Page 105 of Icebound Hearts
“Hey, sis,” he says, nodding at me in greeting before striding over to Callie to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, firefly,” he murmurs, and Callie lights up, beaming as their lips meet in another quick kiss.
They really do look like a picture-perfect couple, standing together like this. Reese’s arm stays wrapped around Callie’s waist, keeping her close as he gazes down at her with adoration in his eyes, and my heart squeezes in my chest at the sight.
I love Callie almost as much as my brother does, and I think she’s perfect for him. I’m so happy they found their way to each other, after being friends for so many years.
But the sight of them makes something inside me twinge a bit—because as much as I keep saying I’m not interested in love or dating, part of me wishes I could have what they have someday.
That thought makes my mind flash with the image of Sawyer’s arm wrapped around my waist like that with Jake standing between us. My heart skips a beat at the thought, and I shake my head slightly to clear it.
Reese looks at me quizzically. “You okay?”
I give him my brightest, most carefree smile. “Yeah, why?”
“Oh, well, I just asked if you were ready to go and you stood there staring at me blank-faced, like you didn’t hear a word of it.”
“Sorry, I was distracted by how cute you two are together,” I cover quickly. Reese rolls his eyes slightly but Callie smiles at me.
“That’s sweet of you to say, Violet. Thanks!”
“Are you ready to go? I’m starving,” Reese says, pressing another soft kiss to Callie’s cheek before letting her go.
“Yeah, I could definitely eat too.”
“Then let’s hit the road. See you in an hour or two, firefly,” Reese tells Callie before we head for the door.
“Good to see you,” I tell her, waving as we leave.
I follow my brother to his car, glancing at him as he walks around to the driver’s side door. I don’t really know where we’re going—he picked the restaurant in advance and insisted on making it a surprise—but my curiosity is killing me.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
Reese flashes me a playful look and pushes the unlock button on his key fob, making his car beep. “Nope. Get in.”
When we’re buckled in, Reese starts the car and turns on some music, then backs out of the driveway.
“Should I be prepared for a long drive?” I ask, and he laughs.
“I’m not kidnapping you, sis. We’re just going downtown.”
True to his word, we park on the street a few minutes later in front of a very fancy looking Thai restaurant that I’m definitely not dressed appropriately enough for. Mildly annoyed, I unfasten my seatbelt and give him a glare. “I wish you’d told me we were going somewhere this nice.”
“Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise, would it? And you look great, don’t worry. They don’t have a super fancy dress code or anything.”
“You’d better be right about that,” I say and climb out of the car with him. He at least had the foresight to make a reservation, which is good because the place is buzzing. The host takes us to a two-person table tucked away in the back corner of the surprisingly small restaurant, away from most of the other patrons. The place is decorated in a very traditional Thai style, and even the booths have the trademark accented edges.
“See? No problems at all,” Reese says as he takes his seat and picks up his menu to scan it. A waiter brings us glasses and a large pitcher of water, and Reese orders an appetizer plate of spring rolls to get us started.
“The Panang curry here is incredible. You’ve gotta try it,” he adds, reaching over the table to point at it on my copy of the menu.
“Mmm, okay. Thanks.”
I end up ordering the curry, while Reese gets some sort of soup I’ve never tried before. He collects both our menus and passes them to the waiter, then tucks his hands under his chin and stares at me.
“So, how are things going working for Sawyer?”
I knew he was going to ask about that at some point—the whole nannying arrangement was his idea, after all—so I make sure to keep a neutral expression on my face. “It’s been good. Surprisingly so.”
“Oh yeah?” Reese asks, his brows lifted.