Ethan did a quick calculation. That meant he was only a few months older than Chloe.
Interesting . . .
Ethan fought against the hopefulness that climbed into his chest. He shook his head, realizing he was staring again. The girl was going to think he was some kind of freak. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you to be so different from your sister.”
Chloe laughed. “Yeah, me too.” Then she shrugged. “But I’m okay with it.”
“Okay with what?”
“I’m the nerdy one and she’s the pretty one.”
Ethan felt his jaw muscles tick. “I think you need to get your eyes checked.”
Chloe
Chloe stood at the door in awe as she watched Ethan pick up the luggage and breeze past her. ‘I think you’d better get your eyes checked?’ Maybe she needed to get her ears checked because it sounded like he was hitting on her.
No. Ethan’s extreme gorgeousness must’ve melted Chloe’s brain, because there was no way a boy who looked like that would ever find her attractive. Especially in her crazy Christmas outfit. She cursed her parents for being such Christmas nuts. Why couldn’t they just use normal uniforms like every other hotel in the world?
Chloe sighed and shook her worries away, reminding herself that she was done with boys. This winter break was about finding herself.
5
Brady
Brady limped up his driveway after basketball practice. He was ready for a long winter break to lick his wounds. Not only had he gotten his ass handed to him at practice today, but Maci broke up with him.
Talk about kicking a guy when he’s down.
He shouldn’t have been surprised. It was probably karma for the way things had ended with Chloe. Honestly, breaking up with her had been a mistake. Not only had he lost a girl he actually connected with, but a good friend, too. The way Maci dumped Brady when he told her that he couldn’t go on the ski trip had him second-guessing everything.
It had been clear from the beginning that Maci was mainly interested in dating him because he was the high school hero of the moment. Once football season ended, things started to go downhill in their relationship. Brady was still captain of the basketball team, but he wasn’t the star. That title belonged to Cooper Hanes.
So Brady wasn’t surprised when he saw Maci waiting by Cooper’s car after practice today. But that didn’t stop Brady from feeling like shit.
Things had been purely physical between Brady and Maci—which he wasn’t complaining about. He was an eighteen-year old boy. That pretty much made him a walking erection. But Brady found himself confused by the sudden emotional loss he felt. Had he loved Maci?
He’d loved the attention and the hooking-up, but they didn’t have a friendship. Not like he and Chloe did. Or used to. Not counting today, Chloe hadn’t spoken to Brady since they broke up.
Thinking of Chloe filled him with regret. Brady looked across his snow-covered lawn toward her house. Chloe’s was the only other house on Pine Drive. She lived about three hundred yards away in an old log cabin that had been passed down from her great-great-grandfather, who started Everett’s Christmas Tree Farm. Brady knew that because his mother was good friends with Chloe’s mother.
The Price family had taken Brady’s family under their wing when they moved to upstate New York. Brady had spent every summer and holiday playing with Chloe and Margot, and when he got older he spent them working at the tree farm. He had a lot of fond memories there. Regret seized him as he realized his poor decisions had cost him any future memories. Or had they?
He wondered if Chloe would give him another chance. Christmas was the season of forgiveness, wasn’t it?
Brady looked harder at Chloe’s little log cabin. There was a familiar SUV in her driveway and a ton of commotion on the front porch. Brady paused at his own porch to watch. Two dark-haired boys stood outside carrying luggage, while . . . that shriek!
Brady shivered. He’d know that shrill voice anywhere. Margot was home.
Chloe
Chloe sat at the dinner table stabbing at her salad. She couldn’t believe Margot was home. She was practically bursting at the seams to pull her sister aside and ask her everything. She wanted to know all about college in New York City and her dreamy boyfriend, but most of all, she wanted to tell her sister what happened with Brady.
Chloe had said she was done with Brady, planning to put their issues aside and forget all about him during her winter break boy cleanse. But that was before she knew Margot was coming home for the holidays. There was no way she could spend the holiday in the same room with her sister without telling her what happened with Brady. Margot would surely ask about him.
Anxiety knotted Chloe's stomach as she realized she'd have to admit to her sister that she'd been lying to her for nearly three months.
“So how long are you all staying?” Chloe’s mother asked excitedly.
Chloe watched Owen glance in his brother’s direction. Their eyes met and Ethan’s partial frown deepened. Owen’s smile faltered only for a moment before he replied to Chloe’s mother. “I’m not sure yet. We don’t want to be an inconvenience.”
“Nonsense,” Chloe’s mother said. “We’re happy to have you. And Margot, I can’t tell you how happy we are that you’re here. The whole family is back together. It’s a Christmas miracle.”
Chloe glanced around the table of leftover pizza and salad. It certainly didn’t look like a miracle. But since Margot hadn't given much warning to her arrival, dinner was an improvised affair. Everyone was finished eating but Chloe’s mother just kept gushing about how happy she was to have both her girls home for the holidays.
Her father was just as bad, reminiscing about meager holidays gone by when they didn’t have enough money for gifts so they used to make them. That’s how the ugly Christmas sweaters that were now the staff uniforms came about. Chloe’s mother had made them.
The stories should've been embarrassing but Owen was all smiles as her father regaled them with story after story. It was obvious from the way the Hall Brothers dressed and their impeccable table manners that they came from money. Chloe could only imagine what they thought of her crazy Christmas cabin. Their home used to belong to her great-great-grandfather and was well over a hundred years old. Her great-great-grandfather, Everett, had built the place with his own hands—something that everyone in the family was proud of. But to two boys who'd come from New York City this place probably looked like a hunting shack full of Christmas crazy.
Chloe noticed the slight worry in her sister's eyes as if she were thinking the same thing. Chloe wanted to pull Margot aside and ask her what she'd been thinking bringing city boys out to the country. Obviously she'd promised them a beautiful Christmas at the lodge, not having the foresight to book a room. But that was Margot. She lived in the moment.
So far, Owen didn't seem deterred by the simple surroundings of the Price’s home at all, but Ethan had a constant scowl on his face as his eyes roamed over the Christmas décor that cluttered the house year-round.
The other strange part of this whole evening was the way the two handsome strangers at the dinner table made Chloe feel. Okay, it was really just Ethan. When he wasn’t looking around the small cabin with his judgy green eyes he was staring at Chloe. No one else seemed to notice, but Chloe couldn’t help feeling nervous. She’d never been as outgoing as the rest of her family and the idea of spending a relaxing winter break with two guys, who could easily give David Beckham a run for his money, wandering the house seemed impossible. How was Chloe supposed to relax in her ratty pajamas with them around?
“So,” Chloe’s father was saying. “Where are you boys from again?”
“Manhattan, sir,” Owen replied.
“Sir. I like that,” Chloe’s mother said, charmed by Owen’s formalness. “So what brings you boys up here for the holidays?”
“Your daughter, ma’am,” Owen replied, lacing his fingers through Margot’s. “I’m just crazy about her. An
d when she mentioned spending Christmas together it was an offer too good to refuse.”
Chloe’s mother put down her fork. “I have to say, Margot, you two must be pretty serious to give up a trip to Italy.”
Margot and Owen shared a conspiratorial look only people in love could manage. “We are,” Margot replied.
Chloe’s mother sighed. “Don’t you just love, love?”
“We’re happy to have you,” her father said.
“That's right, the more the merrier I always say,” her mother added.
Chloe caught Ethan staring at her again. Desperate for conversation to break his penetrating gaze that she asked, “Won’t your family miss you this Christmas?”
Ethan and Owen exchanged another uncomfortable glance. Chloe swore Owen shook his head ever so slightly but Ethan answered anyway. “I doubt it since we weren’t invited to spend Christmas with them.”
A heavy silence settled over the dinner table making Chloe feel about two inches tall. Why the hell had she asked that? Ugh. This was precisely why she preferred not to speak. She somehow always managed to put her foot in her mouth.
Finally, Owen cleared his throat. “Yeah, our family’s not big on the holidays. But we sure do appreciate you taking us in on such short notice like this.”
“Of course, sweetheart,” Chloe’s mother said. “Can I get anyone another slice of pizza?”
“No ma’am,” the boys replied in unison.
“Well, then how about we move to the living room for some Christmas cookies and eggnog?”
Everyone jumped at the opportunity to escape the awkwardness at the table. And this time, Chloe felt she deserved the glare Ethan sent her way.
6
Ethan
After Mrs. Price got them settled into Margot’s tiny bedroom upstairs, Ethan started to dig through his duffle bag for some clean clothes. After a full day on the road and a bit of a tense dinner all he wanted to do was take a hot shower and get some sleep. If he could manage any at all in such a tiny bed.
So far Ethan wasn’t sure following Owen to this cozy family Christmas was such a good idea. Add that to the list of other dumb places I’ve followed him, Ethan thought to himself.
Owen had promised they’d be staying in a five-star resort modeled to look like an old ski lodge. But somehow Ethan found himself sleeping in a tiny trundle bed next to his brother, in Margot’s childhood bedroom. Not a good start.
Ethan sighed, realizing he’d rather be just about anywhere than here. But this was what happened when he let his brother make all his choices for him. Ethan’s most recent poor choice was college. There was nothing wrong with Columbia University, except for the fact that it was only a few blocks from where they’d grown up in Manhattan.
Ethan had wanted a change of scenery after high school. He would have preferred to go somewhere new and exciting, like California or Europe. Somewhere where no one knew his name or the family history that came with it. But for the millionth time in his life, Ethan had put his own dreams on hold to keep his family intact. Just like he’d done on this trip.
For a split second he thought he might’ve found some silver lining in the random holiday vacation. Margot’s sister had surprisingly caught Ethan’s interest. But it was clear from the dinner conversation that he’d ruined any chances he had with her. Chloe didn’t want them here.
It’s just as well, he told himself. It’s not like it could go anywhere with Chloe. Plus, it’s not like Ethan really wanted to start something with his brother’s girlfriend’s nearly identical sister. Ethan huffed a laugh. Yeah, that’s not a recipe for disaster.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” Ethan muttered and headed out of the room.
Chloe
Finally, Chloe had a moment alone with Margot. The boys were getting settled into Margot’s bedroom while Chloe busied herself pulling out her trundle bed to share with her sister for the rest of winter break.
“I can't believe the lodge is sold out,” Margot mused while spreading a red and black buffalo check comforter out on the twin mattress. “Business must have really picked up.”
Chloe nodded. “Ever since Mom and Dad started doing weddings at the lodge the place has been booked solid. I wish you had called. Mom said we booked the last rooms today.”
“Me too.” Margot grimaced. “I really want the boys to have a good Christmas here.”
Chloe bit her lip. “Yeah, it seems like Christmas is a sore subject, huh?”
Margot deflated. “Owen and Ethan lost their mother a few years back. It happened during the holidays and they don’t have a relationship with their father so I know this is always a hard time for them.”
“That's why you gave up Italy?” Chloe asked.
Margot looked nervously at her feet. “Mostly.”
Chloe analyzed her sister’s cryptic response. They never hid things from each other. “Mostly?”
Margot chewed her lip as she nodded. “I’m really falling for him, Co-Co. I think Owen might be the one. And I just couldn't bear the thought of him and his brother being alone on Christmas while I was in Italy. There was no way I could enjoy myself knowing what he was going through.”
Chloe smiled. That was such a Margot thing to do. It was one of the things Chloe loved most about her sister—she always looked out for others. That's why this year had been so difficult without her. Chloe couldn't help thinking if Margot had been here things with Brady wouldn't have fallen apart the way they did.
Speaking of Brady, now was the perfect time to tell Margot the truth. Chloe took a deep breath, readying herself to relive her heartache all over again. But before she could get the words out something caught Margot’s eye.
“Oh my God, Chloe! You kept this?”
Chloe’s eyes met the embarrassing artwork hung at the bottom of her dry erase calendar. It was something she’d made for Margot a million years ago. It was a construction paper Christmas tree with ornaments on it made from photographs of the two of them. “I really missed you, Go-Go.”
Margot sat down on the bed next to Chloe and hugged her tight. “I missed you, too, Co-Co.”
Chloe felt her eyes mist at the familiar comfort of being in her sister’s arms.
Margot pulled back to look at her. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just been lonely without you around.”
“I haven’t been gone that long.”
“Four months and six days,” Chloe added with a sniffle.
Margot’s mouth fell open. “You were counting?”
Chloe shrugged.
“Chloe, I know I’ve been busy with school, but you know I always have time for you, right?”
Chloe nodded. She needed to stop dragging her feet and rip the Brady-sized Band-Aid off already, but again they were interrupted. This time, by a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Margot called.
Owen peeked his head inside. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“Hey, yourself,” Margot greeted, leaping up off the bed to throw her arms around Owen’s neck.
“You didn't think I forgot about that winter wonderland walk you promised, did you?”
Margot giggled. “Never.”
Owen peeked around Margot's swinging brown ponytail to look at Chloe. “Your sister promised me a tour of the farm and lodge. Do you mind if I steal her?”
He was grinning like a kid at Christmas and it made it hard for Chloe not to like him, even though he was stealing her much-needed sister time. “No, it’s okay.”
“You sure?” Margot asked.
Chloe nodded.
Margot turned back to her boyfriend. “So are you sure you can handle this, city boy? Everett’s Christmas Tree Farm is pretty magical.”
“So I hear,” Owen replied, his smile growing.
“Is that what you're wearing?” Margot asked.
Owen was still dressed in his pressed pants, sweater and dress shirt. His dark eyebrows knitted together. “Is there a dress code?”
Margot laugh
ed. “For the lodge? No. But there is one if you don't want to get frostbite on the walk there. Come on, silly. Let's go see if my dad has anything warmer you can borrow.”
Margot started to push Owen from the bedroom but he turned around and said to Chloe, “I promise I won't keep her too long. I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on. She talks about you all the time, you know?”
“I do not,” Margot argued lightheartedly.
“Do too,” he replied.
Margot playfully shoved Owen out of the bedroom, throwing Chloe a wink over her shoulder.
Their laughter trailed down the hallway making Chloe’s heart sink. She remembered being that giddy about Brady not too long ago. She hated how quickly things changed.
7
Chloe
Chloe had showered and washed up for bed and Margot still hadn't returned from her wintery walk with Owen. Not that Chloe could blame her sister. She remembered the feeling of being smitten all too well. If it had been Brady asking Chloe to take a walk through the winter wonderland of Christmas lights on the farm she would've spent all night out there not caring one bit if she couldn't feel her fingers and toes afterwards.
Brady's kisses had always been enough to keep her warm.
Despite her best efforts, tears trickled down Chloe's cheek as she thought of him. Wrong for her or not, she couldn’t help missing him.
How was it that her house was bursting at the seams yet she still somehow felt alone?
There will be time to talk to Margot tomorrow, Chloe promised herself. And then she shut her eyes and welcomed sleep.
Ethan
It was nearly midnight when Ethan was awoken by his brother sneaking back into the bedroom. If he thought he was being quiet, it was a joke.
“You’d make a terrible spy,” Ethan muttered as he listened to Owen climb into the creaky trundle bed next to his.
The Winter Boyfriend: A Stand-Alone YA Contemporary Romance Novel (The Boyfriend Series) Page 4
