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“Thanks, Jon. How’s your fiancée?” I ask.
“Some days are better than others. Sleeping in our own bed helps, though.
“I get that.” A thought pops into my head about her sudden illness. “Is there any chance she’s pregnant?”
His eyes go wide as though this was a thought that hadn’t occurred to him. His expression of surprise then shifts into a neutral expression as he clears his throat. “No comment.”
I could pry him with more questions, but I’d rather not go any deeper into my brother’s sex life than I already have.
“Okay.” I change the subject. “Anyway, um, there was something else I wanted to talk with you about.”
“Is this about you and Jake?”
I hesitate. “Why don’t we sit down?”
He nods, following me into the spacious living room with big windows overlooking the large backyard.
“I’m all ears.” He smiles.
I sigh. “I know how you said you were okay with Jake pursuing me.”
“Yes,” he responds. “And I still am. Why? Did he already fuck up or something?”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “No, no. Everything is fine. Really good, actually.”
“Good to hear he’s making you happy.”
“So you did know. That we liked each other.”
“It wasn’t lost on me that Jake never went into a committed relationship. I knew because he would never commit to another woman.”
“If you knew how we felt about each other, why didn’t you say anything?”
“You’d just turned eighteen. You needed to find yourself. Spread your wings.”
“You could have prevented me from going. You had so much authority over me.”
“I didn’t want you to think you couldn’t decide anything for yourself. I wanted you to come to your own conclusions about Jake.”
I shake my head. “Now I wish I’d made different choices.”
He rests his hands on mine. “We all feel that way about some moments in our lives. The important thing is you two now have each other.”
He’s right; we do have each other. Jake came back to me, and I came back to him. No matter what happened in the past, I think we were meant to be together.
“I’ve already told Jake this, but if there’s anyone I trust to take care of, love, and cherish you, it’s him. I’ve always known he’d treat you the way you deserved to be treated.”
Happy tears begin to well in my eyes. “Why didn’t you try to intervene when I got back from school?”
He whips away one of my fallen tears with his thumb. “Like I said, I wanted you to come to your own conclusions. I was also waiting for Jake to make a move.”
“If you were for us being together, why did you get upset with Jake on New Year’s?”
“As your older brother, I had to find some way to bring you two close. When the opportunity presented itself, I ran with it.”
I laugh. “You sure had me fooled.”
“Does that mean I get an Oscar?” he teases.