Page 71 of The Chad Next Door
Houston grunts, pushing himself to his feet. “Hope, nice to meet you. Hopefully Chad doesn’t drive you crazy. I have somewhere I need to be.”
“Texas,” I call.
He pauses by the front door, looking back at me.
“It’ll be okay.”
He doesn’t seem all that sure, but he nods once before slipping out of the house, leaving me with my sisters and their boyfriends. Thank goodness I have Hope here to keep me from getting overprotective, or I would start grilling Fischer and Jordan right now in search of anything that might make them unworthy of my sisters’ affection.
As if she reads my thoughts, Hope plants a long kiss on my cheek. “You’ve got your own love story to deal with,” she whispers to me. “Did you tell them?”
“Did he tell us that he’s planning to marry you in the next month because he’s crazy?” Micah says with a roll of her eyes. “Don’t let him steamroll you, Hope.”
Hope’s eyebrows shoot up as she leans back to look at me. “Next month, huh?”
I fight my grin. “Were you hoping for sooner?”
“I’ll drive down to the courthouse with you right now if it means I can keep you,” Hope replies.
Brooklyn snickers, patting my arm again. “I think Chad knows exactly what he’s doing,” she tells Micah, and she, at least, sounds perfectly at ease. “Sorry, Hope, but our mom was a big fan of celebrations, so we won’t let you get married at the courthouse. Mic and I will help you plan the wedding.”
“I don’t care about a wedding,” Hope says to me. “I just care about you.”
I roll my eyes. “Says the woman who wouldn’t let me propose this morning because it wasn’t romantic enough.”
“We were lying on top of a puddle of coffee and pieces of broken mug!”
“Chad!” Micah scolds. “You didn’t even make a plan?”
I shake my head. “I never could have planned for you,” I tell Hope. “Seems silly to plan anything now.”
“You are just as hopeless as Fischer,” Micah says.
Fischer frowns. “Hey!”
“You know it’s true. The only reason you’re romantic is because I taught you what to do.”
“You didn’t teach me this.” Despite his audience, Fischer leans down and kisses Micah in a way that gets Brooklyn blushing and Hope giggling.
Jordan chuckles as he pulls Brooklyn closer to his side. “I like the way he thinks,” he says, eyes dancing with amusement.
I glance at Hope, warning her to keep her mouth to herself. If I start kissing her now, I’m not going to want to stop. The hungry look she throws back almost wins out; I have to bite my tongue to hold myself back.
“So, you’re happy?” Micah says once she’s free, though she barely gets the words out.
I smile, grateful for her concern, but it isn’t necessary. “I’ve never been more hopeful in my life.”
Hope snorts. “Please tell me that pun wasn’t intentional.”
“If only Houston could settle down like the rest of us.” Brooklyn sighs. “Maybe things will go well with Tamlin today?”
“Or with Darcy,” Micah says. “I liked her, and Houston seems to as well.”
Neither woman is who she says she is, and I can only hope Houston figures that out sooner than later. I’m still tempted to tell him, but I’ll trust him. For now. I might have to keep an eye on him, maybe even track his phone and figure out where he’s meeting Tamlin today so I can see her for myself and get my own in-person take on this supposed chemistry she has with my brother.
I’ll probably find them on one of the Little League fields. He hasn’t told any of us that he coaches and has been doing so for years, but I show up to his games now and then. Just to make sure he’s doing okay. My guess is Tamlin figured out his secret hobby and is about to expose him, which could be good or bad. I should go, just in case she—
“Wow,” Hope says, stroking my jaw and pulling my attention back to her. “You are so distracted today. Busy planning your fancy proposal?”
