Christopher regretted yelling the moment he saw Elena shut down. He hadn't meant to do it, but seeing her so happy with Will had rubbed him the wrong way, and he hadn't had enough time to fully suppress his frustration.
Was he destined to always be in one of his brother's shadow? When they were younger, it was clear she liked Tristan even though he was three years older than the rest of them. And now she was interested in Will.
Had he made a mistake being such a good friend to her? Did she think it impossible for them to become romantically involved because of how well they knew each other?
He looked to his side to see said brother easily matching his stride, and inhaled deeply. Why couldn't he be alone?
"Before you bite my head off, you should know I wasn't making a pass at her."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
Will shrugged. "It's the truth. Whatever you choose to do with it won't change that fact."
"How is she doing?"
"She seems shaken. You should apologize."
"I will. She must know I didn't mean to scare her."
"Doesn't hurt to tell her. What about this one?" Will asked, pointing to one ahead of them. "Mom gets her jewelry from there all the time."
Chris nodded and dropped back to talk to Elena, only to realize she wasn't with them anymore. "Where did she go?"
Will came back outside and let the shop door close. "I don't know. Bathroom, maybe?"
"I'm here." Elena came out of the store beside the one they had picked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out."
Will recovered first. "Did you find something you liked?"
She shook her head too quickly.
"Let's go back inside before going next door," Chris said, finding his voice again.
She turned away without looking at him, and his heart dropped at the silent rejection.
He needed to fix that. "Elena," he called before he could think of what to say.
She paused, her hand on the door. Will shuffled past her and he saw his brother point at him before disappearing into the store.
Slowly, she turned and came toward him. "Yes?" she prompted quietly, but not so much that he couldn't hear the agitation in her tone.
"I'm sorry. For earlier," he clarified when she didn't immediately respond.
"For what?" she asked, staring at her hands. "You were right, it was rude of me not to accept your kindness."
"I still shouldn't have yelled."
"Why did you?" she asked after a beat.
"It was an accident."
"People don't accidentally raise their voice like that."
He winced at her censure. "You're right."
She shifted on her feet. "Is that all you wanted to say?"
"Yes." Was she expecting something else—something more?
"I accept your apology, Christopher."
He followed her into the store. Will stopped chatting with the woman behind the desk and came over, an eyebrow raised in question.
Chris mouthed, "I don't know" over Elena's head.
His brother shrugged and shifted his gaze to her. "Jewelry and shoes are in the back."
After observing Elena closely, Christopher learned she was partial to a ring and necklace. They bought her both and a pair of gold shoes.
Back in the car, he saw her continually glancing at him, his brother, and the bags in turn with a nervous expression.
"Everything okay back there?" he asked when his curiosity became too much to bear.
"I know this will sound strange... but could you keep these things at your place?"
He turned around in his seat. "We can, but why? Don't you have space at home?"
She seemed to freeze. "Yes, of course I do. I don't know why I asked that. Forget I said anything."
And now he was even more interested in the strange and unexpected request.
They pulled into their driveway and got out.
Elena looked up at the house. "I thought we were going back to my place."
"We still have you for a few more hours. I didn't spend all that time negotiating with your stepmother for nothing. No way are we returning you before we absolutely have to."
Chris turned to her. "Do you want us to take your things in or leave them in the car?"
"Inside? No, car. I don't know," She trailed off, a blush detonating across her cheeks.
"Final decision?" he prompted, smiling at her.
"Car," she answered, adding a nod of her head for extra confirmation. "Definitely leave them in the car."
What he wouldn't give to know what she was thinking.
He wrapped his arm over her shoulder, thankful that she didn't pull away. "Let's go inside. My mom's been eager to see you again."
***
Elena tried to keep her breathing normal, but the possibility of meeting his parents again hadn't crossed her mind. The twins were curious enough as it was, but their mother was ten times worse when it came to wheedling out answers when she put her mind to it.
Chris must have noticed her stiffness because he squeezed her closer and said, "Relax. It's my mom, not the grim reaper here to take your soul."
She forced a laugh and started to think about the chores and homework she needed to do to distract herself.
"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, opening the door for her. Will had already disappeared inside.
She shook her head and looked around the familiar foyer.
"I'm surprised no one ever moved into our place," Chris commented. "It's a nice house."
"Someone tried to, but the rest of the neighborhood was hoping you'd come back—your family, I mean," she amended.
"I knew what you meant." They entered the kitchen and found his mother sitting on a stool at the island, typing away at a tablet.
Chris cleared his throat and she looked up.
"Hello, dear!" She stood and wrapped Elena in her arms. "It's been so long since I've seen you. How have you been? My boys won't tell me anything these days."
It's not like they have much to report. I won't tell them anything either. She quickly returned the hug, trying not to wince at the pressure on her wounds, before pulling away. "It's nice to see you again, too, Mrs. James."
"Why so formal? You know you can call me by my first name—you used to when you were younger."
"Sorry, Celeste. It's been a while and I thought maybe you had changed your mind."
"Nonsense. You can always forget the 'Mrs.' After all, I'm more than just my husband's wife and children's mother, aren't I?"
Elena gave a genuine smile. "Absolutely."
"Would you like something to eat? I'm sure you must be hungry after a long day of school and then hanging out with my boys."
How long had it been someone asked her that—or even cared enough about her well being to remember she needed to eat too?
"Some water and maybe some toast?"
"That's not enough. You barely ate lunch today," Chris argued. "You can see what's in the fridge if you want."
She turned to Celeste for permission.
"What are you looking at me for? Of course you can do that. We have an open refrigerator policy here. Especially for you, sweetheart."
She blushed at the endearment and went to the fridge door. "Is anything off limits?"
"Nope," Will answered, entering the room with a bag of chips in his hand.
"Where did you run off to?" his mother asked. "You barely said hello to me before disappearing into your room."
"Sorry," he mumbled. "There was something I had to check. At least I'm down here now."
Elena pulled out a small container of yogurt and fruit. "Where are the silverware and glasses?"
Chris walked over to a cabinet and the drawer beneath it and placed a spoon and cup on the counter. "Here," he said, handing them to her.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
She filled her glass and sat down at the island next to Celeste's stuff.
"So, tell me Elena, what have you been doing while we were away?"
"Um..."
Chris rushed to her defense. "Mom, let her eat in peace."
Celeste looked between her son and Elena. "I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong? You can tell me the truth. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."
"I—" Dammit, why couldn't she form a coherent sentence? "There's just not much to tell." She added a smile, hoping it was more convincing than the one she had given when she told Chris the same thing on his first day back.
From the skeptical look Celeste sent her, she assumed she had failed in that department yet again. Thankfully, she didn't press the issue. "Okay, what about Homecoming? That's coming up soon, isn't it?"
Chris sent her a wary glance then shook his head at his mother again. "Not any better, Mom."
She held up her hands. "All right, why don't one of you start with a safe topic and I'll jump in?"
Will spoke up. "We could talk about—"
Chris cut him off. "That just leaves homework. There's nothing exciting enough to talk about."
Celeste made a small sound of disappointment before restoring her happy disposition. "I need to go work. Elena, don't forget to tell me when you're leaving."
"I'd hate to disturb you."
"Nonsense. You could never be a bother. Promise me you won't leave before saying a proper goodbye to me."
Elena nodded her agreement. "Okay, Celeste."
The boys' mother gathered her purse and tablet, warned her sons to behave, and ascended the stairs.
"She acts like we're still five years old," complained Will. "You'd think by now she would acknowledge that we can take care of ourselves enough to not burn down the house."
"The only reason she has to say anything is because you're still pulling pranks and getting in trouble," Chris shot back.
"Of course it's not anything you, the sainted brother, do. She never thinks to blame anyone but me, even though most of the stupid ideas when we were young came from you."
Elena cleared her throat. "Uh, guys, what should I do with this stuff?"
"The trash is right there, and you can leave the glass and spoon in the sink," Chris answered, not bothering to take his eyes away from his brother.
Will was the first to look away. He shot her a lazy smirk. "Well if you two kids are going to behave, I'll be upstairs. Remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do." He winked, then left the room.
Even after he was gone, Chris wouldn't stop looking at the empty doorway. Gingerly, Elena slid off her stool and approached him. "Chris?"
After another moment he turned to her.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, fine," he answered, his voice strained.
"I can go if you want me to."
He shook his head. "Who knows when we'll be able to hang out again? Don't let our brother drama drive you away."
She shifted on her feet. "If you don't want me here, you can say so. I promise I can handle it."
"I just told you to stay, Elena. If anyone doesn't want you to be here, it's you. If you want to go home so badly, just tell me and I'll help you bring the bags to you're place."
"It's not my home."
"It's where you live."
"Yeah, but not a—never mind." Why had she even started the argument? She sighed. "I'll stay."
Chris was still watching her with a concerned expression.
Again, why had she driven the conversation in that dangerous direction? "Do you have any movies we could watch?" she finally asked.
"We have a bunch. You can pick one. Don't forget to bring your phone with you so we can keep track of the time." He led her to the TV room in the basement. "If we get bored, we could also play a game."
She nodded and started walking over to the shelves, but he gently tugged her backward by the hand.
"We've gone completely digital," he explained, giving her the remote after fiddling with some of the buttons.
Two hours later, Elena watched as Chris stood up from the couch and stretched. Checking the time, she realized they had hours left before her newly extended curfew.
"We can play a game until it's time for dinner," he said, drawing her attention again.
"I'm staying?"
"Of course you are. My parents wouldn't give up this opportunity see you again."
"Your mom already saw me."
"Yeah, but my dad hasn't. He's missed you too. He would constantly complain about how the girls Will brought over were nowhere near as nice as you."
She felt heat rise to her cheeks and ducked her head. "I'm sure you're exaggerating."
"Nope. Just wait, I'm sure he'll tell you at dinner. Tristan is coming too."
She looked up to see him watching her carefully as he mentioned his older brother. Had he known she once harbored a crush for Tristan? Her mortification entered the red zone.
Sure enough, Mr. James—or Gareth, as he insisted she address him—was as thrilled as his son had predicted.
Despite warnings from Chris—and sometimes even Will—both of the adults frequently asked her questions she couldn't answer honestly.
Tristan sat across from her and was watching her with the same startling intensity Chris and even Will had been since they returned. It must be hereditary, she thought.
Thankfully, after the first ten minutes, Celeste and Gareth seemed to get the hint and moved into safer territory.
"I can't tell you how much the boys complained when we first moved," Gareth said, conspiratorially winking at her before taking another bite of his chicken.
"We weren't that bad," Will protested.
The parents exchanged a look that clearly said otherwise. Elena smiled down at her plate. She was enjoying herself so much that she didn't even care when Chris elbowed her in the side and said, "Don't laugh," which of course, only made her do exactly that.
The conversation quickly moved to Tristan's studies.
After dinner, she offered to clear the dishes, accidentally offending Celeste who claimed that a guest should never be expected to clean up after a meal.
Elena sat uncomfortably at the table while the James family flitted between the table and kitchen until all the dinnerware was gone.
Tristan came over and sat across from her. "Look who grew up. You look good, squirt."
"Thanks." She didn't know what else to say. She already knew all about his college life from the group conversation. "Are you happy to be visiting?"
"Yeah. It's always nice to come home."
She felt a pang of jealousy at that, but nodded.
He looked over her shoulder. "I think I'm monopolizing your time."
She turned around to see Chris and Will waiting for her at the kitchen entrance.
"It was nice seeing you again, Elena. Let's not wait so long for the next reunion."
Again, she could only nod.
After he left, she and the twins returned to the basement. Will suggested they play Truth Or Dare, but thankfully Chris quickly shot down that idea, claiming that three people wasn't enough players to make it interesting.
They wound up sitting on the floor playing poker. There was no betting, only bluffing, winning, and losing.
After losing yet another round, Elena lied down and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Oh, don't take it so hard," Will said. "It's not your fault that you can't bluff to save your life."
"Could too." The correction was out of her mouth before she had time to filter it. She immediately sat up, ready to do damage control, but any words dried up when she saw Chris watching her with unnerving intensity. Did he know her secret? She cleared her throat. "You know what, you're right, Will. I can't play poker." When they still didn't respond, she added, "Can we play something else?"
Chris recovered first, but didn't take his eyes away from her as he replied, "Sure. Why don't we play Life?"
The board game she could deal with. The real deal was another matter. "That works." She pulled out her phone to check the time and nearly balked. How had it gotten so late so quickly? And why hadn't her internal clock figured it out?
It was official. She wasn't her normal self when she was with the James brothers.
"It's already eight forty-five. Are we going to have time for that?" she asked.
"You don't have to be home yet. We can at least start..." Will prodded.
She relented. "If you say so, but I can't be late."
"Don't worry, princess. We'll get you back in time."
True to his word, Will wrapped up the game at five to ten. Chris started helping her get the bags out of the car while his brother finished packing up the board.
"Did you have fun today?" he asked.
She pulled the last purchases out of the backseat and set them on the ground. "Absolutely." She gave him a genuine smile. "This is the best day I've had in a long time. Thank you so much for doing this."
His expression mirrored her happiness. "Anytime, Elena."
Before she over-thought it, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "I really am grateful."
He stared at her stunned and she suddenly wished she could take back the gesture. Then he beamed at her and she felt warmth blossom in her belly and on her cheeks.
Will came out and looked between them with a raised eyebrow. She took a step back immediately, realizing she was standing too close to Chris to just have been talking.
"Don't let me ruin the moment," he quipped. "I just wanted to say you have two minutes to be home."
That snapped her out of her rose-tinted haze. "Thank you. It was nice hanging out with you, Will."
He shrugged. "No problem. See you at school. And the Homecoming party."
To avoid rehashing the difficult logistics of attending the dance, she grabbed the bags and started walking.
Natalia was waiting for her in the living room when she walked in. Her stepmother made an exaggerated move to check her watch and sighed. "It seems you can be punctual after all."
Elena clutched the bags tightly.
"What do you have there?"
"Gifts for me."
"Hm..." Her stepmother rose from the couch and circled her. "Were you asking them to buy you things? You know that kind of behavior is rude."
Elena forced herself to keep eye contact. "They offered. I tried to tell them it was too much, but they wouldn't listen."
"Then they are very generous. Take those up to your room and start your homework."
Elena didn't need to be told twice. She took the steps two at a time and locked her bedroom door. She hung up all the purchases in her closet and collapsed on the bed.
Why had Natalia let her keep them? Normally she took anything nice and gave it to Leighton.
Was it because—no, it couldn't be. Will had mentioned that Natalia had caved to her hanging out once he mentioned his parents. Was it happening again? Was the James name that important in the business community?
She hadn't heard much about them since they moved, but judging from the way her stepmother treated them as faux royalty, they must have become more successful.
She sighed. It didn't matter. While she was glad to keep her gifts, she doubted the solution to freeing herself from Natalia would be as easy as name-dropping her neighbors.
***
"You seemed to be awfully personal with her at the end," Will commented. "I'm almost sorry I came out, but I knew she'd be super mad if she was late."
Chris ignored his brother as he tried to figure out how she could still have a crush on Tristan and yet give him a kiss. It was on the cheek, but it was still a kiss.
"I can't wait to see her in the dress," he brother went on. "I do wish it showed more, though."
"You always want that," he replied.
"Do you think she'll go with you? I mean, she has an outfit to wear so that eliminates a possible excuse."
"She doesn't want to get in trouble with her stepmother. We should respect that."
"Did you see the way she lit up today?" Will countered. "She needs more freedom, even if it means breaking a few rules in the process."
Tristan walked into their room, only to be hit by a flying pillow. "Real mature," he muttered before sitting at the desk.
"That's what you get when you crash our twin time," Will countered. "What brings the prodigal son home anyway?"
"Needed to talk to the parents about something."
"Do tell."
"You first, baby brother," Tristan replied.
Chris rolled his eyes at their back and forth and turned to the next page in his history textbook.
His brothers turned on him. "Don't think you're above us."
"I would never presume that."
Tristan pulled the chair closer. "You've been quiet tonight. Actually, I take that back. You've been silent unless you're talking to Elena."
Christopher stayed silent, neither denying nor confirming his brother's statement.
"Want to tell me what that's about? Do you like her?"
Was his brother checking the competition like he had with Will? "Of course I do. She's a good person."
Will coughed and Chris heard him say something suspiciously like, "Liar."
He flipped off his twin and turned back to his older brother. "Do you like her?"
"Like you said, 'she's a good person.'"
He should have seen that coming.
"Fine," he conceded. "I like her. Happy?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Tristan quipped. "I had no romantic interest in her."
"She had a crush on you."
"Keyword. Had. Besides, I think she's moved on."
Will chipped in. "I told him that, but he didn't listen..."
"Okay, will the two of you stop gossiping like old ladies and just tell me what you're talking about?"
"You're stupid."
"She likes you," Tristan said at the same time.