Page 26 of Falling for You
Mom’s eyes go wide, “Oh you will not. She’s my favorite too and she knows it.”
“Mom, I think we need to work on your definition offavorite.” I chuckle.
“Oh stop. I love you all. The boys though…” She smiles. “They like to make me change up favorites daily, sometimes multiple times in one day.”
“They are assholes,” I scowl. They still aren’tmyfavorites, any of them.
“Okay, let’s get to packing. Wyatt will be here soon, and he’s bringing Cooper. He just got him from the airport in Portland.” Violet grabs a box and heads into my room.
Luckily, there isn’t much to pack up except my bedroom since construction has taken over almost every square inch.
Once everything is done, we pile the bags and boxes by the door. It should all fit in the back of Wyatt’s truck and only take one run to get everything to Rome’s cabin.
Rome lives on the outskirts of Balsam Cliffs. He has a log cabin in the middle of the woods, actually closer to Wyatt. It’s the perfect spot to raise a family. His neighbors are even a working farm, not that they’re close by city standards, but a short walk through the woods and Olivia and I can go visit the horses and cows.
Ifshe’s his baby. I need to remind myself of that, but I’m already wrapped around her little finger after last night.
“Ems, can I say something and not have you take it the wrong way?” Vi asks.
“Of course, I’d never think you mean anything bad!” She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, not even when it comes to her mother and she should. Although I think after they tried to set her up with one of her step-father’s colleagues and they tried to steal the inn out from under us, that ship may have sailed. Last I heard, she isn’t talking to her step-father, and her mom is questionable on a good day.
“I’m really worried about you living with Rome, because…” She looks at Mom.
“Oh honey, I know. Speak freely around this old bird.” She grabs a donut off one of the sawhorse tables Hunter has set up.
“Oh okay, well I’m worried about your feelings getting stomped on again, Ems.” She sits on the couch and pats for me to sit next to her.
“Ugh. Don’t remind me. He asked me to give him a month to tell Hunter about us so we can be together.” A collective gasp comes from the two women sitting in front of me.
“A month? Do you think he’s going to stick to it now though?” Mom asks.
“No. I mean I did, but now he has more to worry about. A whole new baby and learning how to be a dad, one that owns a successful and busy brewery. I can’t ask him or expect him to think about me right now. I mean, isn’t the whole point of me moving in to help him, not make things harder?”
I shrug because I don’t have answers for them. I’ve already thought about all the possible outcomes and I don’t think there is one that works in my favor when it comes to him. My heart is getting shattered in this process for a second time. And there isn’t a damn thing I can do because I can’t expect what I want out of him right now.
“Oh, honey.” Mom sits on my other side, placing her hand on my arm.
“It’s fine guys. Really. I can’t expect him to put me over his daughter. He needs to figure it out, but I can’t wait around forever. I need to move on. I can’t wait for there to be a perfect time for him to fit me into his life. There won’t ever be one.”
“Move on from who? What asshole hurt you?” Wyatt’s voice booms from the front door.
The three of us jump in our seats. “Jesus, I wish Hunt never fixed that door. At least I knew when nosey assholes were coming in.”
“Who hurt you Ems?” Wyatt repeats, closer to me this time.
“No one you know, Wy. Someone I was hooking up with last year,” I lie for the hundredth time about Roman to my brothers.
Mom and Vi look at me with sadness in their eyes.
“I don’t like it.” Coop says from behind Wyatt.
“Coop!” I jump up and run to hug my brother.
Cooper and I are closest since we’re the two babies. And he’s been gone for a while now. A weekend trip turned into much longer.
I pull back and look at his face. His cheeks look sunken in, and his eyes have dark purple bags under them. His hair is shaggier than usual and he just looks exhausted.
“Tough flight?” I ask him.
