“We’ll talk later, okay? I’m going to help Aunt Mel finish up.” He places a soft kiss on my forehead before sliding his hand down my arm and giving my hand a quick squeeze.

I watch as he walks away, my mind spinning at what just happened. I bring my fingers up to my lips, swollen and warm, my body still humming at the way it felt to have him pressed against me.

I smooth my hands down my shirt and stand up straighter before heading back to the front of the gallery as if nothing had happened.

MORGAN

Kissing Aspen is something I’ve fantasized about for weeks.

I know I shouldn’t have, considering she’s my student and the consequences could really screw me, but the moment she opened up to me, I couldn’t stop myself. She walks into my classroom, so strong and confident in her work, but there’s so much she’s covering up on the inside.  The force I feel to be near her is undeniable.

I hate that I had to leave her after that, but I don’t intend on staying away for long.

Aunt Mel and I go through the rest of her to-do list for the event. Going over and over the same things I already know, but I amuse her and listen anyway. I know talking about it aloud helps her mentally organize everything.

We go over the catering instructions, the wine list, the guest list, and itinerary. She repeats herself so much, I start filling in her words for her.

“Morgan!” she scowls.

I laugh. “Well, you’ve told me the list three times now, Aunt Mel. I got it.” I kiss her cheek. “It’s going to be amazing. Stop worrying.”

“All right. Fine.” She smiles with a sigh. “I’ll be relieved when it’s over. Let’s just say that.”

“Yes, but all your hard work will pay off. I’m sure of it.”

It’s after seven before I finally get out of there. I know Natalia is going to be mad, but I’m hoping the sleepover she’s planned for this weekend puts her back in a good mood.

I arrive back home with Natalia half asleep in the passenger seat. My mom said she’d been quiet all night and couldn’t get anything out of her. So I plan to fix that.

“Wanna talk?” I ask as soon as I kill the engine.

“About what?”

“Whatever you want.”

She furrows her brows. “Nothing in particular comes to mind.”

“Natalia, c’mon. How dense do you think I am?”

“Well, going by your Ralph Lauren slacks, button-up shirt, and slicked back hair, I’d say it’s a safe bet.”

“You have way too much time on your hands if you know the brand names of my clothes.”

“I have good fashion sense, so sue me.” She grips the handle and lets herself out.

“What’s wrong with my pants?” I chase behind her, but she ignores my question. “We can order pizza and binge on ice cream,” I offer, unlocking the door. “But you have to talk.”

I push the front door open and she steps in. “Fine. Let’s talk about why you hated my father.”

My breath hitches, and I swear I hear a pin drop the moment her words hit me. But I know she’s not stupid. Of course, she knows something was up between us considering I never called or visited.

I just wasn’t planning to have this conversation for at least a few more years.

We settle in with a cheese pizza and a quart of chocolate ice cream on the couch. I know I can’t tell her everything, but it’s only fair she know I didn’t hate him. I was mad, sure, but I’ve always loved my brother.

“Okay, so spill. I’m eating, aren’t I?”

I narrow my eyes at her snarky tone. “I didn’t hate him, Natalia. I shouldn’t have gone so long without talking to him. I’ll regret that for the rest of my life.”

“Why’d you stop talking to him?” she asks, taking a bite.

I don’t want anything I say to change how she feels for her dad, so I sugarcoat it the best I can. “We had a disagreement. I was mad and hurt for a really long time and instead of mending our relationship, I let it stew.”

“Are you still mad?” she asks.

“Yes. But not at him.”

“Then who?”

“Myself. I’m mad about our last interaction. I’m mad I didn’t come back before it was too late.”

“Being mad is a lot of work,” she admits.

“It is,” I agree.

“Do you think God punishes people?”

Her question catches me off guard and it takes me a moment to really grasp what she’s asked. “I can’t say for sure.”

“Yeah, me either.”

“Do you think you’re being punished?”

She shrugs and lowers her eyes. “Sometimes, I guess. It’s hard not to feel that way when you lose both of your parents before they even get to see you graduate middle school. I miss him so much.”

I wrap my arm around her and pull her closer. “I do, too, Shorty. But I do know one thing…” She looks up at me with those hopeful and bright blue eyes. “He loved you so very much. He’d want you to be happy.”

“I feel guilty.”

“For moving on?” She nods. “Yeah, I know that feeling, too.”

“How do you get over it?”

I wish I knew the answer to that. “That’s something we’re going to have to figure out together.”

She smiles and leans her head on my shoulder. I kiss the top of her head and let her lay there until she passes out. I carry her into bed and tuck her in as quietly as I can without waking her. I put the pizza and ice cream away and then finish cleaning up the rest of the living room.

I sit down on the couch with a thud and stare up at the ceiling. Thoughts of Ryan and me come to my mind. Thoughts of how close we were, how much I looked up to him, how much we had in common.

I should’ve known he’d had a thing for Jennifer, but I ignored all the signs. I didn’t want to think that my own brother would go after someone I was dating and planning to marry. Even though I was enraged, I wish I would’ve given him a second chance. A second chance to explain, apologize, admit he loved her—anything.

I wish I had given our relationship a second chance before it was too late.

I try to hold back the tears like all the other times, but this time, I let them fall. I let them fall so I can relieve the pain inside.

“Morgan?” I hear Nat’s voice, and I quickly rub both hands over my face.

“Yes?” I stand up and find her leaning on the doorframe.

She flashes a sweet smile and says, “He’d want you to be happy, too.”

Natalia’s words repeat over and over in my head all night long. I try and sleep, but sleep never comes. I think of all the things we used to do as kids, the way we’d mess with each other, and spend every Saturday outside.

There was a time we were inseparable. That was all before Jen, of course. He went off to college before me, but once I met her, our time together became less and less. There were holidays and special occasions, but it wasn’t nearly the same. We lost contact somewhere in between, and I have no one to blame but myself.

Natalia was born and just a few years after, his wife, Lena, passed away. It was hard on all of us, but it destroyed him. Ryan was alive, but he was hardly living. It was obvious he was taking Lena’s unexpected death hard.

She was driving to work one day when an elderly woman hit her straight on and was killed instantly. I tried my hardest to get closer to him after that. Raising a child on his own and feeling lost, he started drinking. I’m not exactly sure when he started to fall for Jen, but I know I hadn’t seen it coming. Although I should’ve, I was too invested in my own little world to really see what was happening around me.

Natalia would stay with my parents a lot. I’d help by picking her up and taking her out to do fun things. She was just a toddler, so we’d go to the pool or park, anything to keep her out of the house while Ryan drank himself to near a coma.

I tried to help, get him into counseling, but he refused. My mother cried daily, wanting to help and send him to rehab, but again, he refused.

Perhaps it was Jen’s psychology background, but she managed to get him talking. She’d spend hours over there, trying to get him to express the pain he was feeling. I can’t say I blame him for falling in love with her. She was easy to fall for with her sweet southern belle personality. I figured she was finally getting through to him, finally helping him sober up, but she was just helping him replace a void that ended up ruining all of our lives.