Page 64 of Fall With Me
“I’m with Lucy,” Emma—who looks like Mom and me—says, taking a spoonful of fruit salad from the bowl she’s holding. “Who is she, and why was she over so late?”
“It’s my boss’s sister. We’re organizing the company fall festival together. I told you guys about it,” I say in an easy, breezy manner.
“Her name is Chloe,” Finn unhelpfully adds. “She’s pretty and nice. Dad smiles a lot when she’s around.”
I do? And Finn noticed? Ah man. Hiding our relationship from Finn is pointless. The kid is too smart. But how do I keep him from getting too attached? I refuse to let him get hurt by another woman. Not that I’m expecting things between Chloe and me to turn sour, but I have to prepare Finn in case it does.
“Smiles how?” Emma asks. “Like a casual, it’s-nice-to-know-her smile, or a big smile like he has stars in his eyes and stares at her all the time?”
“We don’t need to talk about this,” I say.
Finn takes a roll from the basket in front of him. “The star one.” He says it so casually and without thinking about it. Am I reallylike that?
Emma and Lucy’s faces wear the same expression: pure unfiltered glee.
“Really?” Lucy asks, pretending she needs clarification. “And do they touch each other a lot when they’re together? Like holding hands or anything like that?”
“Will you guys give it up already?” I say, desperate for this conversation to end.
“Didn’t you hear me?” Finn says with a tilted head. “They were on top of each other on the couch when I found them.”
“Okay,” I say loudly, interrupting Finn and giving him astop talkingglare. “We werenoton top of each other. We were side by side and fully clothed. Anyway,enoughabout Chloe. Dad, why don’t you tell us what projects you’re working on in the garage?”
“No,” Emma says, wagging a finger. “You’re not getting off the hook so easily. Tell us more about Chloe.”
What does she mean off the hook easily? They’ve drilled Finn and me long enough. “I think it’s time for Dad to—”
“Later,” Lucy says. “What does Chloe do? What is she like?”
Taking a second to think through what I want to share, Finn jumps in. “She loves football. If any of you ever came to my games, you’d get to meet her.”
Way to throw a jab in there, son.
“She makes dad and me laugh and she likes playing games.”
True. She does. “There you go. That’s all about Chloe. Now, Dad, do you think you can—”
“What does she do for work?” Emma asks.
For the love. Can’t we move on? I stare at Dad, silently pleading for him to jump in and stop my sisters from asking more questions. He cuts a piece of chicken, stares at me, then takes a bite, smiling while he chews.
Great.
He won’t help me.
“When do we get to meet her?” Mom asks, a normal friendly smile on her face.
But I am not fooled. She may not express her interest as ardently as my sisters, but she’s just as curious and invested in Chloe.
I shrug. “I’m not sure. Both of our schedules are maxed out. We’ve had a hard time finding days we can meet and get this festival planned. I doubt we’ll have time for extracurricular activities.”
Lucy eyes me. “But Finn just said she comes to his games. And she came over to watch a movie with you. Sounds like she has plenty of time to meet the family.”
We carved time out for those things. I’m not willing or ready to share my limited time with Chloe. They can wait a while. At least until we’ve been dating a few months.
“Is she your girlfriend?” Dad asks before taking another bite of chicken.
I close my eyes, dropping my chin to my chest. My family is ridiculous and relentless. For Finn’s sake, I won’t tell them anything yet. “Chloe and I are working together. Yes, I like spending time with her. I don’t know when or if you’ll get to meet her. That’s all I have to say on the matter. Can wepleasetalk about something else?”
