The Cherry Blossom Tree

Cherry Chapter Five

Chuckling, Gryphon stepped up to shake Annabel’s hand.  As he did so a wave of his cologne settled around me and I unconsciously inhaled the almost fruity smell.

“Hi, I’m Gorgeous Boy, sometimes also known as Gryphon Scott.”  He paused to wink at me, before turning his attention back to Annabel.  “Nice to meet you Annabel.”

“Oh, wow,” Annabel said, shaking his hand vigorously.  Instead of letting go, she pulled him closer until he was right in front of me.  “Gorgeous, smells divine, has a sense of humour, and he’s polite! Kaitlynn, I don’t know where you’ve been hiding him, but you better keep him there, lest the rest of the world discover what a delicacy he is.”

Oh, my God.  I might very well be the first person in history to die of shame.

“Ma’am,” Gryphon said, indicating my mother.  “Nice to see you again.”

Before Mom could answer, Annabel cut in with an excited, “Did you hear that, Viv?  He just said ‘Ma’am’.  And that accent, hot damn!  Do you have an older brother?” she added, staring Gryphon up and down like she could take a nice chunk out of him.

Beyond mortified, I grabbed Gryphon by the arm and started dragging him away.  “Okay, you know what, we’re just going to have a chat elsewhere, far away from you guys.  I have my phone if either of you need me.”

Annabel grinned widely and offered us an innocent wave as Mom tugged her in the opposite direction we were headed.

As soon as we were lost in the crowd and out of ear shot I pulled Gryphon to a halt and stood facing him.  That same lazy half grin curled his lips, his impossibly green eyes glowing with amusement.  He’d exchanged his navy blue t-shirt for a long sleeved black button up shirt he had rolled up to his elbows.

“I am so sorry,” I rushed to say.  My cheeks were so hot I could have fried an egg on them.  “I’d like to tell you she’s not normally like that, but then I’d be lying.  Big time.”

He gave a carefree shrug.  “I don’t mind.  Your sister’s nice.”

I bit back a grin at an observation people had made for as long as I could remember. “She’s not my sister.”

Gryphon blinked at me.  “It’s okay to be mad at her, but you don’t need to disown her.”

This time I did laugh.  “No, I’m serious.  She’s not my sister.  She’s my mother’s sister.  Annabel’s my aunt.”

A frown dominated his face and he glanced over my shoulder like maybe he could catch sight of her to confirm or deny.  “But you two look almost identical.  Same hair, same eyes, same height.  I noticed you even have the same compulsion to spit the truth out.”

I buried my face in my hands and shook my head.  “The difference between Annabel and me is that while she says whatever she wants, it’s completely conscious and she knows what she’s doing.  I, on the other hand say things by accident.  I don’t mean to, it just kind of happens. And sometimes it gets me into a lot of trouble.”