A Bonus Scene from The Lemon Sisters!

Brooke had been irritated beyond belief by Linc’s -- her brother-in-law – request/demand for a family overnight camping trip, that everyone meet at the big house at three o’clock sharp. There was little she loved more than camping, but the night promised to be as hard as the knot of anxiety in her chest that had been there ever since the other morning when she and Garrett had ... what. Broken up? Could you break up with someone you weren’t even officially seeing?

At three o’clock, she entered the kitchen and met Linc’s and her sister Mindy’s gaze. “So here’s the thing.”

“You’re not backing out,” Linc warned.
“Yeah, I am.”
Linc shook his head. “No. No cancelling allowed. No one is cancelling. Everyone is going

and you’re all going to like it.”
Brooke understood he was trying to bring the spark back into his and Mindy’s marriage,

but she couldn’t spend twenty-four hours in the woods with Garrett, the man who’d decimated her heart. She just couldn’t. “I’m tired,” she said. “I’m a twenty-eight year old burnout.”

“Twenty-nine,” Garrett said helpfully as he came into the kitchen behind her. Great.
She pointed in his direction without looking at him. “Not until next week.” “Excuse us a minute,” Garrett said to Linc and Mindy. He took Brooke’s hand, then

glanced at her, his face creased into a worried frown.

She knew it was because her hand was icy cold. It was called anxiety. Not giving him the satisfaction of pulling free, she lifted her chin and walked with him into the hallway.

“Brooke.”

With a sigh, looked up at him and realized he wasn’t just worried about her, he was exhausted and frustrated and ... damn, hurting. “Your dad still gone?” she asked softly, in spite of herself aching for him.

“Yes.” And when she opened her mouth to tell him what she thought about that, he said quietly, “let it go. It was his choice, not mine.”

“You could have made your choice more clear, you could have asked him to stay.”

He swore beneath his breath and then backed her to the wall and tilted up her chin. “Okay, so I was an asshole, is that what you want to hear?”

“It’s a good start.”

He shook his head. “I can admit, I’ve got some work to do on that relationship. But to be honest, I’m far more interested in what’s going on with this relationship.”

She sucked in a breath at the word relationship coming off his lips. “We’re not in a relationship anymore.”

“We had a fight. We didn’t breakup.”

Her heart did a ridiculously happy little kick, which in turn also brought a whole new level of fear. Because as they both knew, she was really, really bad at relationships, and to date had messed up every one she’d ever had.

“Brook,.” He cupped her face in those warm, strong hands of his. “What’s this really about?”

She closed her eyes. “It’s dumb.”
“Try me.”
“I’m scared.” She drew a big breath. “I’m scared this isn’t going to be what I want it to

be.”
His fingers sank into her hair and he waited until she looked at him. “You think you’re the

only one? I’m scared too.”
The ache inside her grew, closing off her airway, because that wasn’t true, couldn’t be

true. “You’re not scared of anything.”
His laugh was mirthless. “That would make me an idiot. I’m not a super hero, Brooke. I’m

just a man, who bleeds and hurts like anyone else. I have fears too.” “Name one,” she challenged.

“Losing you again.”
She blinked in surprise. “I’m standing right here in front of you.”
“Yeah, but I banked on that once,” he said quietly. “And I never saw it coming when you

left.”
True story. She lifted her hands and wrapped her fingers around his wrists. “I’m sorry.” “I know, and you’ve said, which means you never have to say it again.” He leaned in and

kissed her softly. “But what do you say about us being scared together.” “My job’s still in LA.”

“And my job’s flexible.”
“Are you saying you’d move to LA?” she asked.
“I’m saying that I’m flexible and I’m not going to rush you into anything.”

She let out a long breath and nodded, feeling the knot of anxiety about that very thing loosen in her chest. Her heart was pounding as she reached out and opened the kitchen door, keeping her gaze on Garrett. “Guys. There’s something you should know. About me and Garrett.”

Linc smiled. “I knew it.”

Garrett had a barely there smile on his face, but his eyes were warm and happy as Linc high fived him.

“Knew what?” Mindy asked, looking at all three of them in turn. Then she gasped and pointed to Garrett and Brooke. “You two?”

Brooke, throat thick at the look of love and acceptance on Mindy’s face, nodded. They hugged tight before Mindy pulled back and smacked her husband’s chest. “You knew?”

“Guessed,” he said and shrugged. “Hoped.” He smiled at his wife. “Want them to be as happy as we are.”

“Good answer,” Mindy said and looked at her sister with so much hope it hurt. “Are you moving to Wildstone?”

“I love you, Mindy,” she said. “I do. But I’m going to need you to promise you’re not going to get all excited and jump ahead of us. Garrett and I are going at our own pace.”

Mindy bit her lower lip, like she was holding back from saying something, but she nodded.

Brooke didn’t believe her for a minute, but a girl could hope.