Page 4 of Unexpected Love

“I’ll text you my flight information as soon as I have it. Tell Scott we’re going to figure this out.”

“I will. Be safe, and I’ll see you soon.”

two

AVA

Finding Declanin a crowd of people is easy. At six-foot-six, he’s generally one of the tallest people around. And even though I’m his sister, I can admit his features are striking, causing most people to pay attention to him. He’s tall and fit, has shaggy brown hair, and wears glasses. He exudes a confidence and grace that’s always made me a bit jealous, but I couldn’t love him more. So the second I see him waiting for me at baggage claim in his worn jeans and cable-knit sweater, I rush toward him.

“Hey, big brother,” I say as I pull him into a hug.

“Hey, squirt.” His hug is tight and long, but I let him get away with it. Boston and Baltimore really aren’t that far from each other, but we don’t get to visit each other often, so these moments are rare. “Thanks for flying down so quickly,” he says as he takes my bag.

“Of course. You know I love Ashford Falls. I would take any excuse to visit. Plus, Scott has loved your mopey ass for years now. He deserves my awesomeness in his life for a little bit.”

He laughs and throws his arm over my shoulder. “Did you check any bags?”

“Yeah, just one. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.”

“You’re welcome as long as you want, but don’t you have to get back to work?”

I hesitate for only a moment. I know I should tell Declan exactly what happened back home, but I’m not ready to talk about it with him. I know how disappointed he’ll be—not with me, but with our parents.

Declan always went out of his way to keep me away from all the problems he had with them when he got divorced. He didn’t want his relationship with them to impact my relationship with them. I know it’s already so strained, but I won’t be the reason for more stress in his life. Not when I can handle this myself.

“I’ve got plenty of saved up PTO, and I’m between cases at the moment, so this really couldn’t have happened at a better time for me.” He looks at me curiously, and I know he doesn’t totally believe me. “So, anything new going on here?” I ask before he can say anything else.

“No.” Now it’s my turn to doubt his honesty. I stare at him, waiting for him to break. “What?”

“You seem a little fidgety.”

“Fidgety?”

“Yeah, I don’t know how else to describe it.” I cross my arms, giving him a stern look. “What’s going on?”

He studies me for only a moment before finally telling me. “I may have kissed Quinn last night. And by kissed, I mean made out with.”

“You may have? You don’t know?” I ask, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this look on my brother. Ever since his divorce from Melissa, Declan hasn’t shown much interest in anyone—at least not in aserious way. And I know if he’s making out with his best friend's younger sister, he’s taking it very seriously.

“No, I definitely did. In the middle of the town square at the Fall Harvest Festival. Where everyone could see.” I can see him looking at me from the corner of his eye. He clearly has some feelings about this, but maybe he isn’t entirely ready to share all of it.

“Go big or go home, huh?” I tease. But the annoyed look on his face has me second guessing myself. “Okay, sorry”—but I’m me and I can’t help myself—”wait, one more. You’ve really got a thing for your best friends’ little sisters, don’t you?” I laugh so hard and loud people stare.

“You got it out of your system now?”

“I’m sorry, but you have to admit, that was a good one. First Ryan and now Caleb?” I’m still laughing when I see my bag come around the carousel and rush forward to get it before it passes.

I don’t know how Caleb would feel about his little sister dating Declan but I know Ryan hadn’t cared one way or the other when his little sister and Declan started dating. It wasn’t until Melissa and Declan had gotten engaged that Ryan showed any real emotion toward their relationship, and at that point Ryan was just happy Declan would be his brother for real.

The divorce complicated things, but Ryan understood why they were getting divorced and ended up supporting both of them. While Melissa and Declan weren’t the closest of friends after, they were cordial with each other, and the rest of our friendships went back to exactly how they were before they started dating.

“If I were in a joking mood, I would probably agree with you, but I’m not there yet,” Declan says when I get back to him, taking the suitcase from me. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Okay, I’m sorry, I’ll be serious.” We’re quiet as we walk to his truck. I can’t help but wonder how I’ve missed whatever ishappening between Declan and Quinn. We talk at least once a week, and we’ve talked about Quinn, but I had no idea he had feelings for her. “I know I’ve heard about Quinn from everyone, you included, but you’ve only ever talked about her as a co-worker and friend. What changed?”

“Nothing changed. She’s still very much those things.” He puts my bags in the back of his truck and opens the door for me.

“Okay, but it’s more than that now.” I know it’s not a question, but I expect some kind of response from him. He closes the door and moves around the front of the truck, climbing into his seat before saying anything else.

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