The mood seemed to shift, the air becoming warmer than before as Rene moved closer to her. “I’m going to miss you, too, Sylvie. I’m going to miss you a lot. This semester has been a revelation for me.”
Why was she suddenly breathless? He’d only moved a couple of inches closer, but she’d felt his intent change from casual to something more intimate. Had she misread him? All these months she’d thought he was alone because his friends had graduated the semester before. She’d figured he’d told her brother he would watch out for her.
What if he’d wanted to spend time with her? What if these long months of dancing around each other were supposed to lead to something more?
“Me, too,” she managed.
His hand came out and touched hers, easing over her arm and spreading warmth across her skin. “We’ve known each other for a long time, but spending time with you away from home has shown me a different side of you.”
That made her smile. “A side that isn’t a nuisance?”
She expected him to laugh but his expression intensified. “You were never a nuisance. I never once resented you coming over with your brother. You were always smart and kind and good to the people around you.”
She breathed in to stop the tears that threatened. She hadn’t thought he’d noticed her. “Well, you and Andre were different from other boys. You never told me to go away. I appreciated that.”
Sometimes when her brother would go to Rene’s house or he would come to theirs, she would tag along on whatever adventure they were having, and neither boy made her feel unwelcome. At the time she’d simply thought it was how brothers and sisters worked, but now she knew what a true jewel her older brother and his friend had been.
“Dre would have had my hide if I’d told him his sister wasn’t welcome. I always loved that about your family. I sometimes think that’s why I was desperate to be Dre’s friend. If he could view me that way, I would always be able to count on him.”
Poor little rich boy. Rene had tons of cousins, but he didn’t seem to enjoy spending time with them. He’d spent all his time with the Martine family—a hairdresser and a civil servant. Not that he hadn’t had other friends. He’d been the most popular boy at school, but he’d never let it go to his head. “Andre loves you like a brother,” she said.
“And you? Do you think of me as a brother?”
Her heart threatened to stop in her chest. She hadn’t thought she would ever be in this position, and the enormity of the question stopped her cold. Or hot. Her body had gone electric at the promise in those green eyes.
He withdrew his hand and his expression had gone blank. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you that.”
She could let this chance go, and they would be friendly forever. Or she could make the leap she’d always wanted with him. She reached out and touched his cheek. “I have never thought of you as a brother, Rene. Not even close.”
He caught her hand and she found herself being pulled to him. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this? I didn’t let myself in high school because you were so young, but those four years between us don’t feel like such a big gap now.”
He’d wanted to kiss her in high school? He’d never been anything but kind and gentlemanly to her during that time, though she realized that his going away to college had placed a careful but necessary distance between them. They made far more sense at this point. He was twenty-two and she was eighteen. She was more in his world, an equal instead of a kid who hung around but couldn’t truly participate.
“It’s different now.” She wasn’t merely Andre’s sister. She was her own person, and they’d gotten close on their own terms.
“I should have done this sooner. Let me kiss you, Sylvie.” His voice had gone low, his accent deeper than normal. “Tu es la plus belle chose que j’ai jamais vue.”
The French made her heart flip, and her hands were shaking as she closed her eyes and leaned in. She’d been kissed before, but she’d never felt this way about a boy.
A man. Rene was a man and she was a woman, and somehow this all felt like a first. When his