Page 4 of Believe In Us

Another laugh rustled in my throat. “Oh, I’m sure. So you came to Alaska because your dad wanted to?”

“Alaska’s been on his bucket list. He loves the outdoors and fishing. I promised we’d come, so here we are,” she explained.

“And you love it too?”

“I do. I didn’t expect to feel so at home here, but I do. No matter what happens, we’re staying.”

“Are you expecting something to happen?” I prompted, curiosity ballooning inside me. I suddenly wanted all the answers about the puzzle that was Chloe.

“Something always happens. Life has twists and turns, right?”

“Oh, that it does.” My reply was casual, but I felt anything but that inside.

We fell quiet again, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. The quiet gave me time to try to tamp down the growing urge to pull over and kiss her until we forgot our own names.

Somehow, I kept my hands to myself and stayed on the road. We arrived at Fireweed Winery for the party. When we walked in, the host at the desk smiled and asked, “And where would you two like to be seated?”

He assumed we were a couple. Just then, my youngest brother Grady walked by and grinned. “Aren’t they a beautiful couple?” he teased.

I flicked my eyes to Chloe. Her cheeks were pink again, and just like that, I was back to thinking of kissing her. But wanting to kiss Chloe was basically a full-time job in my brain whenever I was near her.

“They’re with us,” Grady added.

“Oh, you’re here for the party. You can follow him unless you need me to escort you,” the host said.

“At your service,” Grady teased with a half-bow in our direction.

Chloe stayed silent through this exchange, but I noticed the way her shoulders tensed. She lifted her chin, and I loved that flash of daring in her eyes.

Once we walked into the event room, we were swept into the crowd, and I lost sight of her for a while.

“You did it, man,” I said to Cole, clapping him on the shoulder and pulling him into a quick hug. “You figured it out much faster than Jude.”

Cole waggled his brows. “Jude was slow-mo.”

Jude nudged me with his shoulder as he stopped beside us with Kendall. “Slow at what?”

My gaze bounced between them. Jude had loved Kendall since high school. “It only took you over a decade to figure it out.”

“Over a decade to figure what out?” Chloe’s voice slipped in, her tone honey-warm. “I knew y’all crushed on each other in high school, but is everybody serious? Nothing happened before that?” Her hand went to her hip, her grin saucy as she looked at Kendall before she pulled her into a hug. “You deserve all the good things. And Jude is good for you.”

Stepping back, Chloe turned to Cole, narrowing her eyes. “You better be good to Adele.”

Cole placed a hand over his heart. “I do solemnly swear.”

“Are y’all doing a honeymoon?” Chloe asked next.

“Well, it’s the middle of winter,” Adele said. “Not sure.”

“For me, winter’s a novelty. I love it,” Chloe replied.

“Consider yourself warned about mud season,” someone added. Laughter rippled through the group around us.

“Oh, it’s muddy all right. It’s aptly named. It’s not even a joke,” I offered.

I told myself that was why I reacted to Chloe the way I did. Because, as snow was to her, she was a novelty to me. When her gaze met mine again and that sweet jolt thumped me square in the chest, I knew better.

I was damaged goods. Chloe was soft and sunlit. I had no business even thinking about her this way. With a hard mental kick, I forced my attention away from her.