Page 26 of Beautiful Small Things

“I don’t know,” she shrugs. “Things have been strange lately.”

“How so?” I ask. When she doesn’t answer, I lean forward and meet her lavender eyes. “Does this have to do with Orion?”

Surprise covers her face. “Why would you ask?”

“Call it a mother’s intuition,” I grin.

Satisfied with my answer, she agrees to confess. “The other night Orion called me to pick him up from a party.”

“OK,” I say, waiting for the rest of the story.

“And when I picked him up, he was drunk and being strange.”

“Strange, how?” I wonder. I know my nephew, and he’s a good kid. My mind is going to a million different places about what he could’ve done to make her upset when she continues.

“He asked me if I’ve ever been kissed. Then he told me I was pretty,” she says as her cheeks redden with embarrassment.

“Well, that’s...oh, wow,” I say, at a loss for words.

“Do that for a few more days, and you’ll be where I am right now,” she quips.

I chuckle at her sarcasm. “Have you talked to Orion about it?”

“He conveniently doesn’t remember anything,” she says, irritation lacing her tone.

“Let me reword that. Do you want to talk about it?“ I ask, folding my hands on the table and leaning forward.

She chews on her lips as she considers my question. “Yes,” she says with finality.

“Then you should. It would seem to me that he is experiencing some kind of feelings for you, which is not at all surprising. You’re smart and beautiful. You spend all of your time together. It reminds me of Callan and Colby.”

“We are cousins,” she says, but her words form more of a question than a statement.

“You’re not really cousins,” I say with a shake of my head.

“Orion said that, too,” she says with a sigh.

“My advice is to talk to him, Squirrel. Relationships are complicated enough. Communication is essential. Trust me, I know.”

She nods in acknowledgment. “Don’t tell anyone about this, please. I don’t desire our entire family in my personal life.”

“Pinky promise,” I say and reach out and link my little finger with her own.

Chapter eleven

The Failed Seduction

James

As I head out on the highway for the long drive back to that God-forsaken hotel I’m calling home, I think about the events of this evening. The award ceremony and how beautiful Iris looked. Her sadness while speaking about her childhood. Her confusion about Orion.

Man, I don’t miss those days. The days of being young and stupid. Well, more stupid than I am now. I wasn’t lying when I told her I crashed and burned with Marcus. It was absolutely horrible. I play James Taylor on my music app and drive the lonely dark stretch of road with my memories of that fateful day.

I sing “Fire and Rain” quietly as I think about Marcus Sinclair. I was such a silly girl, waiting for him to notice me.

After my failed attempt at age fourteen at getting him to see me as a gorgeous woman worthy of saving himself for, I tried to let go of my crush. I tried to look at boys my own age. I flirted. When I saw him several times after that, I tried acting indifferent. His own indifference irritated the living fuck out of me.

Around the time I was sixteen and he saved me at the beach, those feelings grew deeper. We are talking full-on, hearts in the eyes, all-consuming teenage love. But Marcus loved himself. He loved having a good time. He loved his independence. So for years, I watched him. My sister’s boyfriend’s best friend. He was in my space, my head, and my heart. I was just someone to tease.