“Dude, stop leering at her like that.” Brandon smacked my arm, and I shut my mouth.
Lila laughed, walking toward me and sliding down into my lap, making Brandon groan in dismay.
It had been a week since the two of them had filled me in on the epic craziness that was their new sibling status. A week in which Brandon had turned into an overprotective big brother right in front of my eyes.
Considering I’d always thought of myself as his overprotective big brother, the family dynamic in our little threesome had been interesting to navigate this past week.
For better or for worse, Brandon had insisted on giving Lila his bedroom so she could have some privacy, which left him on the pullout couch and me on an air mattress. This was not my ideal sleeping arrangement with my new girlfriend, but the logical part of my brain knew that he was probably right to be setting some boundaries.
What Lila and I had was new… but it would last.
We had all the time in the world.
That was what I reminded myself as I ran a hand over her smooth thigh and nuzzled her delicious neck.
“Eh-hem.” Brandon had perfected his throat clearing skills these days, and Lila shot him an apologetic grimace before shifting off my lap to sit by my side. “So,” she said, pointedly ignoring Tess. “What’s with the serious vibe? I hustled all the way from school because I thought you guys were wrapping up early and wanted to grab dinner.”
Yup. That was what I’d told her. She looked from me to Brandon and back again, once again ignoring Tess who glared at her from her corner and eyed the three of us with open curiosity.
“Did I miss something?” Tess asked, her gaze darting back to Brandon, who’d crossed his arms to watch Lila and me with the most big brotherly warning stare he could muster.
Tess’s question was the confirmation Brandon and I needed. I knew Lila had been ignoring Tess’s texts and calls this past week, but I’d thought—we’d hoped—she’d at least reached out to fill her sister in on the latest news.
When Brandon and I turned to Lila now, she pursed her lips in a pout I rarely saw anymore. “Why should I trust her with secrets when she doesn’t trust me?”
Tess’s sigh was loud in the tight confines of this trailer. “Is that what this is about? You’re pissed at me for keeping some secrets?”
Brandon looked to me, and we shared a wince as Lila’s cheeks flushed with anger and her whole body tensed as if she might strike. “Some secrets? Some secrets? You kept secrets about me. You kept Daddy’s secrets that affected my life.”
I could see the color fade from Tess’s cheeks as she realized that Lila knew about their father. About how he wasn’t their father.
“Dee, I was only trying—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Lila nostrils were flared, and her cheeks were pink, and from where I sat beside her I could feel her tension. I could feel her hurt. It had me reaching out, lightly touching her back.
Tess tried again. “I just wanted to protect you.”
“Why?” Lila demanded. “You’re not even my real sister. Not even my half-sister. You’re nothing to me, and you didn’t think I had a right to know that.”
Tess flinched, jerking back as if she’d been struck. The words seemed to echo in the silence, and I knew without having to see that Lila was trying not to cry.
It had taken me ages to see it back in Pinedale, but even then, it had been clear that these girls loved each other. Sisters or half-sisters or whatever they were now, they might’ve had one hell of a messed up relationship, but there was love there too. There was a loyalty and protectiveness between them that went both ways.
I reached for Lila’s hand and squeezed.
A flicker of relief ran through me when she squeezed back.
“Whether or not we’re blood,” Tess said softly, “I love you, Lila. You know that.”
Lila looked away and Tess did too. Brandon shot me a questioning look, and I caught his lips twitching upward.
These two were quite possibly the worst I’d ever seen at discussing their feelings.
We all waited for Lila to respond, and when she did, she sounded put out. “I love you too, obviously.” She huffed, and I had to bite the inside of my lip to hold back a laugh. It was kind of hilarious to me now when Lila hid behind her spoiled brat persona.
No one here was fooled.
She turned back to Tess. “I don’t understand how you still don’t trust me. After everything we’ve been through. I thought we were past all that. I thought we were both done letting Daddy get between us—”
“We are,” Tess said. “I am.”
“But you knew—”
“I only figured it out a few days before Daddy confronted us,” Tess said. “And I wasn’t a hundred percent. It was more a guess than anything. I didn’t want to go to you with just a hunch.”
“But you would have kept his secret,” Lila said. “If I hadn’t overheard. You would have kept his secret.”
Tess threw her hands out. “I don’t know, Lila. Maybe.” She glared at Lila. “Maybe I would have.”
“Why?” Lila demanded. “Why, after everything Daddy has done, would you keep a secret like that for him?”
“I wouldn’t have done it for him,” Tess snapped. “I would have done it for me. So I wouldn’t lose you.”
Lila stared at Tess for a long moment. There was nothing insincere in Tess’s response. Nothing calculated. She’d spoken from her heart, and we all knew it.
Even Lila.
After a heartbeat, Lila sniffed. “As if you could ever lose me.” Her lips twitched up as Tess’s eyes widened. “You know you’re stuck with me for life.”
Tess’s shoulders sank and a laugh of relief escaped. “So, you’re talking to me again, then?”
Lila shrugged. “I guess.”
Tess leaned back and shoved her glasses up her nose. “So… what have I missed this week? Any new drama in your life?”
Brandon, Lila, and I burst out in a laugh.
“Well, first of all, sis,” Lila said teasingly. “You should probably say hello to my newfound brother.”
Brandon gave a tip of an imaginary hat. “Howdy, ma’am.”
Lila laughed as Tess’s brows drew together in confusion. “Wait… what?”
And so, for the third time this week, Lila drew in a deep breath and started from the beginning. By the time she was done, Tess was wide-eyed and no doubt filled with questions. But Tess being Tess started in on the most practical side of things.
“Well, crap,” she said. “So now Daddy’s secret is truly off-limits.”
“Unless you want to out me and Brandon as the grossest couple in the history of Hollywood,” Lila agreed. “We could tell people I was just his beard until the cows came home, but it wouldn’t change the fact that we’re brother and sister… and a couple.” She gave an exaggerated shudder of revulsion.
Brandon winced. “Let’s just be grateful I’m gay, yeah?”
Lila gave a little snort of amusement. They’d both been coming to grips with this new sibling relationship in their own ways. But overall, they both seemed pleased as punch to have found each other.