55. Reese

It’s a beautiful fall day. We’ve had a stretch of them now. Bright, warm sunshine, leaves dancing across the ground. We call it a Badger Summer. You can count on them happening in Nebraska late into fall, you just can’t count on them lasting.

It’s seventy degrees today, but could literally snow tomorrow.

We Nebraskans have learned to take advantage of good weather when you have it. These are the same people who will ice fish on melting lakes because the weather is right.

And if there’s beautiful weather on the day of the Harvest Festival, by God, everyone and their dog is going to be there.

Pushing through the crowd, I pick my way past the stand selling caramel apples and cider. I have to circle around a pyramid of bright orange pumpkins and a kettle corn vender.

I spot him talking to Josh and Bo.

It’s not hard to locate them. They stand head and shoulders over everyone else. Impressive, considering the average height for men out this way is a solid six feet tall. He’s chuckling at whatever nonsense is coming out of Bo’s mouth, but I’m in no laughing mood.

Josh spots me first, Bo and Skyler follow his gaze. Slowly turning to look at me.

But I only have eyes for Skyler. “You.”

He gives me a flat look. Dismissive. His lips curve into a wry smile. “Me.”

No.

I can feel him trying to slide back into the big brother’s friend role.

We are not going back to the way things were. That’s impossible. And it pisses me off. Hooking my fingers around his biceps, I haul him away from his buddies. “I need to talk to you.”

I barely catch sight of Josh’s curious expression and have to ignore Bo’s surprised laugh altogether. Skyler follows gamely behind me, allowing me to lead him a safe distance from everyone. A quick glance tells me that Bo and Josh are still watching us, so I let my hand drop away.

“I talked to Eliana.”

Skyler carefully clears his face of emotion. “Yeah? How’s she doing?”

“Still single, thanks to you.”

He’s still holding himself very still. “What did she say?”

I sigh, tossing my hands. “That you were a perfect gentleman, but there wasn’t a spark. Why wasn’t there a spark?”

“It’s not like that every time.”

He pushes a lock of hair behind my ear, giving me a lopsided grin. “I didn’t sleep with her. Do I get credit for that?”

The idea of him sleeping with her or any other woman sends an electric charge of anger through my stomach. And right then and there, I decide I’m not going to set him up on more dates.

Some day, he’s going to pull his head out of his ass and find himself a good woman.

Unless one of us is willing to make drastic changes, that woman won’t be me. That idea fills me with anger and frustration in ten different shades. I would never get in the way of Skyler finding happiness, but I won’t be the one to hook him up.

My heart can’t take it.

“It just didn’t work out. No harm, no foul.”

His voice is soft.

“Okay.”

My gaze drops to my feet. There are plenty of things I’d like to say, but it wouldn’t make either of us feel any better. It wouldn’t fix things.

He plants his hands on either side of my cheeks and angles my face toward his. “I really want to kiss these lips right now.”

Warmth glows in my tummy. “People would see.”

His gaze is locked on mine. “What people?”

“My brother, for one.”

He keeps his hands on my face, glancing over his shoulder. “They’ve moved on.”

Sure enough, they’re gone. And while there’s a steady flow of foot traffic, we’re standing back behind the stands. Nobody’s really looking at us. And damn it if I don’t want to feel those lips on mine. “Okay, just one quick…”

My words are cut off when he bends down, crushing his lips against mine. My lips are still parted and his tongue slides right in, swirling fiercely with mine. A quiet moan, almost a whimper, gets caught in my throat and he pulls back.

His thumb drags across my lower lip, and he raises his eyes to meet mine. “It’s not always like this.”

I can’t tell if he’s talking to himself or issuing me a warning. But I already know that. I’ve experienced your run-of-the-mill love with Jonah, and the chemistry between Skyler and me blows that off the face of the earth.

It’s going to be hard to compare.