These Thorn Kisses (St. Mary’s Rebels 3)

How not to tell my story to him.

I didn’t know eighteen months ago and I don’t know now.

In fact, I want to tell him, and so I do. “Well, after the graffiti incident, my parents got really distressed. Which is to be expected. I mean, I vandalized my dad’s car. When I’d never so much as raised my voice in front of them. They were angry and baffled and stressed. They thought that it was a one-time thing and so I let them think that.” I shrug, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I didn’t tell them my future plans.”

He studies my face then for a beat or two, and when it looks like he’s going to say something, I speak. “Which is totally fine. It doesn’t even matter right now. Because I’m still applying for colleges and scholarships. Which means I’m not in yet. And so I don’t have to tell them right this second. I can tell them when I get in. At the right time.”

Which is what my plan is.

I don’t want to stir the pot just yet. When I don’t even know if I’ve gotten in. When they’re still reeling from my previous insurrection.

I want to give them time to cope with it before I drop another bomb on them.

A beat passes before he asks, “What kind of a car was it?”

“Uh, Lamborghini.”

“Lamborghini.”

“Yes.” I nod. “It was my dad’s dream car. He’d only just bought it like a couple of weeks ago. And I also drew on the siding of my house and on the front door. Which was sort of my mom’s dream door. She had it specifically imported from Italy.”

And my mom was furious about it. Even more so than about what I did with Dad’s brand-new car.

“Was any of that salvageable?”

I slowly shake my head. “My mom had to replace the door. And my dad just shelved the car after that. He said it still smelled like spray paint.”

I’m not sure but something like… satisfaction passes through his features. Pride even.

“Good.”

“What?”

His jaw clenches slightly before he says, “Now that you’ve spray painted and ruined their so-called rich-ass dreams, they’ll think twice about ruining yours. So you should tell them. Now.” Then he adds, “About art school.”

The sting in my thighs ratchets up then.

Delicious, glorious sting.

Because I was right.

He is satisfied. He is proud about what I did for my art. And no one has ever done that. I mean, yes my girls here at St. Mary’s are proud of me and they accept me for who I am.

But the very man who inspired me is the one who’s proud and I love that.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out then. “About what I did yesterday. I was such a jerk to you. And on your first day no less. I’m not like that. All the things in my file and all the things that Callie said, they are true. I’m a good girl. I don’t make trouble. And I especially don’t want to make trouble for you.”

“For me.”

“Yes,” I say, digging my fingers into the chair. “Because you’re my best friend’s brother.” And the man who set me free. “You’re my best friend’s best brother and I… I’ve heard so many things about you. So many wonderful things. About how much you love your family. How you have kept them together. How you’ve brought them up, taken care of them. How you’ve given up so much to be there for them.”

He has.

Callie has told me all about it. All about how their dad was never much in the picture when they were growing up and so everything fell on their mom. And Conrad, being the oldest son, shared her burden.

And when their mom died, he was the one who was there to pick up all the pieces. He was eighteen at the time — Callie was four and her other siblings were all kids too — and in college on a soccer scholarship. But he gave all that up and came right back.

Not to mention, what he’s doing right now.

He’s here because of his sister.

“And now, you’re here,” I continue, feeling such a rush of warmth for him. “You took the job for Callie, to look after her and that’s just… amazing.”

I’ve never met anyone like him. So strong and so devoted to his family. So protective.

So good.

You’re a good man…

She wrote that, didn’t she? H.

Whoever she is, she was right.

“Look after her, yeah,” he mutters, narrowing his eyes slightly as if in thought. “But as it turns out, I’m a little too late for that.”

I frown.

Is he talking about Callie’s pregnancy?

Because I know Conrad and the rest of her brothers haven’t dealt with it very well. They were all angry and upset in the beginning, mostly at Reed. And even though they’ve decided to work together now to help Callie get through this, there’s still some tension between her brothers, especially Conrad, and Reed.