Page 263 of Come Back to Me

That earns me another whistle.

“I feel like that and she’s still keeping us under wraps,” I growl.

“What was your deal? That you’d show her you were sorry for abandoning her?”

“Yeah.”

“How’s that going?”

I stare at the steering wheel. “Good. I think?”

“So, we can approach this in three ways. One, she’s terrified you’re going to do it again and is holding you at a distance to prevent future hurt.

“Two, she really doesn’t want her mom to catch wedding fever which, trust me, is a genuine issue. Wedding-struck mothers are the worst.

“Three, she wants to hold your relationship close to the chest, enjoy it without scrutiny, and just savor the moment. Which do you think it is?”

“At the beginning,” I muse, “I think it was two. Or at least, that was what she wanted it to be. But did you see that article about Cole and Mia in the tabloids?”

“Cody, do I seem like the sort of guy who reads the tabloids?”

“You seem like the kind of guy who reads conspiracy theory blogs.”

“Precisely. Now, what did the tabloids have to say?”

“That they’re splitting up. That organizing the wedding was making Mia a bridezilla according to close sources.”

“Isn’t your little brother organizing the wedding?”

“He is.” I chuckle. “Couldn’t be made up of more bullshit than that. Zee and Tee didn’t like it though. Got uppety on Mia’s behalf.”

“As future sisters-in-law should, hmm?”

Everything inside me clenches.

Future sisters-in-law.

I am so fucking gone for Tee.

Rubbing my eyes, I rumble, “Yeah.”

“Like that, huh?”

“Fuck off.”

“Where would I fuck off to?” Mike counters, but his smug satisfaction makes me wish I could smack him.

“Outer Mars.”

“Sounds chilly. Okay, so, what else?”

“A dumb fashion magazine pulled Zee’s clothes to shreds the other day. They had her latest outfits photographed and laid out for the world to dissect. And a tell-all exposé on Clyde’s interactions with the federal government was released too.”

“What you’re saying is you don’t blame her for wanting to keep things on the DL?”

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but yeah.”

“What’s the problem, then?”

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