Free A Wicked Kiss by M. S. Parker

What he was going to bring and where those things were going to go. If I thought I’d be able to clean out the last of Allen’s things or if I’d need help.
    The one thing I hadn’t considered was how to tell my brother. I’d have been lying if I’d said it had slipped my mind though. It was more like I’d purposefully pushed the idea to the back of the list. I’d known that Mitchell wouldn’t like it and I just hadn’t wanted to deal.
    Instead, I’d focused on the other things. Where I was going to donate the last of Allen’s clothes. Whether or not Jasper and I should switch the bedrooms around so that we weren’t using the same room Allen and I had occupied for the last few years. How many pictures would be too many to leave up and out.
    As we’d talked, I’d realized the best part of having fallen for my late husband’s best friend. Jasper missed Allen as much as I did and he understood that I wouldn’t want to pretend that the last eight years hadn’t happened. He wanted to remember Allen, to talk about the things the three of us had done together. Because of his own relationship with Allen, he’d said that it didn’t matter to him how long Allen and my pictures remained up.
    Jasper had left as the sun started to set. He had work the next morning and a lot of things to do before he moved in the following Saturday. Neither one of us had wanted to wait until he could find a buyer for the house, but the idea of leaving it empty had bothered him until he’d come up with a brilliant idea. One of the reasons Jasper had wanted to start a free clinic was to help the people in St. Helena who couldn’t necessarily afford quality healthcare. One of the things he’d wanted to do eventually as well was to set up a place where families in need could stay while they were getting back on their feet. While his house wasn’t big enough for multiple families, it could be enough for one.
    I’d been so excited when Mitchell had pulled in that, for a moment, I’d forgotten the way my brother had left that morning. I’d practically thrown myself into Mitchell’s arms, declaring that I’d had wonderful news.
    The moment I’d said the words, however, I wished I could’ve taken them back. My brother’s face had darkened and he’d given me one of his scowls. The conversation had been brief but harsh.
    “What do you mean you asked Jasper to move in with you?” Mitchell’s voice was sharp.
    “I care about him, Mitchell, and we enjoy being together. I have this huge place but I’m all alone here—”
    “I’m here.”
    “I know you are.” I tried to placate him. “And I really appreciate you staying with me, but you have your own place.”
    “So does he.”
    I took a deep breath and tried to speak calmly instead of slapping my idiot brother like I desperately wanted to. “Jasper and I want to be together and this was the step we wanted to take. Together.”
    “What about Allen?”
    “I loved Allen,” I said. My heart constricted, but it was more of a wistful pain than agonizing grief. “But he’s gone. And I know he would’ve wanted me to be happy.”
    “With his best friend?” Mitchell snorted a laugh. “Come on, Shae. You can’t be serious. Allen was your husband. You were with him for eight years and now, four months after he dies, you’re shacking up with his best friend?”
    “Just because my husband died doesn’t mean I have to stop living,” I said, stung. I’d expected some resistance, but not this.
    “Mom never dated after Dad died. She loved him until the day she died.”
    I nearly flinched. “That’s not fair and you know it. I’m not her, Mitchell.”
    “That’s obvious,” he snapped.
    “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to be here.” I put my hands on my hips. “Go home.”
    “Gladly.” He started to stomp off towards the guest room where he’d been staying, but he couldn’t resist landing one final blow before he went. “I’m just glad Mom’s not here to