back to the trail, watching as Brody finishes the climb.
His eyes are on the uneven terrain beneath his feet, his hands hanging onto the straps of his backpack as he leans into it. His t-shirt is stretched across his generously muscled chest and equally defined shoulders, clinging to biceps he one hundred percentdidnothave the last time I saw him in person.
Still, it’s Brody.MyBrody. My heart squeezes at the sight of him, and a little laugh bubbles out of my chest. I’ve been a fool for staying away so long.
Without thinking, I take a few steps forward into the path, my hand shielding my eyes from the sun.
Whatever this summer is going to bring, there’s no turning back now.
Chapter Four
Kate
“Brody!” I call whenhe’s twenty or so feet away.
He stops in his tracks, his gaze jumping to the top of the ridge where I’m standing. The shock that overwhelms his features quickly melts into a wide smile. He shakes his head and starts to laugh, even as he makes fast work of the remaining distance between us. It’s the steepest part of the climb, but it seems to give him no trouble, not that I’m noticing the flex of his quads with every single step.
Okay. I’m totally noticing. But Brody almost looks like a different person. He’s the same, there’s just...more of him.
As he walks, he unbuckles the chest straps of his backpack and shrugs it onto one shoulder. At the top of the rise, he drops it onto the ground and takes two large steps until he’s standing right in front of me. In one fluid motion, he pulls me into a giant hug, lifting me off the ground and spinning me around.
He is warm and solid under my hands, and a surge of emotion floods to the surface, pricking my eyes with tears.
This moment, Brody’s arms around me, tears streaming down my face like I’m some ridiculous teenager hugging her first crush, it’s an emotional gut punch I’m not prepared for.
I am a capable, independent woman. I have traveled to twenty-seven different countries. I have lived with indigenous tribes in the heart of the Amazon. I have hiked in the Himalayan mountains with Tibetan Sherpas and eaten live honey pot ants with the aboriginal people of Australia. I haven’t had an actualhomein almost a decade.
But that’s what Brody feels like.
He feels likehome,triggering a craving for something I didn’t think I’d ever want again.
The moment is only slightly diminished by the smell which, honestly, it’s... not great. Exactly what you’d expect from a man who’s been hiking for three days with no shower.
“What on earth?” he says as he finally sets me down. “What are you doing here?” He hugs me again, my hands pressed up against his chest, and I start to laugh.
“I wanted to surprise you,” I say, finally stepping back and wiping the tears from my face.
“I... you...I can’t believe you’re here,” he says, a hand still pressed to his head. “This is why you were asking so many questions about where we were.”
I lift my shoulders and grimace. “Guilty.”
He laughs. His expression is warm, his eyes fully engaged in our conversation. He’s already doing it again, looking at me with that intense, brown gaze, his attention wholly on me.
“I’m just seeing you, Kate,” he would always say.
And he did see me. All of me. Saw my sadness, my frustration, my loneliness whenever I was particularly annoyed with my mom. And he always reacted accordingly, taking care of my emotions like no one else ever has.
I suddenly wonder what he sees when he’s looking at me now.
Kristyn’s suggestion pops into my mind.CouldI see Brody as more than a friend? The way my body is buzzing, it doesn’t feel like such a crazy leap to make.
That doesn’t mean it’s a leap Ishouldmake.
Brody looks over his shoulder at Perry, and my eyes follow.
“Hi, Perry,” I say.
