Dear Mister Summers

thirty-two

"W-what?" Accidentally choked on the iced tea, Andin ended up coughing quite violently. Her hand reached for the napkin and she wiped her mouth.

"I am sorry." Piers patted her back, trying to help but unsure whether he should get her something to drink or soothe her. "I should not have said it like that."

Andin soon calmed herself. She leaned back against the back of her chair, her eyes narrowed as her gaze fixated on Piers. It was not every day that someone said something like this to her, let alone her boss's brother. Furthermore, she was pretty sure Piers got the gist that there was something going on between her and Sebastian especially since Sebastian had once mentioned her as his lover thus she could not quite comprehend why on earth Piers was telling her this now. They had not even known each other that long. "Please do explain yourself," she responded, her voice turned formal and business-like.

He ran his hand through his hair, grimacing. "Okay. I like you but I've done something terrible in the past. No matter what my reason was for doing what I did or whether it would justify my action or not, deep down I knew I should've done things differently. Anyway, even though I like you and still am attracted to you, I need to know whether there's something going on between you and my brother. I have to hear it directly from you."

Although she couldn't label what she and Sebastian had right now, she knew there definitely was something so she gave him the confirmation he asked for. "Yes. It's a bit complicated but to answer your question, yes, there is something going on between Sebastian and me."

There was sadness in those green eyes albeit only for a few seconds. "Okay. Great. I, um, wish you all the best. Thank you for confirming that for me."

"No worries," answered Andin curtly, unsure what to say. She reached for her iced tea and cast her gaze to the hand on her lap.

There was a deadly silence between them as they waited for Sebastian to come back. Thankfully he came back shortly after and soon they were on their way to the airport.

"I'm going to miss you," said Piers as he threw his arms around his brother and gave him a hug. "Call me or text me."

Sebastian laughed, shaking his head. "Dang, never know you're this needy," he teased his brother but once the laughter had faded away from his face, he answered truthfully, "I will. I'll text you once we land."

They hugged it out once again then Piers gave Andin a hearty smile. "It's nice to meet you, Andin. Stay in touch."

"Nice to meet you too." Andin gave him a polite smile, not really knowing what to say to his last sentence.

"You'll see her around if you're in D.C., Brother. Maybe you should come back sometime. We all miss you terribly."

Looking at Sebastian's eyes, Andin knew he really meant it.

"I will when I bring you that painting I made for your birthday."

Sebastian, despite being in his late twenties, blushed. His cheeks darkened as he waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine. You don't have to."

* * * * * * *

The flight passed in a dream for Andin. So much had happened since they flew into Sicily that she felt her whole life had been turned upside down. She stared blindly out of the window, the milky white cloud formations pierced with vivid blue reminding her of the orchards near the cottage, snow-white against the spring sky. Sebastian leaned back with his eyes closed. He too was as exhausted as her.

The plane landed smoothly on the ground. After going through the immigration checkpoint and then the arrival gate, they both had their baggage in their hands and walked side by side. His driver had waited for them at the front and rushed to carry their bags into the waiting car. Despite Andin telling him that she could grab a cab, he insisted on driving her home.