Page 52 of Even if You Fall

And the front door swung open to reveal my older brother.

Here we go.

“Hi, I’m Chloe,” Chloe said as cheerfully as ever—as if she wasn’t dreading this as much as I was.

Then again, I had a feeling she genuinely thought she could walk right into that house and make them all believe we weren’t together.

“Is that right?” Sam asked as he leaned against the doorframe and kept the door in his grasp, a wicked grin covering his face as his eyes bounced between me and Chloe. “I see you forgot a key piece of information when you said you were coming home.”

Even though he’d been talking to me, Chloe was quick to dispel his thoughts. “It isn’t what you think,” she said with a dismissive wave. “Adam and I just work together. I was more-or-less kidnapped by him to come here, instead of Aruba, because a mafia family apparently has me on their radar.”

I had a feeling if Sam weren’t happily married, he would already be well on his way to falling in love with Chloe Whitlock, given the way he was looking at her like she’d just brightened all of Colorado with a statement as ridiculous as that.

“That’s funny—she’s funny,” he told me as he pushed from the doorframe. “Well, come on in,Chloe.” He stood back, letting us in, and my eyes rolled at the knowing look he sent me once Chloe had stepped past him.

“Can’t believe you didn’t warn anyone,” he breathed as if Chloe couldn’t still hear him.

I didn’t bother telling him that Chloe hadn’t been lying, I just anxiously glanced toward the rest of the house before asking, “Are the girls here yet?”

Amusement left him on a snort. “No. And they’re gonna be mad they missed Mom and Dad’s reactions to this,” he said, gesturing between me and the girl watching our conversation.

“We really aren’t together,” Chloe told him as if needing to make that clear from the beginning.

Sam’s amusement deepened as he gave me anI approvelook before his attention shifted to Chloe. “I think you’ll fit in just fine around here.”

“But—”

“Babe,” he yelled into the house, cutting off Chloe’s argument, and I just focused on drawing in deep breaths before turning my attention on the walking sunshine beside me—her eyes wide and bemused as she watched Sam go hunt down his wife.

“I told him,” she mumbled, clearly baffled by the short exchange.

“I toldyou,” I countered. “You don’t know my family.”

She blinked those hazel eyes at me, trying to make sense of something that was only about to get worse.

“Chloe, you don’t get it,” I began softly as I closed the distance between us. “Most of us turned eighteen when we were still in high school. If we had a group project for school, it couldn’t be doneherebecause that meant a girl or guy came to the house with one of us. That’s how serious my parents were about this.”

Her shoulders sagged as stunned realization dawned on her beautiful face.

“We don’t bring people home unless they mean something,” I told her soberly.

“But I don’t mean anything.”

She meant more than I ever wanted her to.

Before that traitorous thought could slip from me, I caught sight of my sister-in-law’s shocked expression as she stole a peek at us before running off to where my parents must have been.

“We better go,” I said with a nod in that direction. “My parents have been informed.”

Chloe’s head bobbed before fiercely shaking. “I’m still telling them the truth.”

I shrugged because I knew it wouldn’t make a difference but held back my sigh when I said, “Then tell them the truth.”

After leaving our bags and the boxes of muffins in the entryway, I tried settling the guilt gnawing at me as we wound through the house until we made it to where my parents, Sam, and his wife were huddled together. But the second my mom saw us, she swatted at all of them and pushed her way through, all but running up to us to wrap Chloe in a hug.

“Oh,” Chloe said on a breathless laugh, seeming to forget her worries from just seconds before.

“Mom,” I murmured, that guilt nearly consuming me when she released Chloe to wipe furiously at the tears falling from her eyes becausethat right therewas the main reason this trip had been eating at me.

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