Series: Sealed with a Kiss
Author: Carmen Richter
Genre: Angsty Step-Sibling Romance
Release Date: November 15, 2021
Cover Design: CPR Designs
Ten seconds. Thirteen words.
That was all it took to reveal the skeleton in my closet. A dark truth that would doom me to a lifetime of misery: I was hopelessly in love with my stepsister.
When my mother and stepfather sent me packing the moment I turned eighteen, I should have taken the hint and backed away. But Sadie was fighting a battle that couldn’t be won alone. A battle against her father, the doctors trying to treat her epilepsy, and most of all, her own body. And I loved her too much to abandon her when she needed me the most.
Could I be what Sadie needed without giving in to my feelings, or would the pull between us end up being too strong to resist?
Trigger Warning: This book deals with the subjects of physical and psychological manipulation and abuse, suicidal ideation, and forcible separation of a service dog from its handler (there is no physical harm to the dog).
Note: My Voice Is Sealed is the ninth book in the Sealed With a Kiss series, but it may be read as a complete standalone.
Keith grabbed Charli’s guitar case and an empty chair, then sat down, adjusting his microphone stand and putting the case on his knee almost like an actual guitar. I had no idea what exactly he was doing, but the absolute last thing I expected was for the two of them to break into Ed Sheeran’s “Galway Girl.”
My favorite artists and songs changed constantly, and I’d been on an Ed Sheeran kick lately. And this was arguably my favorite song of his. Keith? Not so much. He wouldn’t have changed the radio station if an Ed Sheeran song came on, but he also wouldn’t have played it on purpose. Honestly, I was shocked that he even knew all the words to this song.
Whoa, hold the phone. Had he actually looked up the lyrics for this song in the past twenty minutes and memorized them on the fly just so he could sing it?
Okay, I was officially cheered up. And I might have fallen a little bit more in love with him, because clearly, I wasn’t in over my head enough already. Especially when he shot me a grin and a wink as he started drumming on the guitar case at the beginning of the first verse.
Seriously, how did that thing even work so well as a drum?
While our table was hooting and hollering as Charli started playing some folk song I didn’t know and Keith made his way back to his seat, Spencer once again leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“See? Details.”
I looked at him and shook my head. I knew he didn’t know what I’d been through today and that I’d barely been holding it together through this entire dinner. But still, this didn’t mean anything. It was just Keith trying to be a good brother and put a smile on my face after I’d had the day from Hell.
When Keith sat back down, I hugged the arm closest to me, and he turned to give me a real hug instead. As wrong as I knew it was, I let myself melt into his embrace and enjoy the familiar comfort and safety it provided. Just like always, it felt like nothing could touch me right now. Here, in his arms, I was safe from everything and everyone who wanted to harm me. For this brief moment in time, I was able to stop fighting the constant battle against medical providers and my father and even my own body.
How could this feel so right, yet be so wrong?
“Thank you,” I murmured. “I needed that tonight.”
“Anything to cheer you up,” he said quietly. “But I hope you remember that, because it’s never going to happen again.”
I giggled as I pulled back and looked at him. “I’m pretty sure everyone at this table will remember that. Who knew guitar cases made awesome drums?”
“They don’t. That killed my hands,” he chuckled. “But it was worth it for a real smile from you.”
I smiled again, and I felt my cheeks flush.
Sure, be completely obvious, why didn’t I? Because tonight wasn’t embarrassing enough already.
“Yep, just like that one,” he said as an answering smile spread across his face, showing off the huge dimples I loved so much.
Wait a second. Had he just looked at my lips and then looked away? Had he…was he thinking about kissing me?
No. No, he couldn’t have been. There was no way. That was just my perverted fantasies and reading way too many romance novels coming back to bite me.
I knew Keith loved me. He made that abundantly clear every chance he got. But it was the way a brother loved his sister. Not the sick, twisted, shameful way I loved him.
Now I just needed to get that through my thick skull and move on before this unhealthy obsession completely destroyed me.
© 2021 by Carmen Richter
My favorite artists and songs changed constantly, and I’d been on an Ed Sheeran kick lately. And this was arguably my favorite song of his. Keith? Not so much. He wouldn’t have changed the radio station if an Ed Sheeran song came on, but he also wouldn’t have played it on purpose. Honestly, I was shocked that he even knew all the words to this song.
Whoa, hold the phone. Had he actually looked up the lyrics for this song in the past twenty minutes and memorized them on the fly just so he could sing it?
Okay, I was officially cheered up. And I might have fallen a little bit more in love with him, because clearly, I wasn’t in over my head enough already. Especially when he shot me a grin and a wink as he started drumming on the guitar case at the beginning of the first verse.
Seriously, how did that thing even work so well as a drum?
While our table was hooting and hollering as Charli started playing some folk song I didn’t know and Keith made his way back to his seat, Spencer once again leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“See? Details.”
I looked at him and shook my head. I knew he didn’t know what I’d been through today and that I’d barely been holding it together through this entire dinner. But still, this didn’t mean anything. It was just Keith trying to be a good brother and put a smile on my face after I’d had the day from Hell.
When Keith sat back down, I hugged the arm closest to me, and he turned to give me a real hug instead. As wrong as I knew it was, I let myself melt into his embrace and enjoy the familiar comfort and safety it provided. Just like always, it felt like nothing could touch me right now. Here, in his arms, I was safe from everything and everyone who wanted to harm me. For this brief moment in time, I was able to stop fighting the constant battle against medical providers and my father and even my own body.
How could this feel so right, yet be so wrong?
“Thank you,” I murmured. “I needed that tonight.”
“Anything to cheer you up,” he said quietly. “But I hope you remember that, because it’s never going to happen again.”
I giggled as I pulled back and looked at him. “I’m pretty sure everyone at this table will remember that. Who knew guitar cases made awesome drums?”
“They don’t. That killed my hands,” he chuckled. “But it was worth it for a real smile from you.”
I smiled again, and I felt my cheeks flush.
Sure, be completely obvious, why didn’t I? Because tonight wasn’t embarrassing enough already.
“Yep, just like that one,” he said as an answering smile spread across his face, showing off the huge dimples I loved so much.
Wait a second. Had he just looked at my lips and then looked away? Had he…was he thinking about kissing me?
No. No, he couldn’t have been. There was no way. That was just my perverted fantasies and reading way too many romance novels coming back to bite me.
I knew Keith loved me. He made that abundantly clear every chance he got. But it was the way a brother loved his sister. Not the sick, twisted, shameful way I loved him.
Now I just needed to get that through my thick skull and move on before this unhealthy obsession completely destroyed me.
© 2021 by Carmen Richter
Carmen Richter is an old soul. Her words are like theater, masterfully spun to bring all the feels, interspersed with music that makes your heart soar. She needs her coffee to make the words flow, and some of her best writing is done in a caffeine-induced haze at one in the morning with a soundtrack that ranges from jazz standards to rock to show tunes and everything in between. When she's not writing, she loves going to live concerts and especially live theater, or just staying in and binging Criminal Minds or Law and Order: SVU for the zillionth time.
Carmen lives in Kansas City with her boyfriend, Brett, and their two fur babies, a bunny named Marty and a cat named Mal. She loves interacting with her fans and will happily respond to all messages personally until she gets uber famous and gets a ton of them. Hey, a girl can dream, right?
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