He reaches over, pulling me onto his lap. “I’m still not sure. It feels weird to consider them family, but I know you do.”
“There’s no time limit on this, Chloe. No magic number. I’m glad you’re open to trying, but that’s all anyone expects of you. If it’s ever too much, you step back. It’s okay.”
I rest my hands on his shoulders, running my hands up and down his arms. “But isn’t that what got us into this mess in the first place? Neither of us being willing to step forward?”
“Chloe,” he murmurs. “Don’t blame yourself and it’s hardly a mess.”
“I know. I just don’t want to keep repeating the same mistakes we made. The cycle has to break. Finding out about Ethan has been a blessing, I just didn’t see it that way at the time and I don’t think he did either. I’m not willing to take it for granted, though. Not anymore.”
His hand is soothing, rubbing up and down my spine. “I’m here for you, however you want to keep moving forward.”
“Thank you, Rex. I know he’s your friend and this has been awkward for you as well, but you’ve been wonderful.”
“Anything for my baby mama.”
I rear back and shove at his shoulder. “Eww! No! Gah. Way to ruin a moment.”
His grin is wide and laugh loud as he slaps me on the butt and walks away, leaving me with my own thoughts as he goes into his office to get a few hours of work in.
We spend every single night together. And it’s not gone unnoticed that he’s no longer working as many hours at The Flying Goat as he once was. Whether it’s at my place or his, we’ve fallen into an easy routine with each other. It almost feels too easy. Maybe that’s just the way it is when you finally find the right person for you. Even when you’re not looking.
And just like I wasn’t expecting to find Rex, I wasn’t expecting Ethan, either. I have a brother. How weird is that? My life was built around one singular family member and now it’s hard to know what to do with myself. A sister-in-law who’s expecting any day now, which means I’ll have a niece or nephew. And Paul, who isn’t trying to be my dad, per say, but is quickly becoming a father-figure of sorts. They’ve all made it clear that family is family. Nothing half or full about it.
When Paul found out the troubles I’d gone through the day I met Rex, I could tell he was itching to help with something. Anything. Even though there was nothing for him to do, he came over to my house one day, armed with a large tool box, and did an inspection to make sure everything was in good working order.
It was so stinkin’ cute. He couldn’t stand the thought of me having struggles, even if it was just a door hinge that needed tightened so it would stop squeaking.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chloe
Christmas Eve
“Wouldit make you feel better if you just took it instead of waiting until after Christmas?”
“We’ve already pushed it off an extra month, Rex. We need to do it so we know.”
“Hey, I was just offering. You’re the one who seems reluctant here. Maybe we can do it on New Year’s Eve. Wouldn’t that be a fun way to ring it in?”
“No.”
“Liar.” The knowing smirk he shoots my way is adorable and annoying.
“Rex, I don’t know if I can actually do this.”
“Sure you can. Here, I’ll show you.”
He unwraps the stick from the foil package and places it on the counter in the bathroom at my place. Malcom is hovering by his feet, like he does all the time when Rex is here. Rex shoos him out the door and shuts it behind him.
“I love him but man he’s overwhelming at times.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. He loves you, too.”
“I love someone else, too.”
My breath hitches and my voice is faint when I say, “Yeah?”
“I love you, Chloe. So much.”
