in search of comfort. My back was to Vaughn so that I couldn’t see his face, but I figured if he thought this was a mistake, he would have pulled me away by now. For someone who claimed I wasn’t his girlfriend, Vaughn sure protected me like I was.
I ended up inviting Selena in and offering her a cup of tea. I didn’t really drink it myself, but it was what you made someone when they were upset or sick, right? Vaughn followed me into the kitchen after she accepted, and I felt his gaze on me the entire time as I filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil.
“You don’t have to do this, you know? She’s not your responsibility.”
“You’re the one who told me to talk to her, and if she really is my sister, I can’t just turn her away.” I finally looked up to meet his gaze and melted at the worry there. “She already told me the truth about our mom and my dad. What more harm can she do?”
Vaughn chewed on his lip as he stared into space, and I had the feeling he was actually trying to figure that out. Walking over to him, I wrapped my arms around his trim waist and listened to the steady rhythm of his heart beating—the heart that belonged to me. He just wouldn’t admit it.
“It’ll be okay,” I whispered when I felt him run his hand down my back.
Tugging on my ponytail, he pulled my head back until our gazes met. “It fucking better be,” he said after he’d kissed me. “Otherwise, sister or not, I’ll make her ass disappear.”
My heart squeezed, but it wasn’t a lighthearted feeling. No, I was wondering where the hell that had come from, and why did it sound like he meant it?
“Vaughn?”
His phone pinged, and I watched, feeling dumbfounded, as he casually pulled his phone from his pocket as if he hadn’t just threatened my sister. His lips flattened as he read the message, and I could see the battle waging in his green gaze.
“You don’t have to stay,” I said, realizing his dilemma. “I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, he sighed before looking me over. His lips twisted in amusement, and I was relieved to see the Vaughn I was hopelessly falling in love with.
“You’re tiny as shit, pip-squeak, but I get your point.” Only after tonguing me while groping my butt like a horndog did he let me go and head for the door. “Call me if anything changes.”
He was gone seconds later, and I pretended not to notice Selena watching him as he left. I guess I couldn’t blame her. Sometimes I still found myself drooling even after all of this time. Taking a deep breath, we stared at each other awkwardly until I broke the silence. “So…how do you like your tea?”
“I still can’t believe you’re going to Harvard,” Selena gushed as she slid on a pair of oversized sunglasses. She then lay back on a beach towel in my borrowed bikini, and I had to admit that it looked better on her than me. While I was mostly skin and bones, Selena was artfully toned. She’d obviously spent a lot of time perfecting her body. We were currently soaking up the sun on the crowded beach after staying up all night talking. Somehow, I ended up letting her crash on our couch instead of driving back to her hotel at the two in the morning. “That’s amazing. My baby sister is going to be a surgeon.”
“I hope so,” I mumbled, humbly admitting my fears. “To be honest, I’m a little worried.” Not only would the coursework prove more challenging, but the competition would also be stiffer. It would be ten times harder to stand out. And I didn’t just need to get through undergrad. There was also medical school and then finding a good residency and fellowship.
“You have no reason to be.” There was so much confidence in her tone when she spoke that I had no choice but to believe her. “I saw those trophies your father keeps displayed, girl. You’re going to kick ass at that stuffy school.” I snorted because most of those trophies were from spelling bees when I was in elementary school, but I appreciated her trying. “And,” she said in a sing-song voice, “you already have a man, and he’s to fucking die for. At