Oops, I've Fallen

“Uh, hey, I get your shock, but maybe lower your voice a little. We’re not in a courtroom, sis. We’re on a plane, and pretty much everyone is listening.”

“I don’t care!”

Oh boy.

“The sex injury thing isn’t a big deal, Wills. She and Sal got injured while boning, but they tried to keep it under wraps.”

“Oh. My. God,” she mutters, and her blond hair falls forward as she grips the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. “I think I liked it better when I thought it was related to decorations.”

“Oh, trust me, I did too,” I retort. “I also liked it better when I wasn’t in love with our brother, but man oh man, life sure has a way of throwing some curve balls at us, you know?” I question, but it’s rhetorical. “I mean, just think, if you were the one to go to Florida, you could’ve fallen in love with our brother! Which, by the way, he’s like this sexy Dom freak in the sheets.”

“Stepbrother, Carly,” she corrects, and I tilt my head to the side. “Holy hell. You’re not in love with our brother. We don’t have a brother. But we’re about to have a stepbrother. Although, he doesn’t really count because we’re all grown-ass adults. And also, sexy Dom? Please keep those details to yourself. I don’t think I should be hearing shit like that about someone I’m going to have to endure future family events with.”

Her ramble is long and contains a lot of information, but there’s only one specific thing my brain latches on to.

“So, wait…you don’t think it’s a big deal?”

“That you had sex with Sal’s son Ryan?” she repeats. “Uh, no, not really. I mean, I’m a little mad you’re just now telling me this, but that’s about as far as it goes.”

I pick at imaginary lint on my jeans, my mind starting its stupid path back toward thoughts of Ryan. God, I miss him. So much. But the way we left things, the way I handled things, I just—

“So, you’re in love with him?” Willow asks, snagging my attention.

I sigh, rest the back of my head on the seat, and shut my eyes. “I think so.”

“You think so, or you know so?”

“I think I know so.”

She snorts at that. “That’s such a Carly thing to say. My flighty, impulsive, noncommittal, adorable baby sister.”

Her choice of words instantly makes me think of Ryan again. And a fresh wave of tears threatens to fill my eyes.

Fuck. What is wrong with me? I have to get this under control.

“So…how exactly did it happen?” she eventually asks, and I exhale a slightly shaky breath.

“It’s a long story.”

“Long story, you say?” Willow grins and glances at the fancy gold watch on her wrist. “Well, I’d say it’s a good thing we have another ninety minutes before this flight lands. So, spill it, sis. It’s very obvious you’re in need of a listening ear right now. And, well, I’m downright curious to the know the deets.”

Shit.

She nudges me and hands me another Twizzler. “C’mon. Maybe I’ll be able to help you.”

“Help me? With what exactly?”

“With clarity,” she responds. “Which you very visibly need.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because your emotions are on a pendulum. One second, you’re smiling, and the next, you look like someone kicked your puppy.”

Ugh.

Against my better judgment, I start from the very beginning and tell Willow everything.

The stolen taxi.

Betty Matthews and her garbage cans.

Water aerobics.

Our first kiss.

Secret rendezvous.

Our hotel getaway.

I don’t leave out a single detail. Of that, I’m certain.

And when I get to the end, she just sits there, jaw dropped and speechless.

“Oh shit. It’s bad, isn’t it?” I question. “You’re about to tell me that I’ve lost it and that you would prefer if I stay away from our brother.”

“Stop saying brother!” she exclaims on a laugh. “He’s going to be our stepbrother, and as I already said, we’re full-fledged adults, Carly. This doesn’t really count.” Her eyes turn serious. Very, very serious. “Do you want to know what I think?”

“Yes.”

“You’re definitely in love with him. And you know what else?”

Gah. “What?”

“He’s in love with you too.”

I don’t know why, but her words give me some kind of hope.

Like maybe she’s right.

Like maybe Ryan has been thinking about me as much as I’ve been thinking about him.

Like maybe Brody and Nina and now Willow are right about the stepbrother thing not being a big deal.

“I think you should go for it,” she adds and reaches out to tap my hand.

“I wish it were that easy,” I mutter.

“Oh, but it is,” she says with a little smile. “It really is that easy, Carly.”

Goodness, I’m really starting to hope my sister is right…

Tampa, FL

The instant our taxi pulls into Sunny Creek Village, a wave of nostalgia hits me hard. Even though it’s nearing nine in the evening, my eyes can still make out all the special spots that hold significant memories in my heart.