Sweet Dandelion - Page 234
Lachlan’s smile falls. “He’s never going to like me, is he?”
“I don’t know. He’s a softy, but I’m his little sister. The one he was tasked with raising for a year, and I think he feels like he failed.”
“Because of me.” It’s a statement not a question.
“For multiple reasons. He’s too hard on himself.”
Lachlan takes my hand, our joined fingers resting on top of the table. “I want to meet him and get to know him, but if he never likes me are you okay with that?”
I blink at Lachlan. “He’s my brother, not my keeper. He’s important to me, and of course I’d like for things to be cordial, but I’m not naïve either. It’ll take time.”
His lips twitch into a smile once more, his blue eyes twinkling. “And we have a lot of that now, don’t we?”
&nb
sp; Time is fleeting, there’s not an infinite amount. I know that better than most. Any moment can be your last. It’s taught me to treasure every minute, every moment, because you never know when it’ll end.
“We have what we have. Life’s too short to worry about other’s people’s opinions. Even my brother’s.”
Lachlan holds up his pinky. “Pinky promise you’re okay with it?”
I loop my finger around his, grinning, because this is the first time he’s asked me to make a pinky promise. I know he doesn’t want to come between my brother and me. It’s sweet, but Sage will come around eventually.
“Pinky promise.”
Finishing our meal, we clean up together—Lachlan doesn’t want me to help, but I refuse to sit still doing nothing.
Once everything is clean, he turns me loose to pick out a book.
He follows behind me as I scan the shelves, looking for the book I want. He doesn’t say anything as I search, just lets me do my thing.
I finally find it and pull it out with a flourish, turning the cover so he can see.
George Orwell’s 1984 was the start of it all in a way. Why not continue the tradition?
“That’s the one you want?”
“Absolutely. Do you have a pen?”
He digs in his pockets but comes up empty. “Donovan probably has one at the register.”
Sure enough he finds a black Sharpie. I take it from him and scribble on the front page our names and today’s date.
“Are you happy?” Lachlan asks me, his eyes darkening.
“Very.” It’s not a lie. I haven’t been this happy in a long time. There’s a weight gone from my chest, a burden I carried ever since the shooting. I know I’ll never be the same Dandelion Meadows again, but she’s still a version of me, like the broken girl Lachlan first met was another version, and the woman standing in front of him now is another incarnation. It’s all me, just different pieces.
He takes my face in his hands, cradling it like he loves to do, and slants his mouth over mine. The kiss is slow and deep. I feel it everywhere, buzzing in my veins.
Even though I can’t predict time, and how much of it we have, I hope there are many more moments ahead where I feel this happy and loved.
As Lachlan gazes down at me like he’s holding his entire world between his hands, I don’t think I have anything to worry about.
Chapter Eighty-Six
It’s a week later before everyone’s schedules align to meet up at the art museum. Thankfully, Sasha will be coming too and I know she’ll be a great buffer for my brother with Lachlan. He won’t want to act like too much of an ass in front of his girlfriend.
God, I still can’t believe those two are a couple, though in the last month since I showed up at Sage’s, and I’ve been around them more, I see how they work together. He mellows her out and she brings out his silly side that’s been missing since the shooting. It’s nice seeing a light in his eyes again that I hadn’t even noticed had been extinguished. Like me, though, he finally admitted that he started to see a therapist about a month after I left the States. It’s really helped him and his progress gives me hope for my own.
Source: readsnovelonline.net