First Kiss Last by Sara Miller (read e book .TXT) 📗

suggested. “I bet it would help to talk about it.”

“You’re dressed as a cat,” the little girl confessed.

“Yes, I am,” Leah confirmed, even more confused. Dressing in all black was easy, as was adding a headband with ears and drawing on a nose and whiskers with eyeliner. She hadn’t bothered with a tail.

Emmie looked bewildered. She whispered so quietly, Leah almost missed it.

“I thought you’d be a princess like me.” She toyed with the gold colored trim on her Anna dress.

“W-why would you think that, sweety?” Leah felt a moment of panic, afraid of her niece’s answer. Emmie shrugged. She looked up at Leah and opened her mouth to answer when Allison flew into the room.

“Aunt Leah!” she yelled. “MOM! She’s here! Can we go?”

Allison’s voice carried through the whole house and Lily appeared almost instantly. Lily was also dressed as a princess. Leah wished her sister had given her a heads up. She was a black cat in a sea of princesses. Was that why Emmie expected her to be a princess too? Leah hoped it was that simple.

“Are you girls ready? Got your buckets?” Lily reminded them.

Emmie slipped off Leah’s lap and both girls rushed out of the room. Trick-or-treat was serious business. When they returned, both had their pumpkin buckets and were eager for candy.

Leah let her nieces pull her out the door and down the street. Lily followed behind, closing the door and laughing. As a foursome they went from house-to-house. The girl’s buckets filled quickly.

As they neared the dead end part of the street, Leah scanned the crowd. Again. The girls were busy collecting candy and seeing their friends. Lily, apparently, had been watching her sister.

“You’re doing it again.”

Lily had gotten so close that her voice startled Leah.

“What?” Leah blinked at her sister.

“You’re looking for him again,” Lily whispered, “aren’t you?”

Leah shrugged. She wanted to talk about it and she also didn’t. It was too confusing.

“Who is it?” Lily was close and still whispering. “Please?”

“No,” her voice was firm. “It’s just dreams. It’s not real.” Oh, but it was. And it also wasn’t. It was both real and unreal. A tear slipped down her face and Leah swiped at, hoping she didn’t smear her whiskers.

“Why is Aunt Leah crying?” Allison wanted to know.

“Boring old grown-up stuff,” Lily told her daughter. “Which house next?”

Allison, AKA Elsa, pointed ahead and dashed off, clearly unaffected by her aunt’s tears.

Leah looked down. Emmie had stayed at her side. She took Leah’s hand and squeezed it.

“It’ll be okay, Aunt Leah,” she reassured her.

Leah scooped her up and hugged her close. “Thank you, sweetheart.” Emmie had always been the more sensitive of the two sisters, just like she had been more so than Lily. “Ready for more candy?” She bounced her when she said candy. Emmie smiled and nodded, so Leah set her down. Hand-in-hand they followed Allison.

When her nieces finished trick-or-treating, Leah was in no hurry to head home. She stayed and helped Lily check the candy before the girls were allowed to eat any. Allison and Emmie sorted and traded their treats as Lily and Leah used to. Both girls were generous and shared with their mom and aunt. They even set aside pieces for their father.

“Um . . . what about Uncle Eric?” Allison inquired, her little face clearly showing her displeasure. “We don’t have to share with him do we?” she asked indignantly.

Emmie looked up, wide-eyed. Neither girl really liked Eric. At best, they tolerated him. Leah supposed the feeling was quite mutual. How had she never noticed it before? It was so painfully obvious now.

The silence dragged out as she contemplated. The girls must have decided that was a “yes.” They both selected two pieces to share. Allison gave away two sketchy pieces she probably would not have eaten anyway. Emmie did a little better; one of her pieces was even a coveted chocolate. Leah smiled and thanked them before finally saying her goodbyes.

Driving home, Leah reflected on her evening. It was a good night. Maybe not quite as good as Halloween with Cade and Liam, but infinitely better than handing out candy with Eric.

By the time Leah arrived back at the apartment, she was exhausted. She found Eric lounging on the couch flipping through the channels. “How was it?” he asked without looking up.

“It was fun. The girls were so cute. They dressed as Elsa and Anna.”

“Who?” Eric’s attention was still on the TV screen.

“From Frozen.”

“Yes, it’s cold outside, tomorrow is November.” He’d picked up his phone and began typing.

“No, the girls, they were Elsa and Anna . . . from the movie, Frozen.” She tried again, “Do you want to see pics?”

“Oh, right. Nah, I’m good,” he responded, still typing.

Leah tossed the small bag of candy onto the glass coffee table in front of him. It hit with a clink and he finally looked up.

“Meow,” he said, laughing at her outfit. “Cute, babe.” Then he looked at the bag on the coffee table, “What’s that?”

“The girls shared some of their candy with us. The little sweethearts!” she smiled.

“Well, don’t eat all that.” Eric looked her over from top to bottom. “Black only hides so much,” he warned.

Leah was taken aback. Who was this guy? They might not be as close as they once were, but her husband wasn’t usually this rude to her. No wonder her feelings were so confused! The man made no sense.

She snatched up the bag and left the room. After a quick step on the scale and a hot shower, Leah grabbed her phone and quickly messaged her sister.

Am I fat?

What? NO!

Lily’s response was immediate. And apparently she wasn’t finished because she continued to type. Leah waited. The text bubble came and went, as if Lily was typing, deleting and starting again. Finally a single-word response popped up.

Why?

I’m short and curvy. Sometimes it’s hard to tell where curves end and fat begins. :P

You aren’t fat. And your curves are gorgeous. Didn’t you see all the guys checking you out tonight?!?!

HA!