Page 150 of Learn Your Lesson

Chloe’s mom let out a puff of a laugh, waving her hand. “Please. Brian would sooner chew off his own foot than say a damn nice word about me.”

They both softened a bit, like they were in their own world, and then Chloe’s grandma pulled her into a hug, and her mom turned to look at me.

“If you hurt her…” she threatened, not even needing to lift a finger for me to feel the warning loud and clear.

“You have full permission to take me out,” I said. “In whatever way you want. I accept baseball bat to the head or being run over by a car.”

The woman’s mouth tilted at that, like she wasn’t sure how she felt about me yet — but she was warming.

“Come on, Mom,” she said, looping her arm through the older woman who shared so many similarities. “Let’s leave them to it.”

She stopped only long enough to touch her daughter’s cheek, thumbing it and whispering, “Be careful with that heart of yours.”

Then, the women left us, and Chloe rushed into my arms.

I pulled the door shut before crushing her to me, inhaling her sweet scent — chai and sugar and crayons. I clung to her like she wasn’t real, burying my face in her neck before I finally set her feet back on the ground.

“Okay,whatwas all that?” she said, sniffing and smacking my chest playfully. “I’m not good with wordsand then proceeds to wax poetry?”

“Honestly, I think I blacked out.”

She chuckled, winding her arms around my neck. Her eyes searched mine, her brows folding in. “You love me?”

I nodded, sweeping her hair back and running my thumb along her jaw. “Think you can love me back?”

“Hmm… maybe. You are pretty talented with a Popsicle…”

She smiled with the tease, pressing up onto her tiptoes until her mouth melted with mine. I slid my hands into her hair to hold her there, breathing in that kiss, that woman, that moment. I never wanted to let her go. I never wanted to remember what it was like before her.

“I love you already,” she whispered against my lips. “I fell for you long ago — even though everyone onRedditwarned me against it.”

I blinked. “Um… did you just say Reddit?”

Her cheeks flamed, and she slid her hand down to mine. “I’ll tell you about that another time.”

“I think I’d like to know now,” I insisted as I followed her to the car. She bypassed hers, a silent agreement passing between us that we’d worry about getting it later.

“Well, you’ll have to wait. Because right now, I want to go home.”

“Home,” I echoed, holding the car door open for her.

She paused long enough to press her lips to mine with a smile. “Home.”

Chloe slid inside the passenger seat, and I drove her to the house just as she asked, but I knew the truth.

Home was wherever she was.

You Little Brat

Chloe

The dinner table was alive with laughter that night.

Uncle Mitch and Chef Patel sat on one side, Ava and I sat on the other, and Will was at the head. Despite her ankle still being swollen and tender, Ava charmed us with her stories of the day, making a recovery day of watching movies sound like a safari adventure.

I didn’t miss the way Mitch watched Arushi when she spoke, didn’t miss the way she flushed when she realized he was watching her, either. When our eyes met across the table, I lifted a brow in question, but she just sucked her teeth and waved me off.

I’d cleaned up a bit when we’d arrived, making sure my face and hair didn’t show evidence of the hellish day. In all honesty, it felt like a lifetime ago already, like it was something I hadn’t lived at all.