Page 122 of Falling for the Grumpy Bad Boy

“Oh no,” I said, plopping down next to him on the couch. “Henry’s talking to a girl. Should I get Mom? This feels like a momentous occasion.”

“Clem!” Henry protested, but he was grinning. He turned the screen away from me.

The girl on the screen giggled. “You must be the famous sister. Henry talks about you all the time.”

Henry groaned and turned the phone so I could see the young woman. She was cute. I could see why my brother was interested.

“All good things, I hope,” I said, waving at the phone.

“Mostly,” she teased, which made Henry laugh.

After a few more minutes of me embarrassing my brother—which was my sisterly duty—he finally hung up. But instead of the usual good-natured groaning about my interference, he looked thoughtful.

“So, she seems nice. What’s her name?”

“Maya. She’s a senior at my school, but she’s going to NYU next year for pre-med.” His expression grew more serious. “I really like her, Clem. Like, really like her. But if I get the Syracuse scholarship…”

He trailed off, and I could see where this was going. Long distance. The challenges of maintaining a relationship across state lines while juggling college and sports.

“Henry, there will be plenty of girls at college. Don’t get too hung up on just one person. I know you feel like you’re all crazy in love, but you haven’t really been out there. Your dating pool is your high school. When you go to college, you’re going to meet young women from all over. You’re jumping out of the pool and into the big ocean. I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to limit yourself.”

He frowned.

“What?” I asked.

He shrugged, but I could tell he was disappointed. “That just isn’t what I expected you to say. Like, at all.”

He got up from the couch and headed toward the kitchen, leaving me sitting there feeling like the worst sister in the world.

Any other time—any time before this week—I would have told him that love was beautiful, distance be damned, and if he really liked Maya, he should give it a try. I would have encouraged him to follow his heart, to believe that good things could happen to good people.

But instead, I had let my own romantic disaster poison my advice to my little brother.

I gritted my teeth, angry at myself. I would not let this turn me into some bitter, cynical person. I would not become dark and stormy like Rhett, letting past disappointments color every interaction.

No way.

Standing up from the couch, I marched into the kitchen. Henry was trying to taste test the pumpkin pie cooling on the counter while my mother swatted him away.

“Hey,” I told him. “I’m sorry about what I said. That wasn’t fair to you or to Maya.”

He looked up and shrugged. “Whatever.”

“The truth is, if you really like this girl, you should give it a shot. Long distance is hard, but it’s not impossible. And you’re both smart, capable people who can figure it out if you want it badly enough.”

A smile slowly spread across his face. “Now that sounds more like my sister.”

“Yeah, well, your sister had a momentary lapse in optimism. It won’t happen again.”

He pulled me into a hug. “You okay, Clem? You seem different since you got back.”

I hugged him tightly. “I’m fine. Just adjusting to being home.”

It wasn’t exactly the truth, but it wasn’t exactly a lie either. I was adjusting to the idea that sometimes things didn’t work out the way you hoped, but that didn’t mean you stopped hoping altogether.

“I’m going to find Dad,” Henry said.

Mom looked up from the sweet potato casserole she was making. “Want to talk about it?”