Closer To You (Tales of the Sweet Magnolia Book 1) Read Free

half by having a complete set of mix and match attire.
    Lillian’s heart twisted with a quiet ache. She missed her sister terribly and made a mental note to call her soon. Between her job and Lori’s as an International tour guide, they hadn’t seen each other in months and hadn’t spoken in weeks. She did have to be cautious when calling her little sister. Lori was independent and didn’t like to feel as though she was being checked up on. But within moments into their conversations, Lori was usually spilling all the torrid details of her dating experiences.
    It was a difficult line not to cross for Lil, from being a big sister to being a parent. A drunk driver killed their parents when Lori was only seventeen, a senior in high school. By then, Lil had graduated from college and was working as the new assistant at the University of Nevada library. Despite the difference in their age and personalities, they managed to form a close bond and get through the traumatic loss together.
    Her thoughts drifted to the time Lori had challenged her to step outside her comfort zone. Her younger sister had come home, arms laden with shopping bags from Niemen Marcus and Victoria’s Secret. Lilly knew she had to have spent her entire paycheck.
     
    “I suppose I’ll be taking care of the cable bill again this month?” Lil asked, raising her brow to her cover-model-slim sister. Lori was tall, lanky, and took after their father, in contrast to Lil, who received their mother’s genetically curvaceous features. Lori swung her long blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled, accentuating her bright, blue eyes and amazing cheekbones. “Wait until you see what I got you today.” She grinned and pulled from one of the pink and black designer bags a leopard print bra and something that looked akin to a fancy slingshot.
    “What on earth is that?” Lil asked, eyeing the object dangling from her sister’s slender fingers.
    “My dear sequestered sister, this is my way of dragging you into this century,” Lori replied, wiggling her brows.
    “You’re kidding, right?” Lil stuffed a bookmark in the old Louis L’Amour book she’d picked up at the library.
    “Oh no, I’m certainly not joking around here. You are in dire need of some excitement, some color in your life.”
    “My life has plenty of color.” She waved off her sister as she sat at the end of the couch, curling her legs under her. Her sister ignored her and pulled out another miniature ensemble, this one lipstick red. “You seriously don’t think I’m going to wear that, do you?” She stretched her arms over her head and yawned.
    “Look at you. It’s only eight-thirty and you’re yawning,” Lori shrieked.
    “Because I was up late last night reading.” She shot back out of frustration that maybe her sister was right.
    Lori plopped into a chair across from her. “Look, you’re not my mother.” Her expression softened.
    “I know that,” Lil scoffed, still, the truth of her words stung.
    “But you act like you are. You need to be out, having fun, meeting people.”
    “You mean guys.” She leveled Lori a look. “Like you?” she commented drily.
    Lori eyed her warily. “Maybe like me. I’m a junior in college. It’s in my job description to have a little fun, don’t you think?”
    Suddenly, Lil realized that her sister was no longer the young girl she had comforted every night for months on end. Maybe she’d taken on the role more seriously than she’d intended. But she’d become what she thought Lori needed. It was clear Lori didn’t need that anymore. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with being sensible, is there?” She defended her pragmatic ways.
    “Sis, you go to work and come home. You read your western books and watch your western movies.”
    She eyed her sister, worried that her younger sister was scrutinizing her lifestyle. “And this is wrong because…?”
    Lori sighed, and closed her eyes.
    Lilly sensed her sister’s frustration.