Oliver Rhodes is … everything.
Everything I’ve hoped for, dreamed of, imagined. All in one perfect package. I mean, the man can’t keep a plant alive. No, that’s what I bring to the table. No one isactuallyperfect, I guess. But it’s really all about balance.
And right now, my heart is perfectly off-kilter from the balance this man brings to my life.
“Calloway?” Connie slips up beside me at the electric kettle, causing me to jump.
Stilted laughter tumbles from my lips. “You scared me.”
A soft smile graces her lovely face. “Sorry. Oliver’s doing really well,” she whispers, nodding to my fake boyfriend lounging on the couch with Prescott, Imogene, and our parents.
I frown. “Where’s Chris?”
Connie lifts a brow. “He went to bed a while ago.”
“No wonder there seems to be so much more air in here,” I grumble.
Connie chuckles. “He said he walked in on you two this morning … right in the middle of things?” Dainty ruby brows reach her hairline.
I don’t bother hiding my blanche. “We … he … clothed … ” I sputter.
Her musical laughter surrounds us. “Relax, Calloway. He only said it privately to me.”
My relief is euphoric. “Thank all the hot chocolate gods.”
Clearly not done torturing me, Connie leans in closer. “How is all that going?”
Any of my remaining relief flies out the very large windows across the room. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, when I walked in on you earlier, it didn’t look … fake.”
“Psh,” I wave her off, “you areloco, girlfriend.” I force out some laughter for good measure. Returning to my cocoa, the weight of her stare practically rips my head in two.
“Calloway.” Apparently, she’s had enough. “Talk to me. Please?”
A quick glance around the kitchen tells me what I already know—that no one else is paying us any attention. Sighing, I look my sister square in the eye. “We only promised to do this through the holidays.” Sorrow weighs down every syllable.
“Do you love him?” she asks. So simply, as if that’s the only question that matters in the entire universe. Connie has always been my favorite. Though her loyalty has always remained with her twin, she has made sure I’ve been seen my entire life by someone in our family. She’s made sure I have never been forgotten in the midst of life with my overachieving siblings.
And I love her dearly for it.
But she thinks in black and white. Absolutes. Right and wrong.
Why and why not.
If I tell her the truth, she’ll think it’s as simple as telling Oliver how I feel.
If I lie, she’ll say it should be easy to move on.
Setting down my favorite blue mug with snowflakes all over it, the one which Oliver currently holds the mate to, I look at my closest sister. Nothing but care waits in her eyes when they meet mine. “Connie, I’ve only known him for about a month.”
“So?”
“So, how can you fall in love with someone in such a short amount of time?” Pursing my lips, I furrow my brow.
My sister sighs. “Sometimes, you just know. And there’s no other way to explain it.”
“What about you?” I ask pointedly.
