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CHAPTER4
MICHAEL
“My baby’s back,” my mom yells as soon as I step into the house.
I grin as I follow her voice into the living room, where she’s seated with my aunt Mellissa. Both women get to their feet and take turns giving me crushing hugs.
Growing up, I had two mothers instead of one. Mellissa’s my dad’s younger sister and she has lived with us for as long as I can remember. She never started her own family and always used to tell me that Matt and I are as good as sons to her.
I’ve always been grateful to her. She and my mom are the best of friends and Mellissa has helped her through the worst of times. They’re always there for each other.
“Did you pack on some extra muscle?” Mellissa questions, cupping my bicep.
I chuckle. “You always say that.”
“Yes, but I swear your shirt is about to rip. You keep working out instead of working on a woman,” she says with a wink.
I shake my head. “I’m not even going to bother unpacking that.”
“Matthew! Your brother’s here!” my mom yells.
“For God’s sake, Sam, use the intercom! He and Cora are on the third floor. He’s not going to hear you!” my aunt scolds.
“Oh, right,” my mom says with a small smile before moving to call my brother.
Mellissa places her hand on my cheek. She has to get on her tip-toes to do so since I tower over her. Every time I see her, I see my dad. They have the same dark blue eyes and easy smiles. Her hair is short and curly, jet black, like my dad’s. He always used to talk about how Matt and I got all of Mom’s features—her brown hair, her green eyes—but Matt looks a lot like him, and at times I actually see him in myself.
“How’s my biggest baby?” Mellissa questions.
“Aunt Mel, we talked about this. I can’t get Mom to stop calling me baby, but not you too. I’m a man,” I grumble.
“You’re a man when I tell you you’re a man,” she states, leaning away from me.
She tucks her hands under the black cashmere sweater she’s wearing. It’s a little chilly out today and she really hates the cold. Her outfit consists of white leggings, the sweater, and a scarf around her neck, which is overkill in this weather for most normal people, but Mellissa isn’t normal people.
“And when’s that going to happen?” I question with a smirk, a
lthough I already know what her answer will be.
“When you bring a woman home.”
My mom speaks up before I can say anything. “Seriously, Mikey, your little brother’s getting married before you.”
“This isn’t the 1800s, Mom, it doesn’t matter who gets married first,” I tell her.
“Also, if you’re waiting for Mike to get married, Mom, you’ll probably be waiting till you’re, like, eighty,” my brother chimes in, strolling into the living room with his fiancée in tow.
Cora’s a beautiful woman. She’s short, with red hair and light freckles on her nose. She has blue eyes and a warm disposition. She’s my kind of person, actually. She talks little but has a lot of presence, which matches perfectly with Matt’s loud personality.
“Don’t say that,” my mom says on a gasp. “Your brother’s going to be married before spring next year.”
I snort. “Highly unlikely, Mom.”
“I believe you, Sam,” Aunt Mel says supportively.
I shrug. There’s no way in hell I’m going to meet a woman and fall in love with her in the span of a year, let alone marry her. It’s pretty much impossible.
“Dinner’s ready, Mrs. Crane,” one of the maids announces from the doorway of the living room.
