I smiled, shaking my head. “You don’t get to use me as an excuse to avoid your sister. I told you, I’ll be just fine. I don’t mind being alone. I’m going to take a hot bath and go to bed early.”
“Are you sure?”
“Luke, I’m positive. What’s up with your sister anyway? You obviously got all the kindness and tact in the family.”
He laughed. “She’s a little rough around the edges.”
“I sensed a little tension between you,” I said, hoping he would just tell me what it was.
“We haven’t talked a lot over the years. She moved away and we just don’t really know each other all that well anymore.”
“It sounded like more than that,” I pressed.
“It’s nothing more than that. We’re just not that close.”
It was clear he didn’t want to talk about it, so I let it go. He hung out for a while before I forced him to go back to the cottage. I was actually looking forward to a night all alone in the house. It would be my first since the accident.
Chapter Six
Luke
IT WAS VERY WEIRD TO be sitting in the living room with my sister. I hadn’t seen her in years, and had barely said more than a few words to her in all that time as well. To have her sitting beside me on the couch, eating a slice of pizza and drinking a beer made me feel like I was in some alternate universe.
“You two are a thing, aren’t you?” Lisa asked.
“Who?” I replied, playing dumb.
“You and Bree.”
“No.”
“Liar. I can tell by the way you look at her. You look at her like she’s a fragile little thing that only you can take care of.”
I shook my head. “She isn’t fragile. She’s tough and can be really strong.”
“Luke, I know you. You like her.”
I sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to let it go unless I confessed. “We had a very brief thing. I ended it. We want to be together, but I can’t be with her when I’m being paid to be her caregiver.”
She grinned. “I knew it! I know she doesn’t necessarily see you, but she has that look on her face when you are around. She likes you.”
“I know she does. I like her, too.”
“Why did you end things?”
I shook my head. “Because it’s hard to be both a boyfriend and the guy that has to tell her when to get out of bed or that she needs to exercise. It’s also very weird to get paid to spend time with your girlfriend. I don’t want to leave her just yet, not until I know which way things are going to go. I want to be there for her. I can do that if I’m working. If I have to get a different job, I won’t get to see her very much.”
“Are you worried she’ll fall for the next guy?” she asked.
I knew my sister well enough to know that she wasn’t trying to come off as rude. It just came naturally to her. She had no filter, no tact, and she could sound obnoxious without even trying. “No, I’m not worried at all. I want what’s best for her.”
She took a drink from her beer before turning her blue eyes that looked so much like my own to focus on me. She was studying me, making me squirm a little. “How hard is it for you to be near her and not touch her?”
I smiled. “Very.”
She laughed. “I knew it. Explain again this little break the two of you are on.”
“As you heard, she has the chance to get her vision back, assuming the surgery is a success. She isn’t sure if she wants to do it. It’s been a long road for her. Doctors get her hopes up only to dash them. She’s battling some serious depression. She’s afraid to get her hopes up only to come out of the surgery with no eyesight and possible complications.”