She loves Ethan with her entire heart.
He loves her back with his.
They have no idea their engagement eats at me. They have no idea some ugly part of me would rather they be miserable than I be alone.
I swallow that part down. "Ethan told you about our dinner?"
"Yeah." She smiles. "It's really nice, throwing us an engagement party."
Ethan shoots me a cutting look. "Yeah, it's nice. Too bad Mom and Dad will be there."
"Ethan." She looks to me. "Really, Mal. It's sweet." She moves close enough to give me a hu
g. "You need anything from me?"
"Just your attendance," I say.
She smiles. "We'll be there." When the teakettle whistles, she nods to the kitchen. "One second."
Ethan sits on the back of the couch.
He looks to me and raises a brow. You were doing something interesting last night.
I look back. Maybe I was.
We stay quiet as Violet comes back into the room with two cups of tea and hands one to me.
She looks between us. "Still peas in a pod." She leans down and plants a kiss on Ethan's lips. "I have to finish makeup. I'll get out of your hair."
He presses his forehead to hers and mumbles something I can't make out. Judging from the way she turns red, it's something dirty.
God, they really are fucking cute.
She struggles to pull away. After another round of goodbyes, Violet takes her tea into the bedroom. I only get a glimpse of its purple walls before she shuts the door. The room really does scream Violet.
No doubt Ethan screams Violet in that room most nights. I've certainly heard the two of them fuck from the other room at our place, or on the tour bus, or backstage, or in the hotel room next to theirs—let's just say, they're loud.
The tea is perfect. Jasmine. Soft. Floral. Like Lacey. She's still burned into my brain. It lessens the sting of losing my little brother to an engagement. No, it twists the jealousy to something else.
Instead of wanting my family back together, all in one place, I want what Ethan and Vi have.
I want to love someone with my entire heart.
To trust them with every part of me, not just my body.
Ethan smiles. "You smell like sex."
He's right. I shrug, like I'm not intoxicated by the way Lacey is lingering on my body.
"You never smell like sex."
"And?"
"Nothing." His smile gets wider. "How is she?"
"Spent."
He laughs. "Of course." He looks to the closed bedroom door. "I assume you aren't here to brag you got laid."