Page 38 of The Risks of Reuniting (Love Connections #1)

Holt

Standing at the front door of Chloe's condo while she digs out her keys is nerve-wracking and throws me into a time warp.

She purchased the townhome-style condo about three months before I was accepted to Chapel Hill.

I helped her choose it, we talked about where to put furniture, and what colors to paint walls, and spent hours here eating dinner and watching movies, or kissing goodnight on this very doorstep.

Then I burst that bubble by leaving her here alone.

I'm grateful she had Allie move in, but knowing I'm the reason for that has me feeling nauseated.

I'm honestly wondering which bush Allie is going to leap out from. I know she has words for me, and I'd respect her less if she didn't. I love that Chloe has an army behind her.

The late-May sun beats on my back, so dry and different from North Carolina and Lima.

I can feel my lips chapping as I stand here, but it's good to see the blue sky after a month of haze and gray skies.

I look up at the view of Mount Olympus, which still has snow on its highest peaks, and feel a rush of homecoming.

This is the place I grew up, and it's as familiar to me as the face of the woman attempting to find her keys.

She's so travel weary that she's become disorganized.

"Your lawn looks short," I comment, glancing at the small patch next to her front walkway .

She scoffs. "You can talk to Mr. Steven Moore about that. He's been a nuisance," she replies, referring to her dad.

"Doesn't your HOA mow it?"

She turns and points at me with her keys. "Exactly my point."

I have to wonder if he trimmed the bushes too, because they seem smaller somehow, but I'm not going to ask. Chloe's dad is all personality with a thousand percent loyalty to his family, so there's no way he wasn't going to take care of things while Chloe was away.

"Why isn't Allie throwing the door open to welcome you home?" I ask. "She knows your flight plans, right?"

"Yeah, we made a countdown chain and posted my flight plans on the kitchen cupboards," Chloe responds with a tone of amusement. "I'm not sure where she is."

"It's Sunday."

She nods. "Thank you Calendar Man."

"I just mean, she's not at work."

Chloe gets the key in and turns the lock, opening the door to a dark and silent condo.

The scent of it is the same as I remember, and I halt in my progress through the door as it assaults my senses.

The laughs, the cuddling, and lastly the tears and heated words.

This place is a pool of memory. I have to face that, but I sort of wish we had somewhere else to go because I want to pretend none of it ever went down.

Before she's even made it two steps into the door I reach around her from behind and hug her tightly, my front to her back, bent slightly to press my cheek to her ear.

I can't stand the thought of either of us hurting like that again, and I have to hold her close for a moment, to remind me that she's real and she's truly giving me another chance.

"You okay, love?" she asks quietly, dropping her luggage in order to wrap her small hands around my wrists .

"This place is full of memories," I respond, pressing a kiss to her cheek, "not all of them good." She hums. "I'm trying to be cool about it, but it's a lot right now."

She lets me hold her, and I force my tense muscles to relax before kissing her again and releasing her.

"So, Allie?" I ask, getting us back on track as we both pick up our packs.

"She could be at the gym, running errands, brunching with her family, attending church . . ." Chloe lists as she makes her way into the living area, using her foot to push her pack along the floor. "The options are endless."

"Hiding behind a shower curtain to knife me when I go to relieve myself," I add, setting my own pack down and closing the front door behind me.

She nods. "That too."

She starts flipping on lights and I take in the things that are the same, but mostly the things that have changed. The furniture is laid out differently, and one of the walls has been painted a green color that Chloe could not have picked out herself. She hated statement walls.

"The green is nice," I point at it and she wrinkles her nose.

"It's terrible. Sometimes choices are made when we're grieving, and then we're too lazy to undo them."

It's a sober moment and I'm happy when she shuffles into the kitchen. There's a table runner that I remember shopping for, and her baking canisters still sit in the same place near the range. The kitchen feels nice and homey, small but perfect.

"This is the same, though," I state, happily.

She wrinkles her nose again. "Yeah. Might be time for an update."

I'm not sure how to take that. Are we talking around something, or is she simply stating a weightless thought.

She takes a water filter pitcher from the fridge and pours us both a glass, and when we're done drinking I watch as she straightens her shoulders, juts out her chin, and faces this thing head-on. I'm glad.

"What next?" she asks. "I go to work tomorrow, and you start your internship. I'm assuming your family is expecting to see you today, just like mine is expecting to see me."

I set my cup in the sink and lean back against the countertops, folding my arms across my chest. "What would you think about coming with me to see my family, and I'll go with you to see yours?"

She mimics my pose, leaning back herself, poker face on. "Does your family have any idea I'm about to be sprung on them?"

I smack my lips. "My mom knows you were in Peru, but I haven't updated her on our . . . new understanding."

"That doesn't make me want to go."

"Gavin mentioned you needing a life insurance policy on me," I chuckle, referencing the text exchanged she'd let me read on the plane. "It's not looking comfortable for either of us."

"What time is your family expecting you?"

"Lunch at one," I reply. "Yours?"

"Dinner at five."

"Nice. If you're willing, that works out well."

Her shoulders sag and she scrubs a hand down her makeup-free face.

"I'm tired, Holt. I've been awake since seven o'clock yesterday morning, aside from some dozing on the last flight.

I need a shower and a nap. I'm not sure I can face people today as a reunited couple.

They'll have questions that we don't have answers for yet. "

I can see the truth of it in her body, and I unfold my arms and step forward to hug her close. "I'm not pushing, and we can definitely wait to go see everyone together. So, what's first? Nap or shower?"

She presses her forehead against my shoulder. "Nap. I think I'd fall over in the shower."

I skim my palms down her back. "Okay. Nap.

Let's scoot." I walk her up the stairs to her bedroom and try not to take a depressing walk down memory lane again as I pull down the covers and gently push her to lie down.

"I'll take the living room couch. It's10:30.

If you don't need to see your family until five, there's plenty of time for a good nap. "

She bites at her lips and pulls the blanket up to her chin. "If we did go see each other's families, I'd want you to tell your parents first. Give them time to process. Mine already know we're back together."

I know she doesn't totally believe me, but my parents would be thrilled if she simply showed up one day. "I can do that. I know they'd love to see you."

She yawns and closes her eyes. "You said lunch at one?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll go with you."

It's hard not to fist bump the air above me, but I manage to be chill about it. "That gives us an hour or so before it's time to shower."

"Peru taught me how to shower fast." She smiles up at me, and she's so beautiful. No other woman has ever matched up to her in my eyes.

I bend down and kiss her lightly just before she yawns again. "Make it two hours then. We can be a minute late to lunch."

The fact is, I think my parents would forgive me for not showing up until two if I brought her with me.

She nods and rolls to her side, tugging the covers as she does. "Tell your family, Holt, or I'm not going with you. "

Her breathing grows even before I've made it out of the room.

I take my phone out of my pocket as I walk back down the stairs and text my parents.

As an only child, my text group is pretty small, but our relationship is tight.

As I compose the text I feel guilty for not telling them earlier that Chloe and I have officially reconnected.

They love Chloe. They embraced her wholeheartedly from day one, and they tried to be understanding when we fell apart.

Every now and again my mom will still ask me about her, but it's always been the same answer.

I know they'll be happy about this development, but I also know Chloe is right – it's not fair to spring her on them.

Hey guys, big news. Chloe and I have decided to date again. I'm going to bring her to lunch today.

I sit down on the couch and kick off my shoes before tugging a throw blanket down and lying back. Adrenaline has kept me going to this point, but now I'm feeling that same drag that Chloe was.

I'm taking a nap before we come over, so my phone will be on silent. We will both see you at 1. Love you.

I set an alarm and then put my phone on silent, not waiting for their responses. My family has done the overnight flight thing from Lima enough that they will understand me crashing. And we all agree that a rested Holt is the best Holt.

I wake with a start, heart pounding, and pry my eyes open as I sit halfway up, a little unsure of where I am. It's familiar but not, and I blink a few times.

"Good, you're awake," a voice says from my side and my head swivels to take in a woman sitting on the floor in the center of the living room, facing me.