Page 78 of Believe In Us

My mom narrowed her eyes, resting one hand on her hip, one brow rising. “I think you’re a little sensitive about Eden.”

“Mom, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Grady, watch your language.”

I glanced around. “Tommy is nowhere to be found,” I said, in reference to my nephew. My mom had determined we shouldn’t swear around him. Not that I didn’t understand her point, but sometimes it was a little much. She swore plenty herself, maybe not as much as my brothers and me, but still. “You’re gonna have to spell it out for me,” I said, deciding to play dumb.

“I think you and Eden would make a great match,” she said flatly. “You knew exactly what I meant.”

“Mom, I’m not dating my best friend’s little sister. Ranger would kill me,” I pointed out.

“He would not kill you. I imagine he’s protective of her, but you’re both adults. I like Eden, I always have.”

“I do too,” I agreed, “but I don’t really want this to be a whole thing with you, please? Pretty please?”

My mother let out a sigh, shaking her head as her hand dropped from her hip. “Fine. It would be nice for you to find someone though.”

“How about you bother Asher? He’s older than me,” I commented.

“By a year,” she pointed out.

“Exactly.”

“Love doesn’t have to find you in order, you know. It started with Haven, then Jude and Cole, who are both younger than Lincoln—” she trails off with a knowing look.

I shut up as soon as I realized the error in my logic. “Mom, please.”

For the first time in this brief conversation, I saw her gaze soften. “I know you like to keep to yourself, Grady.”

“Mom, please don’t make this awkward. Ranger’s my best friend. Now that Eden’s back in town, she’ll probably be around a lot. I don’t need to be worried about you freaking her out.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll leave you be,” she said in a singsong voice, just as Eden happened to be walking by. My mother saved me by waving me off and heading straight for Eden.

I decided not to worry about her saying anything insane for the moment. I made my way over toward Lincoln and Chloe, who were standing at a table nearby. “Hey, hey.” I smiled between them.

Chloe blinked up at me with a warm smile. “Hey, Grady.”

“You’re a pretty cheerful person, Chloe,” I pointed out, instantly feeling my own lips tug into a grin in reply.

“I like to be cheerful. Life isn’t always easy. Stuff happens and we have to deal with it, but in between we can try to be—” She wiggled her shoulders. “I don’t know. Pleasant.”

Lincoln curled his arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek. I loved seeing him relaxed and in love. Even before the fire, Lincoln had been the most serious of my older brothers. For a while, it seemed as if a shadow had fallen over him and hovered there. I was beyond happy he was home. Everything felt right again.

“Eden seems really nice,” Chloe chimed in a moment later, sort of out of nowhere.

“Uh-huh,” I said.

Lincoln glanced from me to Eden, who was now a little closer to us. My mother had released her from her clutches, and she was crossing over to talk to her brother. Fuck me, she was so beautiful. With her honey blonde hair in a tousle around her shoulders, her short curvy body, and wide brown eyes, I’d always had to work not to pay too much attention to her when we were younger. At the memory of the sprinkle of freckles on her cheeks, my knees went a little weak.

I managed to keep myself a minimum of thirty feet away from Eden for the rest of the party. It was all going swimmingly. I was absolutely not attracted to my best friend’s little sister and never would be. Maybe there was a weird buzz right now, but it would pass. I had it all under control.

Until I went to the staff area of the winery because I was picking something up for my mom. She said that Tish, the manager here, had left some supplies for her in a back room. I was walking down the hallway. It was quiet back here until I heard a voice calling, “Is somebody there?”

“Eden?” I recognized her voice and walked toward the sound, stopping at the edge of a doorway that opened up into a space that was clearly under construction. “What the hell are you doing down there?”

She blinked up at me. “Grady, could you just help me?”

“After you tell me how you ended up down there.”