Page 87 of Falling for You

“Ahh. So you went after your best friend’s little sister, huh? Did you ask him first?”

“Uh no.”

“Wow. What a dick,” she teases.

I pull her tight to me, squeezing her upper arm. “Hey now. I have no intentions of asking Ethan if I can still date you. I already made my intentions known to you.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about this,” Ethan says, crossing his arms across his chest, which looks incredibly ridiculous while he’s wearing a dress, suddenly playing the role of big brother.

Liv and I roll my eyes but I see the glimmer of happiness in Chloe’s.

“Dad’s going to want to talk with you,” Ethan tells me.

“Me? Why?”

“Paul?” Chloe asks.

Ethan nods, still staring us down like he’s suddenly got a role to play. The big, bad, protective older brother role. “Yes. I know you’ve met him. Did you know that your mom asked him to take care of you?” I don’t make a comment about how it’s technically Ethan’s mom, too. I don’t think he’ll ever consider her in that way, though I can’t blame him for that.

“What? No she did not.”

Another confirming nod. “She wrote him a letter. Me, too. But, uh, I never read mine. Dad did, though. Valeria said in the letter that she knew she didn’t have a right to ask, but did anyway.”

“Why?”

“She knew what kind of man my dad is and wants him to be a part of your life.”

“He visited me,” Chloe says quietly. “At the salon. I work at New You, did you know that?”

Ethan shakes his head. I know for a fact that he basically knows nothing about her aside from that she lives here in Liberty.

What a fucked up situation.

What are the odds that the first person I develop a relationship with is my best friend’s estranged sister?

This is some daytime talk show shit if I’ve ever heard it.

There’s a light knock on the door and Owen sticks his head in. “I’m sorry. I know you guys are in the middle of… well, something pretty fucking big, but it’s time to open up and we need to get started.”

Before he leaves, I catch his attention. Owen and I have been friends for a long time. In fact, he owns a resort in Northern Minnesota that Ethan escaped to a few months after he found out about Chloe. “Owen, come in here a second. This is Chloe.”

“Yeah, got that when it was announced out there earlier. Nice to meet you though. I’m Olivia’s big brother.”

“Ahh. You’re the one Ethan didn’t ask first?”

“Nope. He just went ahead and fell in love with my baby sister without consulting me. I’m still all tore up over it,” he wipes away a fake tear.

“It’s okay,” Chloe says, patting me on the chest. “Rex got him back for you.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

“If we’re done with the trip down memory lane, let everyone know we’ll be right there,” Ethan growls at Owen, grabbing his wig off the desk.

“Aww. You’re so pretty,” Owen teases.

“Out!”

He darts out of Ethan’s reach, laughing as he runs out the door.

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