Page 147 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Hannah smiles. “It was nice to meet you, Lila. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of you around the farm.”
“Mom,” Perry says. “That’s enough.”
Hannah only chuckles and holds up her hands. “Enough of what?”
I follow Perry out of the barn, stopping next to the Gator he must have driven to find me. “Sorry to disappear on you,” I say as I climb in beside him.
“Sorry about my mom,” he says gruffly as he starts the engine on the Gator. “She means well, but she . . .” His words trail off, and he shakes his head. “Anyway. I hope she didn’t say anything to make you uncomfortable.”
I lift my shoulders in what I hope looks like a casual shrug. “I think she’s wonderful.” I don’t even try to hide the wistfulness in my tone. I’d take a meddling mama over an absent one any day.
Perry pauses and looks at me, almost like he’s lookingthroughme, and his expression softens.
Am I really so transparent?
The reality is, I’d do just about anything to have the kind of family that Perry clearly has. Parents who are still married and fully invested in the happiness of their children. Siblings who speak highly of one another, who arefriendseven when they don’t have to be.
I was loved. Cherished, even. But belonging to one or two people is different than belonging to a whole tribe. I want Jack to have siblings. To have a whole village of people he can lean and rely on.
“She is pretty wonderful,” Perry says. The words are simple, but his tone says so much more. He gets it. He understands the magic of what he has, and he won’t take it for granted.
“I’m beginning to sense it runs in the family,” I say lightly, shooting Perry a coy look.
His cheeks pink the slightest bit, and he clears his throat and looks away, but not before I see a tiny smile playing at the edges of his mouth.
It’s scary how much I want to see that smile again.
Even scarier how much I want to bethe reason behind it.
Chapter Thirteen
Lila
Perry turns the Gatortoward the orchard we drove through yesterday when we hiked up to the ledge. This time, instead of climbing, he keeps us closer to the level land near the bottom of the orchard.
After my conversation with Hannah, I am hyperaware of Perry beside me. The way he smells, the way the light catches on the copper hairs in his beard. The way the brown of his eyes looks lighter—more golden—out here than it does inside.
I curl my palms over my knees and force my eyes to the surrounding landscape. I have to think of something else.Noticesomething besides the man next to me, or I’m going to keep staring at him, and that will only make things weird.
We pass row after row of apple trees, moving deeper into the orchard until I can’t see anything but trees in every direction. The farther we go, the smaller the trees get.
These trees are full of leaves, but they don’t seem to hold any fruit. I can appreciate Perry’s logic bringing us all the way out here. Apples are all picked by hand—a fact I learned yesterdaythat surprised me—and so the more mature half of the orchard is full of people working the harvest.
Perry cuts the engine, motioning to the trees around us. “The trees out here will start to bear fruit next fall. Cameo apples,” he says as he climbs out of the Gator. “They’re my mom’s favorite.”
“Is there really much of a difference?”
Perry’s gaze narrows, but his expression stays light. “Those are fighting words out here.”
I grin. “I mean, I can tell a Granny Smith from a Gala, but beyond that . . .”
Perry sighs and lifts a hand, stopping me as I move to get out of the Gator. “Nope. Sit back down. No lunch for you yet.”
“What?” I say on a laugh.
He climbs in beside me. “We’re making a slight detour first.”
I settle back into my seat and fold my arms across my chest. “You know, starving me yesterday didn’t work out very well.”
