Page 117 of The Only Heart that Matters
She opens her mouth to continue, but her words die on her lips. Her eyes move from him to me, down to our joined hands, then back up to look her brother in the eyes. “You love her?” It comes out in a shocked whisper.
“Yes.”
His answer is simple. It’s everything.
Her attention moves to me. “And you love him?”
“I do,” I answer honestly.
He squeezes my hand, and we wait for her to put the puzzle pieces together. When her brows furrow, I know what she’s thinking.
“Is... Are you?”
“No,” I interrupt. “He’s not Sawyer’s father.”
“I don’t understand.” She’s confused. I get it. I’ve kept this from her our whole lives. “I mean, I assumed you two hooked-up when you didn’t come home after the party, but love…. How could I have missed that?”
“It’s always been her. I just never had the balls to tell her.”
She stares at her brother, dumbfounded.
A feeling of lightheadedness hits me at the sound of his words. There’s no hesitation. No fear. To hear him speak of his feelings for me so freely eases my mind of all the concerns and worries I know I should feel right now.
“And you? Since when?”
It’s time to tell my truth. If Angus can do it, so can I. “Always.”
“What do you mean,always?”
“Well, I can’t remember a time I didn’t feel this way about him. If you need me to pinpoint it, I’d say fourth grade. Back then, it was a crush. Now it’s the real deal.”
“And by real deal, you’re saying you arein lovewith my brother?”
“I am.”
He lifts our joined hands and presses a kiss to the back of my hand. Daisy looks horrified at the display of affection.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“He’s your brother. I knew you wouldn’t approve. And I never thought he would feel the same way, so why tell anyone? I was embarrassed. I kept it to myself.”
“You could have told me.”
Releasing his hand, I step toward Daisy. “I’m sorry, Dais.”
She lifts her hand to stop me from getting closer. “No.”
“Daisy,” I plead.
“I can’t. Not now.”
She walks past us, leaving without another word.
“Well, that went well,” Angus jokes.
“That was bad, wasn’t it?”
“She’ll be fine.” He tugs on my hand, opening the door to the bar. “C’mon, I wanna dance with my wife.”
