I couldn’t blame her; I had been kind of an ass every time she’d seen me.
“Hey, I was, uh, just coming to check and see if you’re okay,” I stuttered awkwardly as I walked toward her.
Chloe tilted her head in a manner that I found endearing, and gave me an uncertain smile.
“Oh,” she started, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. “Yeah, I’m fine, just wanted to get some fresh air. I love it out here.”
Chloe gestured out in to the abyss that was Gabe’s yard.
“Yeah, they’ve got a great setup here. Have you, ah, thought about where you want to live?”
Chloe shook her head and replied, “A little, but I’m still doing research. I did stop by the realtor’s office on Main Street today and got a list of houses, plus I have an app on my phone that shows houses available in the local area.”
“Well, the good thing is, we’re small enough that you can live pretty much anywhere and be close to downtown. It just depends if you want a gated community, a place on the lake, or something downtown.”
“Chris and I have been checking the different areas out. Of course, he wants to be close to here, but I’m not sure if that’s what I want…” her voice trailed off, and by the look on her face, I could tell she thought she’d talked out of turn.
“Hey,” I said, hoping my voice was gentle and understanding. “It’s an awkward situation, everyone knows that. You moved here so that Chris could be by Gabe and our family, and you by Zoey, which is pretty amazing. I think everyone would understand if you didn’t also want to be Gabe’s neighbor. Find a place that suits you and will make you happy.”
Chloe turned toward me, her face showing her surprise at my words of support.
“Thanks, Reardon,” she said softly, and my name on her lips caused my insides to light up. “I know you haven’t been exactly thrilled about me, and everything I’ve done, so it means a lot to me to hear you say that.”
My brows furrowed at her words, and I wondered just how big of a dick I’d been to her since she came back.
“That’s not…” I began, wanting to clear the air and let her know that I didn’t feel any ill will toward her at all, quite the opposite, but Shauna chose that minute to seek me out and interrupted before I could explain.
“Hey, there you are,” Shauna said brightly as she opened the door.
I turned to her, confused at her sudden appearance. Hadn’t she been the one who told me I should talk to Chloe? Why, then, was she stopping me from doing just that?
“You ready to go?” Shauna asked when I didn’t acknowledge her appearance.
“I’d better get going myself,” Chloe said from beside me, then added, “Thanks, Reardon,” before brushing past me and saying goodbye to Shauna as she went inside.
“What was that?” I asked as I moved toward Shauna.
“What?” she asked, the picture of innocence.
“You said I should talk to her, and then you interrupted us when I did.”
“You can’t come off too eager, now can you, hot shot? You gotta show her that you’re a sought-after eligible bachelor. You can’t just roll over at her feet and beg her to scratch your belly. Women like a challenge.”
Unsure if whether what she said made sense or if Shauna was playing some sort of game, I followed her inside, just in time to see Chloe sneaking out the front door.
Chapter Four ~ Chloe
Over the years I’d gotten used to either doing things by myself, with Chris, or with Zoey. Since both Zoey and Chris were over the moon in love with Gabe, I’d been doing a lot more stuff by myself. Not because they didn’t invite me along, but because I was not the fourth wheel in their happy little family.
Not to sound bitter … at least, not much. I was happy for all of them, truly, but I realized that this was now my reality.
So, since I’d said no when they invited me along with them, I was now heading into the local Cineplex by myself to watch the new Star Wars movie.
Zoey was the one who’d actually gotten me into Star Wars. Even before she’d become a successful writer, Zoey had always been into comics, movies, and anything that took her mind away on an adventure. At first, I’d been reluctant to watch, but she’d literally sat on me until I’d agreed to at least give the first movie a shot.
We’d been kids, and since I was the oldest, and our parents were never that
involved, hence Zoey’s need to disappear into fictional worlds, I’d usually been more interested in hanging out with my friends than my weird little sister. But that day I’d agreed, and it had become a thing we did together. Any time a movie based on a comic book, graphic novel, or basically anything with a fandom, came out, we’d go and see it together. First, the two of us, then the three of us.