“Stop.” She slapped my shoulder. “He has jet lag, jerk. We both do. Besides, he’s had a rough couple of days. Our family isn’t easy on the nerves. Just when he starts getting more comfortable, another famous person strolls through the front door. I think his heart might have stopped for a few seconds when Jake came over after dinner last night.”
“At least he won’t have to worry about me. After Jake, I’ll be a letdown.”
“Hardly. You’re the one he’s most nervous to meet.”
“Me? Why?”
She rolled her eyes. “I think we both know.”
“You told him about Rory?”
“I tell him about everything.”
“Everything?” I challenged.
Her eyes fluttered up to meet mine.
“Okay, maybe not everything,” she admitted.
“What did you tell him about me?”
“Not much. I’ve told Elliott bits and pieces of our past. He knows the role you played in my life. He also knows you’re a wee bit possessive of your baby sister, so that sort of terrifies him.”
“Good.” I perked up. “Healthy fear never hurt anyone.”
“No, Quinn,notgood. You promised me restraint.”
“What am I going to do, Grace? He’s an economist who naps. The chances of me having to drop-kick him back to England are relatively low.”
“Actually,” Grace said, looking back at the house before grabbing my arm and steering me away, “there will be no risk at all. This whole alpha male routine you’ve got going on is tired and outdated. I’m not in danger if a guy gets within twenty feet of me.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll move the perimeter back—five feet and then I pounce. Are you happy now?”
She sat on a retaining wall, pulling me down with her. I watched as Grace opened and closed her mouth, clearly trying to find the words. This could not be good. She was never nervous around me. Grace placed her hand over mine and finally spoke her piece. “I need you to hear me, Quinn. Really, really hear me. Can you do that?”
“I’ve been working around amplifiers lately, so I can’t promise anything.”
“Quinn!” There was no room for humor in her glare.
“Jesus, Grace. Yes, I’m listening.”
“Good. Let me start by saying, I adore you. You know that. I always have.”
“Why do I feel like I’m about to be broken up with?”
“Shush.” She laughed. “This is the part where you listen and don’t talk. I like Elliott. No, I love him. We have a ton in common. We laugh together; we study together; we like the same type of shows.”
“Sounds sexy. Go on.”
“Quinn.” She placed her finger on my lips. “Mouth closed. When we were kids, you stepped into the role of my protector, and I loved knowing you’d always be there for me. I counted on you. You were my knight. But I’m not that little girl anymore. I’m fully grown with a life of my own, and I no longer need your particular brand of savioring. I forgave you for what you did to my last, what,fourrelationships, but I’m telling you right now, Elliott is off-limits. Do you understand? Off. Limits. If you so much as raise your voice, or god forbid, threaten him in any way, you will lose your hug privileges, and worse, my trust—forever.”
I sat silently, processing her words. All these years I’d spent keeping my baby sister safe, and now she was picking some dude… whonapped…over me?
“Everything I’ve done has been to protect you, Grace.”
“Maybe when we were kids, yes. But somewhere along the way, it became less about protecting me from harm and more about keeping me from living. It stopped being about me altogether. I was just the collateral damage to whatever crap was going on in your head.”
“That’s not true.”
