Page 69 of Miss Belief

“You’re like your father. Selfish.”

“No, he’s not,” came Chance’s voice from behind me. “If anyone is selfish, I’d say I get the unfortunate distinction.”

My mother’s glance bounced from me to him. She then huffed. “All the men in my life are selfish.”

“The men in your life prefer to call it self-preservation,” Chance quipped, earning a twitch of my lips since he wasn’t wrong. I’d grown up privileged, but the only one who’d ever looked out for me was the guy doing so right now.

“Your new fling is absolutely not invited into my home for the holidays—if it even lasts that long.”

“It will last, and there’s a simple fix. I won’t come home.” The thought of skipping the holiday family events sent a rush of relief through me.

She gave one more glance between me and Chance and sighed heavily before turning on her heel, leaving me with my brother.

“You’re serious about Teagan, I take it?”

My eyes narrowed. “It’s none of your business. Leave her alone, Chance. I mean it.” The sting might have dimmed regarding his betrayal with Vanessa, but that didn’t mean I was ready to trust him.

He held up his hands as though he was surrendering the cause.

At the same time, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Aiden.

“Aiden is with Chloe in LA. They reconciled.”

Chance appeared surprised I was sharing the news with him. What could I say? Some habits were hard to break.

“I appreciate you telling me.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I know Teagan will be anxious to hear the same news.”

“Why’s that?”

“Chloe is her best friend.”

His brows contracted at the tidbit of information I’d shared. But it was a harmless detail. If he thought to get to Teagan by ferreting information from Chloe, he’d be out of luck.