every day? Miracles do happen. True love lasts forever. Lina is in love with me not my brother.
Whoa, where the hell did that come from?
Lina was watching him intently, piercing him with those eyes that looked past the shades and right into his goddamned soul. What did she see, he wondered? And why the hell wasn’t she running away as fast and as far as she could?
“Maybe it’s true what they say, Kyle. Perception is reality. It doesn’t matter what you really are, because people – even the ones you think are special – will believe what they want to believe. To pretend otherwise is just a waste of time and energy.”
She sighed. It was a sad sound, like she’d given up hope. Lina couldn’t give up hope. She was hope, the frigging embodiment of “happily ever after”. If she lost faith, what chance did the rest of them have?
Kyle absently started rubbing her palm again. It felt good to touch her, to have his skin against hers. She closed her eyes. Even as pissed as she was, she had no defense against his touch whatsoever, and that sent a surge of pride through him. It was just him, his touch, that could do this to her. He felt it in his bones.
“When I was a kid, I snuck into the kitchen and helped myself to a piece of cake.” Her lips quirked at the memory. “The only problem was, it was a custom wedding cake my mom had made for one of her friend’s daughters. The wedding was only hours away and there was a great big hole gouged in the front where I had dug my fingers in.”
Kyle could picture it easily: the image of Lina as a little girl, unruly curls everywhere, icing all over her face, eyes lit in pure joy.
“Then Johnny came in and saw what I had done. He quickly washed off my face and made me hide in the pantry while he started taking handfuls of cake and stuffing them into his face. Of course, mom came in seconds later and started screaming when she saw what he was doing. She cried all day.”
She paused, and Kyle was silent. Even Tiny was listening intently, his electric needle poised just over her hip.
“Johnny got the whupping of his life that day from my father for making my mother cry like that. I snuck into his room that night; he had to lay on his stomach because his butt hurt so bad. I just laid next to him and stroked his hair. I asked him why he did it. He hadn’t done anything wrong; it was me who’d ruined the cake. He said it didn’t matter. My dad was going to punish someone, and he’d never hit me, so Johnny would have gotten it anyway. At least this way he got to enjoy some of the cake first.”
“I didn’t believe him. I wanted to tell them that I had done it, but he wouldn’t let me. He said that as long as I knew the truth, that was all that mattered. He told me that as long as I believed in him, he could deal with everything else.”
Lina paused and blew out a breath. “So maybe... maybe when there’s nobody who cares about the truth and you’re being punished anyway, you’re better off just eating the damn cake, you know?”
Kyle’s head was spinning. She did not just tell him that she was doing all this because of what he’d said to her that night at the lake. Why the hell would she care what he thought anyway? His brother believed in her. Wasn’t that enough?
“Seen Jamie lately?” The words came out of Kyle’s mouth sharper than he had intended. Lina let out a breath. She seemed to deflate right before his eyes.
“Have you?” she asked right back, her voice weary.
“No.”
“Maybe you should.”
Yeah, he probably should. He’d been avoiding Jamie like the plague. What could he tell him? I took your girl up to this romantic little spot in the mountains. We shared a kiss that was better than any sex I’ve ever had. And, oh yeah – she thinks you have all the sex appeal of a German shepherd, bro, but she is totally hot for me. Then I called her a whore and she made me take her home, where she has consumed my every thought ever since. And if
Whoa, where the hell did that come from?
Lina was watching him intently, piercing him with those eyes that looked past the shades and right into his goddamned soul. What did she see, he wondered? And why the hell wasn’t she running away as fast and as far as she could?
“Maybe it’s true what they say, Kyle. Perception is reality. It doesn’t matter what you really are, because people – even the ones you think are special – will believe what they want to believe. To pretend otherwise is just a waste of time and energy.”
She sighed. It was a sad sound, like she’d given up hope. Lina couldn’t give up hope. She was hope, the frigging embodiment of “happily ever after”. If she lost faith, what chance did the rest of them have?
Kyle absently started rubbing her palm again. It felt good to touch her, to have his skin against hers. She closed her eyes. Even as pissed as she was, she had no defense against his touch whatsoever, and that sent a surge of pride through him. It was just him, his touch, that could do this to her. He felt it in his bones.
“When I was a kid, I snuck into the kitchen and helped myself to a piece of cake.” Her lips quirked at the memory. “The only problem was, it was a custom wedding cake my mom had made for one of her friend’s daughters. The wedding was only hours away and there was a great big hole gouged in the front where I had dug my fingers in.”
Kyle could picture it easily: the image of Lina as a little girl, unruly curls everywhere, icing all over her face, eyes lit in pure joy.
“Then Johnny came in and saw what I had done. He quickly washed off my face and made me hide in the pantry while he started taking handfuls of cake and stuffing them into his face. Of course, mom came in seconds later and started screaming when she saw what he was doing. She cried all day.”
She paused, and Kyle was silent. Even Tiny was listening intently, his electric needle poised just over her hip.
“Johnny got the whupping of his life that day from my father for making my mother cry like that. I snuck into his room that night; he had to lay on his stomach because his butt hurt so bad. I just laid next to him and stroked his hair. I asked him why he did it. He hadn’t done anything wrong; it was me who’d ruined the cake. He said it didn’t matter. My dad was going to punish someone, and he’d never hit me, so Johnny would have gotten it anyway. At least this way he got to enjoy some of the cake first.”
“I didn’t believe him. I wanted to tell them that I had done it, but he wouldn’t let me. He said that as long as I knew the truth, that was all that mattered. He told me that as long as I believed in him, he could deal with everything else.”
Lina paused and blew out a breath. “So maybe... maybe when there’s nobody who cares about the truth and you’re being punished anyway, you’re better off just eating the damn cake, you know?”
Kyle’s head was spinning. She did not just tell him that she was doing all this because of what he’d said to her that night at the lake. Why the hell would she care what he thought anyway? His brother believed in her. Wasn’t that enough?
“Seen Jamie lately?” The words came out of Kyle’s mouth sharper than he had intended. Lina let out a breath. She seemed to deflate right before his eyes.
“Have you?” she asked right back, her voice weary.
“No.”
“Maybe you should.”
Yeah, he probably should. He’d been avoiding Jamie like the plague. What could he tell him? I took your girl up to this romantic little spot in the mountains. We shared a kiss that was better than any sex I’ve ever had. And, oh yeah – she thinks you have all the sex appeal of a German shepherd, bro, but she is totally hot for me. Then I called her a whore and she made me take her home, where she has consumed my every thought ever since. And if
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