AllFreeNovel
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Candice opens the door and ushers us in, hooking her arm in mine. “We’re celebrating! We just watched your interview with the local news station. Trying to figure out a format for viewing parties for when the competition is aired. Your television appearances so far are pure comedy, Jen.”
I blink. “They are?”
Simone appears from the kitchen with a tray of snacks. “You should have had a career in TV, Jen. I’m not even joking.”
“Uh, no,” I answer. A career in television sounds like torture.
Simone just laughs, and Candice grabs me by the elbow to drag me in.
Fallon floats in afterward, and when I glance at his face he looks almost uncomfortable. I pull myself away from Candice and touch his arm. “You okay?”
He shifts his gaze to me, and I note with some satisfaction that his shoulders instantly relax. The smile he gives me is slight, but it makes my heart beat something fierce. “I’m good. It feels weird being back in here with everyone.”
“Good weird or bad weird?”
The smile widens. “Good weird.”
“Damn it!” Lottie tosses a napkin at us, which flutters uselessly to the ground a couple feet in front of her. “Dorothy was right.”
Dorothy plucks a piece of lint from her leopard-print scarf, her lips pursed in a self-satisfied smirk.
I frown. “About what?”
“About this not taking long!” Lottie thrusts her arm toward Fallon and me. “I was sure it would be another few months at least.”
Ice freezes every single muscle in my body. “What, exactly, is not going to take long?”
“You and Fallon, honey,” Margaret says, pouring fresh tea into her mug from a steaming teapot on the table. She arches her brows at Hamish, who—looking completely smitten—gives her a nod and a smile. She fills his cup with precise, graceful movements. When she places the teapot back down, she meets my panicked gaze. “Oh, come on, Jen. Don’t pretend you don’t know you’ll end up together.”
Dorothy cackles. She’s drinking wine instead of tea, and she lifts her glass to me. “Enjoy the ride, Ms. Newbank. And I do mean that literally.”
A suspiciously mirthful cough escapes Fallon’s throat, who covers his mouth with a fist before putting his hand on the small of my back. And damn it, it feels good. “Let them have their fun,” he murmurs in my ear.
“I give them a week,” Dorothy stage-whispers.
I don’t have time to glare at her, because the bell above the café door is ringing, and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen walks through the door. She’s curvy in all the right places, with long dark hair and the same brown-black eyes as Fallon. Where Fallon’s features are rough-hewn and masculine, she’s delicate. Wide-eyed, full-mouthed, and totally gorgeous.
Nora—Fallon’s sister.
As soon as she spots her brother, her bottom lip starts wobbling. A thump sounds as she drops her small overnight bag to the ground, and her arms are already around Fallon’s waist in a tight hug. He curls his strong arms around her and says soft things I can’t hear until Nora starts sobbing in his chest.
My heart squeezes.
Silence settles over the café as we all witness this teary reunion.
It doesn’t surprise me that Fallon is close with his sibling, nor does it shock me that she feels like everything will be okay now that she’s here. It’s the same reason Amanda kept coming back here and fawning over him. It’s the same reason I sleep better when he’s beside me.
Fallon is a rock. He’s a steady, warm presence that anchors everyone around him, and you can’t help but feel that if he’s here, everything will be okay. His presence is addictive.
“I’m sorry,” I hear Nora say, her voice muffled. “I’m embarrassing you.”
“You’re not,” Fallon’s warm, rumbly voice says. “You’re fine, Snotface.”
She snorts, pulls away, and punches her brother in the arm. Hard.
He laughs, and my heart just cracks into a million pieces right there. I haven’t heard him laugh like that since before the book. Before Amanda.
Then Nora blinks, and notices the crowd behind her brother.
