Sebastian planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'll buy you some time to get dressed." He picked up his pants off the floor, put them on, then walked away. He came to a halt by the door to look over his shoulder and smiled as his eyes landed on her stretching her body on the bed. "Could you stay here for at least a few minutes? I'd like to talk to him as well."

"Sure," answered Andin with a yawn.

He closed the door behind him and went downstairs. Sure enough, his brother was standing in the kitchen with his hands on his waist. He seemed to be focusing on the stove on the right-hand side.

He took a deep breath and greeted his brother. "Piers?" His voice sounded a little unsure.

His brother turned around, eyes widened. He blinked once. Twice. His lips parted as if to say something but for a while, there was no sound coming out of them. "Jav?"

Sebastian nodded, his jaw tightening as if he was trying his best not to break down right there. It had been so long since he had last met Piers. Since that day when he had discovered him and his girlfriend of three years on Sebastian's bed after coming home from university. Piers had shamelessly declared that woman found him irresistible and that Sebastian should not be so surprised that even his girlfriend fell for Piers's charm. Instead of throwing fists at his older brother, he simply turned around and walked out of the house. For a week he had not returned home and no one had known his whereabouts. When Sebastian finally returned, he was a completely different person. He was colder, more skeptical, and distant. He had treated Piers as if he had not existed and eventually Piers took off to Italy after another incident involving their other brother Draven had happened.

"What? How—" Piers shook his head, unsure what to say. "What are you doing here? How do you know I live here?"

"I was looking for you." He shrugged one shoulder and shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Mom knew you had a freaky accident." His gaze dropped to the floor as one of his hands went to the back of his neck and scratched a not-itchy spot for no reason except for the fact that he was feeling nervous. "How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

The corner of Piers's mouth turned upward, forming a smile that looked nothing like those dazzling smiles he had always used on women but a genuine smile that only his brother could cause, a smile reserved just for his little brother. "I am fine. You know you do not have to come all the way here just because Mom asked you to."

Still having his eyes fixated on the ground, he said, "I would still come even if Mom did not ask." Then as if he just realized what he had admitted, he quickly lifted his head and his eyes caught his older brother grinning from ear to ear.

"Thank you, Jav." He turned around and pour black coffee from the kettle into two mugs then offered one to his brother. "You still take your coffee black, right? I personally like a little bit of sugar in it."

"Half a teaspoon?" inquired Javiet curiously.

Piers raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You still remember," he commented.

Sebastian was not sure how and why he remembered it. But he knew by heart that he actually recalled everything about his older brother. They had grown up together and spent at least a few hours every day together. They had been that tight. "I never forget," he finally said then took the mug and had a sip. "Actually," he placed the mug carefully on the kitchen counter and smiled, "I never forget anything about you, brother. And as much as I told myself that what you did to me and to Draven was unforgivable, I could not, for the life of me, bring myself to hate you completely. Yes, I was mad and I convinced myself that I hate you for so long but now, I don't feel any of those hate or angry feelings anymore. All I feel, all I know, is that I miss you, brother." He places one hand on Piers's shoulder and smiled.

There were mixed emotions on Piers's face for a moment but eventually happiness ruled over the rest and he threw his arms around his little brother and hugged him tightly. "And I miss you!" he said wholeheartedly.

After a few seconds, they pulled away, and Sebastian, with a smile still on his face, said, "Look, for me what was in the past is in the past. But if you need this to finally move on then let me just say that I have forgiven you, brother."

There were only several things that he had never seen when it came to his artistic older brother. Sebastian had watched him pick up the brush for the first time, he had been there when one of Piers's paintings was displayed in the art gallery, and he had seen his brother accomplish many things. But for the first time ever, he saw tears piling up in his brother's eyes before they started to flow down his cheeks.

Piers pulled him into a hug. "Thank you," he said through his sobs. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you."

Once Piers had calmed down, Sebastian was sipping coffee on the stool by the counter while Piers was flipping pancakes on the pan. He knew sooner or later he had to inform Piers about Andin. "Piers."

"Hmm?" He turned at Sebastian then placed the pancake on the waiting plate and pour another batter on the pan. He pointed at the pancake and asked, "do you want butter or maple syrup?"

"Either way is fine," Sebastian answered quickly.

"Maple would make it better."

As he watched his brother open the kitchen cabinet, Sebastian continued, "Look, I have something to tell you."

"Found it," he answered with a grin.

"I did not come alone. I came with someone and she was upstairs. I am hoping you two could meet." Then he walked to the stairs and called Andin.

Piers threw the maple jar from one hand to the other and did it over and over as if he was a juggler. "Someone important, I gather," he said teasingly.

"Maybe," Sebastian answered curtly, revealing nothing.

There were a few noises on the stairs as Andin was walking downstairs.

"We are in the kitchen," said Sebastian a tad louder so she could hear him.

"I wonder who this person might be." Piers grinned, his hands were still juggling the jar of maple syrup. His eyes watched the door and met Andin's almost as soon as she entered the room.

"Brother," said Sebastian, ready to make the introduction. "This is–"

"Andin," whispered Piers as the jar of maple syrup crashed on the kitchen floor.

* * *

At first, Andin was worried that Sebastian and his brother might come into a fight. She knew the possibility was small however she could never fully understand how the relationship between two siblings especially since she had no sibling. Once she finished putting her clothes on, she tiptoed her way to the stairs. Curiously she peered down the stairs. The sunlight reflected on water lapping along. She tried to hear any shouting however since no one raised their voices and the two men seemed to have a rather pleasant chat — which she could not really catch, she returned back to the room and tidied the bed up.

A few minutes later she heard his voice calling her. "Miss Williams, you can come down now."

"Coming," she replied as she made her way downstairs.

"We are in the kitchen," said Sebastian a tad louder.

Andin walked her way towards the kitchen and heard Joseph's voice saying, "I wonder who this person might be."

She caught sight of him even before she entered the room. A smile formed on her face as she knew for sure now that he truly was the man she had met back on the beach. The same green moss eyes moved before they finally fixed on her.

"Brother," said Sebastian, he turned to her with a smile, before looking at his brother again. "This is—" he started his introduction.

Yet before Sebastian had a chance to finish his sentence, Joseph did it for him as he whispered, "Andin."

Andin was going to reply but instead, she jumped back as the jar of maple syrup Joseph had been holding crashed on the kitchen floor. Three pairs of eyes were staring at the shattered glass and spilled golden brown liquid. Andin was the first to move as she grabbed the napkin from the counter and the trashcan below it.

Her hand touched the first glass but Sebastian asked her to drop it. "Don't use your hands." He grabbed a broom and a rubber dustpan. "Let me do it."

She moved away as Sebastian swept the small pieces of glass using the broom into the rubber dustpan and then dumped them into the trashcan. Once he finished and made sure that there were no glasses on the floor, Andin wiped it with the napkin then followed by the mop so the floor would not get sticky.

Sebastian shook his head, a lopsided smile was on display. "Brother, you are not getting better with juggling."

It was clear that he had not blamed his brother for the mess he had created on the floor nor for the lack of effort in cleaning it up. Joseph, on the other hand, seemed to be awestruck and had not heard a single thing coming out of his little brother's mouth as his eyes were still fixated on Andin. Then as if he had finally found his voice, he called her name again.

"Yes?" she replied, still holding the mop's stick in one hand.

"You—you were that girl on the beach the other day."

She nodded, feeling happy that he had at least recognized her. "Yes. I was." Still grinning from ear to ear, she turned to Sebastian and nudged his waist. "See, I told you it was your brother."

Sebastian rolled his eyes in a dismissive manner however there was affection in his baby blues. "There are millions of people named Joseph on this planet."

"True." Andin nodded in agreement. "But still, I got it right. I managed to put two pieces together."

"Alright, alright. You did." Sebastian leaned forward and planted a kiss on top of her head. "Well done, sweetheart."

Suffering a bit of embarrassment with the small public display of affection, Andin stole a look at the only onlooker around and could swear that she saw sadness in those green eyes although it was quickly gone and the expression was once again blank.

"So Andin is your—?" Joseph left his sentence hung as he watched the two of them.

"Secretary," answered Andin efficiently.

"Lover," said Sebastian almost at the same time as Andin then he added, "Ouch, that hurts."

She patted his shoulder and gave him an understanding look. "I know. But there is still a long way to go before I can call you that." Feeling a bit more daring than usual, Andin rose to the balls of her feet and whispered so only Sebastian could hear, "Or before I let you anywhere near my bed."

A mischievous smile stretched on his handsome face as he said, "You did not say anything about mine."

Despite Piers's wish for the two of them to stay longer, they both packed the next day, claiming that they had to work on Monday morning. Piers drove them to their hotel and would then drive them again to the airport. Albeit Sebastian told him that they could simply ask a driver of one of their hotels in Italy, Piers insisted to drive them anyway.

They were greeted with curiosity and surprise at the hotel. Andin was slightly embarrassed by the stares she received as her clothes were disheveled here and there but she held her head high—convincing herself that she was at least dressed. Sebastian inquired about their rooms and the manager appeared, bowing, and politely assured him with an obsequious smile that he had indeed held their rooms, imagining that they would be returning since Mister Summers was well known in Italy. He had left his luggage inside the room.

They had gone to their respective rooms to pack. Andin was able to stand naked under the cool refreshing shower and let her body absorb the water gratefully. Although Piers's cabin was considerably clean, she longed for a proper shower and thoroughly cleaned her body. Once she was dressed, she went to the dresser and brushed her wet hair until it was dry enough to wind up into a chignon. A tap on her door slightly surprised her then she informed Sebastian to come in. He too had showered and changed too.

He looked at her across the room, his face unreadable, then a smile suddenly formed in his mouth. Although he was smiling, it did not really reach his ocean-blue eyes. "Back to normal, Miss Williams?" He tilted his head to one side, his eyes narrowing. "Do you also wish to pretend that what happened last night never happened? What happened in Sicily stays in Sicily?"

Andin knew sooner or later she would have to face this — this question of where they would take this relationship. And in all honesty, when she had decided to give herself to him, she had not thought about what would come past that. She had not even thought of the repercussions. All she had wanted that night was to be with him and that was it. Now that they were packing their bags and going to fly back to Washington, it was almost as if she was being shaken to wake up. Almost as if she had been living a dream until this point.

Looking at Sebastian now, she could not decide what to do let alone say to him. He waited for her patiently, she could see it in his eyes that he did not want to frighten her. So in the end, she summoned all her reserves of courage and simply told him the truth. "I don't know. I am not sure."

If he was affected by her answer, he did a really good job at hiding it as he shrugged and then gave him a small smile. "Okay. Good thing we have fifteen hours flights between here to D.C."

"I am sorry. I know I should have known by now what I want but I am just confused." Her voice was trembling and she turned her back on him, covering her face with her hands, shaking. She heard him take a step towards her then he halted. Then she heard him coming closer to her and felt his lips on top of her head.

"It is okay, Andin. You do not have to decide now." He rubbed her upper arms up and down in an effort to soothe her. "I know you wish to have someone who loves you and I know that I am not capable of love. So I kinda get it that I am not the best offer but just know that I will always treat you with respect."

She wanted to scream that she wished he knew that he was capable of love if only he was willing to open his eyes and his heart. She knew it by heart that he could. Yet she was also fully aware that arguing with him about this now would not make any difference so she kept her mouth shut and nodded. "Thank you."

After a moment, he dropped one hand while the other caught her chin and lifted it up. "I have called the airport and bought us a ticket home. We still have time to have a meal before we catch a flight. What do you want?"

"Hmm, let's see." Andin tilted her head, her eyes locked in his baby blues. "Do you realize that we have been here for days yet we have not eaten any risotto or Insalata Caprese or you know, any Italian food, Sir?"

"You are right, Miss Williams." He tapped her nose with his forefinger. "Let's get some delicious Italian dishes then."

She answered him with a huge grin.

* * *

The three of them had gone to one of the best authentic restaurants around the area and Andin had finally satisfied her cravings for Italian dishes. It had truly been a good day for her. Even with her confusion concerning the status of her relationship with Sebastian, he seemed to be very understanding and that alone brought at least a wee bit of comfort. Everything was fine until Sebastian went to the restroom.

Piers shifted his chair slightly closer to Andin who was too busy finishing the deliciously creamy tiramisu. He leaned forward and only then she realized that he was taking too much of her personal space than she would like. "Andin."

She swallowed then replied, "Yeah?"

He grabbed his cup of latte and finished the remaining half a cup as if whatever he was going to say needed a preemptive act beforehand. "I know you might say that this is none of my business but I still need to ask you."

"You can always ask," Andin shrugged then continued, "But whether I will answer it or not is entirely up to me."

"Okay, fair enough. Then may I ask what is your relationship with my brother?" He looked at her expectantly, his body leaning towards her and each of his hands was on his thigh.

"You are right," she said with a nod. "It is none of your business."

"Then I only have one thing to say to you." Piers leaned back in his chair, his body was not as tensed as it was a few seconds ago.

"What is it?" Andin grabbed her iced tea and took a sip through the metal straw. The fresh cold tea with a slice of lemon and a hint of honey made her feel more refreshed despite the hot weather outside.

Without so much as a warning or any slight indication of what he would say, Piers said it blatantly clearly. "I like you."

* * * * * * *

A/N: please vote if you like the story and wish to read the next chapter ;) it would mean so much and support me as a writer!