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Cole studied Amber’s face carefully as she looked upon her oldest brothers. Her initial response of wariness was very quickly replaced with a shaky smile. That was all he saw, because only seconds later, the two men pulled her into a giant hug and she was swallowed up by them.
He hardly had a moment to recover from the raw emotion he’d just witnessed before Chelsea was in front of him.
“You must be Cole.” She grabbed him, wrapped her arms around him, and squeezed.
He didn’t know much about the McCormicks, but his first impression was that they were a family who liked to hug.
The loving feeling didn’t last long, as Chelsea pulled back and smacked him hard in the arm. “I can’t believe you convinced her not to take that job!”
Cole rubbed at his arm, suddenly unsure whether this woman was going to hit him again, because damn, that was a hard—and totally unexpected—smack.
“I didn’t convince her not to do anything.” He shook his head and looked toward Amber, who was completely absorbed in a conversation with Ian and Mitch and not at all concerned about him or the abuse her sister was doling out. “I swear, I—”
“I think it’s great!”
Chelsea laughed and Cole tipped his head in question. “You do?”
“I do.” She grinned. “You didn’t think I was mad at you, did you?”
“Honestly?”
“Whatever.” Chelsea shook her head. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone else.”
In all theways she’d imagined the reunion taking place, Amber never could have imagined it would go so well. Well, maybe she could have years ago when she’d first heard about her brothers. She’d been so naive then, thinking that they would all be just as excited for the expansion of their family as she was. They’d rejected her all those years ago. Of course, they’d only been kids. Young and confused and so very hurt.
Time changed things. And it definitely had changed things between the McCormick siblings. More than once throughout the night, Amber had caught herself staring at Ian and Mitch and shaking her head as if she couldn’t actually believe they were all together finally. It seemed surreal, as if she were in a dream.
Sitting at the Grizzly Paw, Amber and Cole were introduced to so many people, Amber’s head spun as she worked to keep the names and faces straight. She opted to leave her drink untouched and instead clung to Cole’s hand under the table like a lifeline tethering her to the present. Even so, the night was long and completely overwhelming, but also, equal parts of awesome.
It was Declan, always a little bit more tuned in than the others, who’d noticed that Amber was looking a bit overwhelmed and had suggested that Cal take them back to his house for the evening. Chelsea had organized for them to stay with Cal and Milena at their new house just outside of town in the trees. Almost as soon as they walked through the doors and were met with nothing but silence, Amber had started to feel better.
“Are you exhausted, sis?” Cal raised an eyebrow at her. “Or maybe do you want to decompress a little?”
She looked between Cal and Cole. “I’m going to head to bed.” Cole smiled knowingly. He’d been so supportive all day. It was as if he just knew when she needed him to be close and when she needed him to give her space. She owed him a huge thank-you.
“I think maybe I could use a small glass of wine,” she said to Cal. “If you’re okay?”
Cole laughed. “I’m good. It’s been a big day.” He kissed her on the nose. “Go catch up with your brother.”
“Come with me, Cole. I’ll show you the guest room.” Milena waved in the direction of the hall and after one more quick kiss goodnight, they disappeared.
As Cal got her settled on the couch, Amber couldn’t help but wonder whether maybe Cole regretted his decision to come with her to Cedar Springs after all. Her family was intense.
Of course, Cole didn’t seem to be the kind of guy who would bother hiding his feelings about a situation. He’d tell her exactly how he was feeling and whether it was all too much for him. At least she hoped he would. There was still a lot the two of them didn’t know about each other.
But she wasn’t going to worry about that for the moment. Milena, sensing that Cal and Amber could use a little time to catch up, had opened a bottle of wine, brought them two glasses, and had excused herself to bed as well.
“I didn’t mean to scare her away,” Amber said after she’d gone.
Cal laughed. “Nothing can scare my girl. Trust me on that. If the paparazzi didn’t make her run for the hills when we first met, nothing can chase her away. Especially not my big sister.”
“Watch it, mister. I’m not that big.” She laughed. It was easy to be with Cal. Even after all the time they’d spent apart, it was as if no time had passed at all. “But I do like her.” She nodded at the door Milena had escaped through. “She’s sweet. But tough. Perfect for you.”
“She is.” Cal’s eyes took on a faraway look and Amber couldn’t help but smile at the sweetness. She never thought she’d see the day Cal would fall in love so completely. Sure, he’d had girls all over him in high school, and pretty much constantly since then, but none of them, including his highly publicized relationship with Australian actress Bridget Murphy, were anything like this. “I’m a pretty lucky man.”
“You are.” She looked around. “I mean, you all are. And for all of you to end up in Cedar Springs of all places, it’s all pretty incredible.”
“You’re telling me.” Cal laughed and sipped his wine. “I’ll be totally honest, I never would have imagined myself picking a small town to settle down in. But when the opportunity to playMr. Summer,especially when he’s my own brother in real life, came up, there was no way I could say no.”
