***
"That was fun." Talon glanced over at me from the driver's side of his beat-up pickup truck. "You want me to take you back to your Mom’s or do you maybe wanna-"
"My Mom’s." I gave him a shy smile, feeling like shit for pretending to have a good time. The date wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It felt like going out with a stranger that I never planned on seeing again. Weird. Awkward. A lie.
"Oh okay." He chuckled nervously. "I was just going to see if you wanted to have a drink back at my place."
"Maybe next time." Fuck. Had I just agreed to a next time? It wasn't happening. I'd have to tell Brandon to let his friend down softly. He'd set the poor guy up with his broken-hearted sister, he could let him down.
I was an idiot for agreeing to it.
"Oh yeah. For sure. Next time." He snorted and pulled up in my mother's driveway. "You want me to walk you to the door?"
"Nope." I opened the door and got out, turning back toward him. His spiky blond hair had enough mousse to last a week, his tattoos hot, but covering every inch of skin up to his throat. He not only wasn't Kendal, but he was the opposite of him. "But thank you."
"Yeah. Sure, and Dana." He leaned toward my seat and reached out.
I extended my hand to take his, feeling incredibly tense about what he was up to. "Yeah?"
"I really like you. I think we could be something special." He cleared his throat and released my hand. "You're a beautiful woman. Think about letting me be your man."
"You barely know me." I pulled my hand back slowly, trying not to offend him. He was nice enough, just not someone I would ever see myself with.
"I know, but I wanna know everything about you." He smiled. "I'm being sappy."
"Kinda, but its okay." I moved back. "Call me soon."
"Like now?" He laughed and I closed the door, faking a smile that left me feeling like shit.
I walked to the house, pulling out my phone just to look like I had something to do. A missed call. From Kendal.
"And a message." I stopped on the front porch and dropped down onto the porch swing, putting the phone to my ear. His voice was deep, delicious, perfect. I closed my eyes and leaned back, letting the high of knowing that he wanted to still talk to me wash down my center and bring me to life.
He'd called and hung up a few times, making me think he was second guessing his desire to talk to me. No. He was broken. Hurt. Needy.
Just like me.
The front door opened, and my mom poked her head out. "You back already?" She smiled. "It's not even dark yet."
"Don't ask." I tucked the phone in my pocket. Kendal wanted me to chaperon an event for the college, but there was no way. I didn't want to talk through things, because it would simply show my insecurities. My sister was better than me in a million ways, and I knew myself. I would blurt them all out and help solidify in his mind why Ana was much better for him than I was.
"That bad?" My mom moved back and held the door open.
"Talon was fine, but my heart is broken, Mom." I sat down at the kitchen table as emotion beat against the back of my throat. "I fell in love with Kendal. I know you think he's a piece of shit."
My mother brushed her hand down the back of my head before sitting down and taking my hand. "I'm not in love with the idea of you seeing him, but maybe I was wrong. We were pretty hard on your sister when she started dating him six years ago, but she was one of his students. Your father had a cow over it."
"You called him a pervert the other day."
She smiled as if she were proud. "I did, didn't I?"
"Mom." I gave her a look to remind her that this was the man I wanted to marry.
"Right." She released my hand and sat back. "My only concern is how this man ended up with Ana and then you. How could he not know? Explain that to me?"
"I don't know." I let my hands drop into my lap. "I know that he loved her. He told me before we realized that she was my sister. He hasn't dated since her. There's no way he could have linked us up."
"Sure he could have, baby. He's a professor at UT and you're a student. All he has to do is look up Ana's record and he could find you."
"You think he used me to get to her?" Horror filled my chest as I glanced up and tried not to scream.
"What? No. I didn't mean... well, it sounded like that, didn't it?" She gave me a quizzical look."
"Yeah. It did, Mom." I let out a sigh. "I love him so much. I just want him to be happy."
"Have you spoken to him since he left here?"
"No. He's called a few times, but didn't leave a message." I pulled my phone from my pocket. "He finally called and asked me to come to a school event on Friday with him."
"He's not allowed to date students, Dana. He's playing with fire again."
"I know." I pushed the phone around, wanting to break away from my mother so I could listen to his message ten more times in privacy. "We're not getting back together, and he didn't know I was a student when we met. I helped his sister at the hospital. She died a few weeks back."
"Oh, no. That's horrible." My mother's expression was comforting. She cared that he was suffering. Maybe there was hope.
"I just keep thinking that Ana is more suited for him. She's beautiful and smart and they have so much in common."
"Does he love you, Dana?"
"I don't know. I thought he did. It sure felt like he did." I reached up and pressed my fingers to my eyes. I didn't want her pity or anyone else's. Kendal deserved the best. He deserved Ana.
"Then you go after him. Your sister missed her chance. She's gone against your father and I more times than I care to admit to, but she didn't that time. You know why?"
"Why?" I whispered, having trouble breathing.
"Because she didn't love him the way he loved her. He deserves better. He deserves you, baby. Just make sure that he's in love with you, Dana. Don't get hurt."
I stood up and moved to hug her. "I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but maybe I'll go to the event this weekend and at least talk things out with him."
"I think that's a good idea." She patted my butt and smiled up at me. "And you know what?"
"What, Mama?"
"Ana thinks you're beautiful and smart, too. She wants to be like you."
"Lies." I smiled.
"No... I promise, baby. Stop living in her shadow, and remind me to tell her to stop living in yours."