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My phone buzzed again.
Sebastian: Hopefully they don’t keep you long fulfilling all your new duties…I prepped the meat last night and can’t wait.
Our annual tradition. On the anniversary of Rob’s death, we ate his favorite meal. Smoked chicken thighs, roasted broccoli, and macaroni and cheese. Not just any macaroni and cheese, but Sebastian’s signature dish he perfected in high school and spoiled us with. It was the fancy kind with toasted breadcrumbs on top and real cheese oozing through every noodle.
My mouth watered, and I wanted to call him. To unload all my problems on him and hear him tell me, in his deep, soothing voice, that it would all be okay. But I couldn’t. This day was hard enough for both of us, and his text was upbeat. I would not bring him down with my problems.
Emily: Yum! Can’t wait. No staying late. Promise! <3
Sebastian: Good!!
A biting wind blew through the cemetery, and I pulled my coat tighter around me. It was supposed to be one of our last warm fall days, but apparently nothing was going to go right.
“I’ll be back soon,” I promised my brother.
Pressing my hand to his name, I paused for a moment, imagining his arms around me. His bright eyes lit up with a mischievous smile.
And then I left.
Chapter Four
Emily
“Welcome home.” Sebastian waved from the kitchen and I smiled, setting my purse on the table we kept by the door.
I tucked my box of shame underneath, hoping I could sneak it to my room later before he saw. It would have been easier to hide it if I had come home before he got off work, but I didn’t.
I had driven around aimlessly until Sebastian sent me a message to let me know the mac and cheese had gone into the oven.
It was good to be home, even if I was about to be interrogated as soon as he saw my face.
My eyes were puffy, and my throat was raw. The crying didn’t help the situation, but most of the irritation was from screaming into my coat on the side of the road next to a big, empty field near the cemetery.
I went to Rob’s grave much too often to lose my cool there, but as I drove away, I couldn’t help the anger that rose inside me.
It was threatening to spill out again now that I was in the comfort of our home.
Sebastian came out of the kitchen, a towel thrown over one shoulder. I ducked back, hidden by the shadowed entryway, and waved.
He strolled across the room, arms open.
“Welcome home.” He kissed my cheek, and I leaned into his hug, laughing at his over-the-top hello.
“Hey Bash.”
“There’s that smile.” He grinned and my stomach did somersaults.
Gone was the over-the-top greeting voice, replaced by something smoother. Silkier.
Friendlier. Not silkier. He was only being friendly.
This was a hard day for both of us, and I didn’t need to make it harder by reading into something that wasn’t there.
Sebastian’s deep blue eyes flicked over to the box underneath the table. “What’s this?”
“Nothing, just stuff from work.”
He reached behind me, engulfing me with his warm amber scent, and turned the light on. I didn’t know amber was the name of a smell until I found a candle at the mall labeled ‘Amber Mountains’.
