Not normal laughter.
Nervous laughter.
The kind people make when something has happened that nobody knows how to respond to.
Then silence.
I stepped through the back door.
And stopped.
My sister was kissing my husband.
Not almost kissing.
Not accidentally kissing.
Kissing.
In her own garden.
In front of thirty people.
In front of our mother.
In front of her husband.
Callan saw me.
His entire body changed.
He pulled away so quickly that Sasha stumbled backward.
“Bryony—”
I couldn’t hear anything after that.
My hands were shaking.
I was still holding the dish.
Sasha looked at me.
And smiled.
“It was a dare.”
Nobody moved.
She stepped closer.
“Sorry, sis.”
Then she shrugged.
“He kisses better than Bram.”
Someone gasped.
My mother whispered, “Sasha.”
Bram stood perfectly still.
I looked at Callan.
He was white.
“Bryony, please.”
I couldn’t speak.
Sasha reached for the serving dish.
