Page 10 of Revealing Mark

I straightened in my seat, feeling uncomfortable. I frowned. “How do you know…?”

Sophie had been the only person I had told about the details of the breakup. With the rest of my family, I had never gone into the finer details of who had calledtimeon the new relationship.

“I could see you weren’t as invested in the relationship as he was.”

He might not be saying that if he knew we had moved in together after just a few weeks of dating. With the genuine concern in his features, I felt a pang of guilt for keeping him in the dark, but if he knew about my current predicament he would not be happy. I could already hear the lecture echoing in my head. I shrugged, trying to say as little as possible so I didn’t give away anything I was trying to hide.

“Maybe take some time to figure out what you really want.”

That was the one thing about Matthew, he always had lots of advice to share. He would usually be the one I would turn to when I was in a difficult situation that I didn’t know how to resolve, but this was the first time I hadn’t, and I was struggling.

“You’re right,” I said a little breathlessly, feeling awful for not being upfront about what was going on.

“You’ll know when you find the right one.” I followed his gaze that drifted to where Sarah was.

It made my heart squeeze at how he gazed at her, like nothing else mattered.

“If not, I’ll get a cat,” I quipped, trying to cover up my vulnerability with a joke.

Matthew shook his head at me while suppressing a smile. “As an animal lover, I can’t let that happen.”

I giggled before straightening my features but I couldn’t stop smiling. “Why not?”

“Try a plant first.”

He leaned over and slung an arm around to pull me into a half-hug. “I love you.”

“Ditto.”

“I hate it when you say that,” he said with a sigh, releasing me. “Why can’t you just say it back like everyone else?”

Even though I was brought up in a close family, I found it difficult to be expressive about my feelings. From a young child,I had always replied to an ‘I love you’ with ‘Ditto’. I’d been doing it for so long I wasn’t even completely aware I did it. And the weird thing was, that was the only time I used it.

“I don’t know,” I mumbled.

He studied me. “You’re not going to find happiness until you learn to let people in.”

I crossed my arms and pinned my brother with a look that told him he was skating on thin ice. “I let you in.”

“I’m family. Family doesn’t count.”

My frown eased while I considered what he was saying. Was there some truth to it?

“Let me ask you a question.” He rested his arms on his legs and linked them together as he leaned closer. “How many close friends do you have?”

“A few,” I replied, feeling self-conscious as I tried to rack my brain for some names. The truth was I had friends but none that I told my deepest, darkest secrets to. Sophie knew me better than anyone and I didn’t always tell her everything either.

“I don’t want to argue with you. All I want for you is to be happy.” He leaned back in his chair. “If it’s with or without someone.”

“You think that’s why none of my relationships have worked out?”

He nodded. “I’m no shrink but you’re a difficult person to get close to. I’m your brother and I still wonder what’s going on in your head.”

“And you do with Sophie?”

“Yes. Sophie is an open book.”

He pointed to Sophie, who was listening to something our aunt was saying.