Page 59 of Open Liner
“Damn, when you go in, you go all in,” she said.
“Me or him?” August asked.
Serena shook her head. “That could apply to either of you. So clearly you were made for each other.”
I reached under the table and linked hands with him, our fingers intertwining. August’s eyes met mine, a softness in his hazel gaze that struck right to the core of me. Goddamn, I was so fucking lucky.
“Ugh, are you both going to be gross like that?” Serena wrinkled her nose and took another sip of her mocha. “Love is nauseating.”
“Okay, ice queen,” I responded with an eye roll. Moments like these, I forgot what a wild success Serena was and we vaulted back to the way we were as kids.
“Are you going to the fundraiser?” August asked, and I squeezed his hand a little tighter.
“The whatnow?” Serena asked, drilling me with her “lawyer look.”
“I hadn’t mentioned it to the family yet,” I murmured to August.
“Oh, shit.” He slapped a hand over his mouth. “Forget I said anything.”
Serena shook her head. “Nuh uh, you’re not getting out of that. Either of you. What fundraiser?”
“Sorry” August mouthed at me, but I shook my head, a rueful grin on my lips. Not like I needed to keep the event from my family. I just had my own personal hangups.
“I’m in charge of the firehouse fundraiser coming up, and it’s a show—Spring Fires as well as some other bands.” My shoulders tensed.
“What the fuck, asshat?” Serena reached across the table and smacked me in the shoulder. “Why were you keeping that from us? Did you think we wouldn’t support you?”
I shrugged, staring at the wood grain of the table. “It’s not a huge deal or anything.”
“Yeah it is,” August said, his voice serious. “This is something you’ve worked really hard on pulling together. And I know how excited you are about it.”
“Which is why you’re going to tell the rest of our family, and we’ll all be there,” Serena said, giving me daggers. “Why do you get weird about shit like that?”
“It’s… Shit, Ser, I’m not a success like you and Blair.” I opened my mouth, but the words gummed there. August holding my hand was keeping me tethered in the moment though, his support something I hadn’t realized how badly I needed.
“I want to reach over the table and smack you,” Serena muttered. “There’s no competition, you get that? Are you happy?”
“Yeah,” I murmured, sneaking a glance to August, who beamed back at me.
“Then you’re killing it. That’s the only metric anyone in our family gives a damn about.” She leaned forward and smacked me hard on the arm again. “Changed my mind. It was worth it.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, my throat growing tight. Shit, all this sappiness couldn’t be good for me. “Ow, I feel like you bruised the arm.”
“You’re full of shit,” Serena said, finishing off the dregs of her mocha. “While I would love to stay and chat, I’ve got another client meeting in fifteen. Send me the details about your fundraiser before the end of the night, or else.” She rose from her seat, entering and exiting like a tornado. Serena glanced between the two of us again. “Called it.” Her eyes twinkled, and she strode off in the direction of the front door.
“What the hell just happened?” August blinked a few times.
“I mean, you dated her,” I said. “You didn’t expect this?”
“Uh, apparently I didn’t know her that well,” he scratched at his nape.
“Well, I’m glad for that, baby,” I said, slipping my arm around his shoulders. “There’s only one Castillo I want you falling for.”
“Your other sister?” he teased.
I pinched him in the side, and he yelped. “Ass.”
He leaned in against me, and I didn’t even give a damn that we were being the PDA couple in the coffee shop. “I don’t know if I’ve ever fallen this hard.” He glanced up. “That scare you?”
