Page 22 of Picture This

Emily was waiting on the front porch of the lodge as we pulled through the parking lot. She hurried down the stairs to meet us, yanking open Delylah’s door. “Finally. I’ve been so worried. You could have been eaten by a grizzly bear hiking by yourself.”

“You could have come hiking with me.” Delylah grabbed her backpack and climbed out without so much as a glance my direction. “Then we both could have been eaten by a grizzly bear.”

“Funny.” Emily rolled her eyes as Delylah headed for the stairs. “Wait, are you limping? What happened? Oh my god. Do you think you’ll be able to walk down the aisle tomorrow?”

“I just twisted my ankle. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Maybe we should go to the hospital.”

“I just need to rest, Em.” Delylah waved her off and, still not looking back, made her way up the stairs.

Damn. I really didn’t like the image of her walking away.

“Shut the door, Em.” The second it was closed, I drove away to find an empty parking spot. Except even after I turned off the engine, I couldn’t seem to get out of the truck.

Delylah’s scent lingered in the cab, sweet and warm, like vanilla and oranges. By tomorrow, it would be gone. I wasn’t ready for it to be gone, not yet.

“Fuck it.”

Delylah might want a night alone with room service, but she wasn’t going to get it.

Except my sister was still waiting outside the lodge, standing out of the rain on the porch. Her arms were crossed, her face set in a frown. “What happened?”

“She fell and twisted her ankle.”

“That’s not what I meant. You were going to stay at the campsite.” She arched an eyebrow. “What are you doing, Noah?”

“I like her, Em. I like her a lot.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You made me a promise.”

A promise from eight years ago.

After Delylah and I had watched The Shining, we’d stayed up most of the night, talking about everything and nothing. She’d left the next morning after breakfast. No sooner had the front door closed than Emily had begged me not to date her best friend.

This is our senior year. Don’t you want her to have fun? Not be pining for a guy who lives an hour away? It’s weird for me, Noah. After graduation, we’re moving to New York.

Emily had been right. Back then, the timing was off. So I’d made my sister a promise to stay away from Delylah.

I’d gone back to college, returned to my life, and forgotten about my sister’s best friend.

Except there was no forgetting Delylah.

“I’m going to break my promise,” I told Emily.

“No.” She moved in front of me, blocking me from the stairs. “You go through women like a fish through water. And she’s always had a crush on you. She thinks I don’t know, but she’s not that subtle. You’ll just break her heart, Noah.”

I smacked a hand to my chest. “Ouch.”

“Am I wrong? You’re the pickiest man in the world. What was the reason you didn’t bring a date this weekend? She wore too much lipstick. And the woman before that was ‘wimpy.’” She added the air quotes to make her point. “Before that, it was an annoying laugh. A perfume you didn’t like. One woman was too vain. Another hated reading. And there were—what?—four in a row you dumped because there was no chemistry.”

“All right. You’ve made your point.”

“Good. She’s had enough trouble with men this year.”

“You’re comparing me to the asshole who photographed her?”

“She told you about that?”