“That’s the real reason you want me to date her, isn’t it?”

“Of course not, but it would be cool, wouldn’t it? I like Chloe, and I like how she never took shit from you—from any of you. She was a huge influence on me when I was younger, and without her, I wouldn’t be the nerd I am today. And you don’t have to worry about her being a gold-digging whore like your last girlfriend. Chloe makes a lot more money than you. If anything, you’d be the gold-digger whore.”

“Way to be subtle, sis,” Mason chuckles. “But if Sam wants to be a trophy husband, he needs to get in better shape.”

“Fuck you,” I say, narrowing my eyes as if I’m actually angry. I’m in the best shape of my life right now. “I didn’t go through twelve years of schooling just to be a trophy husband.”

“Your loss. I’d take Chloe up on that offer any day.”

“Adam and I are glad you chose the path you did instead of being a trophy husband,” Rory says. “I wouldn’t have met Dean if you hadn’t gotten me a job in Eastwood.”

“You got that job because you’re a good nurse,” I say, and Rory smiles. “All I did was let you know of the opportunity.”

The microwave beeps and Rory takes her food out and comes over. Adam reaches for his mom and starts fussing.

“I just want to eat one meal in peace,” she sighs.

I stand up, rocking Adam to help calm him down. “I’ll distract him.”

“Thank you. I think he needs a diaper change too—kay, bye!” She turns and I shake my head but take Adam into the living room to change his diaper. I lay him down on the blanket spread out on the floor.

“You and Chloe are really just friends?” Mason comes in and sits on the couch. He has another sandwich in his hand.

“Yes.”

“And you don’t want to be anything more?”

I unsnap Adam’s onesie and put the clean diaper underneath him before undoing the dirty one. “She lives in LA,” I say, giving him a non-answer and trying not to let myself think too much into it. If Chloe doesn’t want anything more, then I’ll have to accept it and do everything I can to make sure she’s happy. I’d rather have her in my life as a friend than not in my life at all, no matter how much it’ll hurt to stand by the sidelines and watch her with someone else.

“You wouldn’t want to do the long-distance thing then. Yeah, I get that.” He turns the TV on, and I finish changing Adam. I hold the baby against my chest as I take the dirty diaper into the bathroom to throw away.

“Do you want to do tummy time with him?” Rory asks as I walk by.

“Sure. Is the playmat in the living room?”

She nods. “It’s in the pack-and-play. He likes the one with the mirror and the fish.”

I get things set up and sit on the floor with my nephew. Mason is flipping through different crime documentaries on Netflix. “So, you’re not going to make a move on Chloe tonight?”

“No,” I say, getting annoying at my siblings for pestering me. Enough is enough already. I don’t want to have to blurt out the truth to get them to shut the hell up.

“Then you won’t mind if I do, right?”

“Hilarious,” I deadpan.

“I’m serious,” Mason goes on. “You wouldn’t mind? You’ve seen her. Damn, she’s hot.”

I look at Mason, not sure what the fuck he’s trying to do. Though I’m confident if Mason did make a move on Chloe she’d laugh and think he was trying to be funny. There’s no way she’d take him seriously. Hell, even I’m not taking him seriously.

“Isn’t she?” he goes on.

“Yes,” I say, remembering standing in the kitchen with my hands on her back. Her hair felt like silk against my fingers and her skin was soft and smooth as I massaged her shoulders. “She’s attractive. She’s always been attractive.”

“Yeah, she has. Hey, remember that summer after her freshman year of college? We took the boat up to Lake Huron for the weekend, and Chloe wore this pale pink bikini.” His eyes are on me, and I know Mason well enough to know he’s trying to get a reaction. He can be an asshole like that. Lucky for him, Mom comes home with groceries and has him help put stuff away.

She’s in a panic about the house not being clean enough for Chloe to come over, and we all do our best to appease her and pitch in with the cleaning. Chloe was the least judgmental person I ever knew, and from the little time we spent together, I think it’s safe to say she still is, which is impressive, really, considering how much her life has changed.

“Mom,” Rory presses at half-past four. “The good china is going overboard.”

“I agree,” I say, not wanting to wash any more dishes. “Chloe’s excited to see everyone. She’s not even going to notice the dishes.”

Mom’s standing in the dining room, looking at the table. She bought a new centerpiece today as well. “You’re right. Chloe is just like family. It’s just been so long since we’ve seen her.”

I feel everyone flick their eyes to me, hoping I’d give some sort of a better explanation than just the standard “we drifted apart.” Mom turns her attention to me. “You should have invited her over sooner.”

“I haven’t seen her in ten years.”

“You could have called.”

I did. And she never answered. “I’m going to go get her now.”

“Already?” Mom jumps back into action. “Did anyone clean the upstairs guest room’s bathroom?”

“She’s not going to go in there,” Dad says, patting Mom’s shoulder. “And it was cleaned before the kids arrived.”

“Fine, fine.” Mom lets out a breath and turns to me. “Drive slowly, please.”

“I’ll take the long way,” I tell her, and I actually will. I told Chloe five, and it only takes about twenty minutes to get to Chloe’s dad’s house since I have to drive around the lake. “Both times.” I get my keys, wallet, and phone from the junk drawer where Mom stashed them and go outside. It’s still hot as fuck out, and another storm is on the horizon, making the air even more sticky than it was before.

I stop for gas on the way and get to Chloe’s house just a few minutes before five. She comes outside when I pull into the driveway. I put my BMW in park and get out, meeting her halfway on the sidewalk.

“Hey, Sam,” she says with a smile.

“Chloe,” I breathe, fighting to find my voice. She looks absolutely beautiful in the blue dress she’s wearing. It hugs her curves and shows off just enough of her breasts to be a constant distraction tonight, I’m sure. Her hair hangs around her face in loose curls, and her eyes look greener than before. “You look beautiful.”

Her smile widens. “Thank you, kind sir.”

My heart flutters in my chest, and I want so fucking badly to grab her, pinning her body between mine and the car, and kiss her breathless.

“Did you get a lot of writing done?”

“Enough to make me feel productive,” she replies. “I saw that it’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow. I’ll hole up on the screened-in porch and plan to knock out a ton of words.”