Page 19 of Believe In Us

“Chloe’s helping us organize everything,” she added.

“I know.” My tone was clipped.

“She’s doing a great job.” Her eyes brightened.

Fuck my life. My mom noticed everything. She paid attention to every single detail, and there was no way she had not clocked the tension between Chloe and me.

“Mom,” I warned.

“What?” Her tone was all innocence and light.

“I like Chloe. She does a great job here. Do not try to matchmake,” I said flatly.

“I’m not matchmaking.”

“Yes, you are.”

She shrugged a little. “Fine, maybe I am. I think you two would be great together.”

I let out a sigh. “Mom, if we are great together, you’re going to be the last person to hear about it.”

“Why? I can have an opinion,” she protested.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t have an opinion. I’m just saying.”

The teasing faded from her tone, and she tilted her head to the side, studying me quietly, her look intent and so perceptive that I wished for a shield to protect myself from it.

“This is not rehashing. I’m just going to make an observation.”

I braced myself. “Observe away.”

“You are a good man with a good heart, and I feel like maybe everything that happened might have made it seem to you like caring about someone too much wasn’t worth it.”

I didn’t even protest. “It’s just reality. We lost Dad, and I saw what that did to you. We lost Bree, and I saw what that did to all of us, and I lived it myself. Letting people matter fucking sucks.” I paused. “But I came home.” My voice was gruff. My heart gave an achy beat, because the choice to come home had hurt, but I knew I had to face it.

“Oh, sweetheart. It’s still worth it.” Her tone was soft.

“I know, Mom. I’m here. I love you. I know you want all of us to be, I don’t know, paired up, whatever.” I gestured vaguely in the air. “Just give me more than a minute. I need to breathe and figure life out on my own time. I have no idea if I’ll fall in love. If I do, I have no idea if it could be Chloe.”

“It could be,” she offered, in that helpful tone of hers.

I rolled my eyes and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Love you, Mom.”

Seconds later, as I was walking down the hall, I encountered Chloe. She was distracted, looking at some papers in her hand. I waited to see if she would even notice me. Her head whipped up at the last minute.

“Lincoln!” Her tone squeaked as high as her shoes on the floor from her abrupt stop.

“Chloe.” A wash of pink rose in her cheeks, and I felt the corner of my mouth pull upward before I could stop it. Some things, it turned out, were stronger than my willpower.

Chapter Ten

Chloe

Hallways are crowded

I stared up at Lincoln with my pulse rioting in my chest and heat rolling through me, swift and fiery.

I cleared my throat. “Hi!” I said, my voice registering somewhere between breathy and squeaky.