The Family You Make (Sunrise Cove #1)

“Jane.”

She dropped her forehead to the rock, closed her eyes, and gulped in air. “Sorry, can’t talk right now, very busy having a panic attack.”

Levi curled an arm around her. “Breathe,” he said softly into her ear. “Just breathe for a minute.”

She opened her mouth to tell him she was already breathing, only to realize she actually wasn’t. Dammit. Her heart pounded in her ears and the muscles in her legs trembled. Logically, she knew she couldn’t fall, but mentally it was a whole other ball game.

“You’re doing great. And you’re safe, I promise.” He had an arm around her. “You can’t slip or fall. The rope has you. Dusty has you. And I’ve got you.”

I’ve got you . . .

And suddenly she was even more scared. Not at the idea of falling. Not of suddenly knowing that she was definitely going to agree to be his pretend girlfriend. Not even at the idea of spending an evening having dinner with his family—well, okay, so she was a little scared of that.

But what scared her most was the idea of him having her back.

When was the last time she could say that about a man? She couldn’t remember. Unable to help herself, she took another peek down and let out a wimpy whimper. “It’s like the blizzard all over again.”

“Except there’s no wind, no snow, and we’re not dangling seven hundred and fifty feet in the air.”

“Wait— Seven hundred and fifty? That night you told me we were at five hundred and fifty!”

“Is there really a difference?”

Good point, but she opened her eyes to glare at him anyway. His gray eyes weren’t stormy today, they were a shiny silver. And damn, he had long dark lashes that wouldn’t require mascara. “Unfair,” she whispered.

“That I lied?”

“That you have ridiculously long eyelashes.”

His lips quirked and her gaze went rogue, dropping to his mouth, which slowly curved as she watched.

“Jane?”

“Hmmm?”

“We going to finish this climb?”

“Yes. And I’m going to beat you to the top.” She had no idea why she said that. Oh, wait, yes she did. She couldn’t handle losing.

Apparently amused by her competitive spirit, he laughed, but she went back to climbing. And a few sweaty minutes later, she had to admit, it actually was a huge rush, even when she faltered or took a moment to find the right hold. And when she scrambled to the top and rang the bell, she found herself sweating and smiling from what felt like Mount Everest. A twelve-foot-high Mount Everest. “I did it.”

Levi grinned at her. “You did.”

She nodded and then sat right there at the top because her knees were knocking. He handed her a bottle of water and sat with her. “I’m impressed,” he said. “Turns out, you’re a badass in an emergency, and a badass in a competition.” He smiled. “I like it. I like you, Jane.”

She snorted the water up her nose and then choked.

He rubbed her back until she could breathe. “So you aren’t comfortable with compliments. Noted.”

Actually, it was the “I like you,” which she hadn’t expected. Or her own reaction. She played with the condensation on the water bottle. “So . . . about that pretend girlfriend thing. I’ve got questions. And stipulations.”

“Hit me.”

“You’ve got a close-knit family.”

“If by close-knit you mean half the time we want to kill each other, then yes.”

She met his gaze then. “Look, I assume from how important it was to you that you call them when you thought we were going to die, that they love you very much. I just don’t want to be the one to screw that up for you.”

He looked baffled. “How could you possibly screw it up?”

“Trust me. Families don’t like me.” Starting with her own . . .

“Jane, there’s no way they aren’t going to immediately fall in love with you.”

She felt her face heat up and got annoyed at herself. “I’m . . .” She searched for a way to make him understand. “I’ve got a weird sense of humor. I laugh at things no one else thinks is funny. I’m sarcastic. I say what I think, and it’s not always . . . nice.”

“There you go,” he said. “You’ll fit right in.”

She stared at him. Why wasn’t he scared off?

“What else?” he asked.

She took a deep breath. “What would this thing entail exactly? I mean, nothing . . . physical, right? Pretend or otherwise?”

When he spoke, his voice was serious now. “I wouldn’t want pretend physical anything from anyone. Especially you, Jane.”

She frowned. “Because . . .”

That got her a small smile. “I think I’ll let you wrestle with that one.”

She drew a deep breath. Oh boy . . .

“You mentioned stipulations,” he said, sounding amused.

She nodded and tried to remember what they were. “You have to promise me that this thing stays pretend no matter what, that you won’t fall for me.”

He smiled.

She pointed at him. “Hey! It could happen!”

His smile faded. “I have no doubt.”

Her heart did a somersault. “Promise me,” she whispered.

He was quiet a moment. “I get it,” he finally said. “Us falling for each other wouldn’t be smart. We’re both leaving Sunrise Cove sooner rather than later, and we lead very different lives that would make it nearly impossible to maintain a relationship.”

Well, if he was going to be all grown up about it . . . And yet, she appreciated that. His honesty. She appreciated it a lot, and it made her feel a whole lot better about things.

“My turn for a question,” he said. “You mentioned not really having a family. What happened to yours?”

Moment of truth. She looked away, eyed the high warehouse ceiling and the lighting, the people milling in the store— “Jane?”

“I’m not in contact with them.”

Gently he turned her face back to his. “None of them?”

“Not in a long time, no.”

“Jane,” he said softly.

“Believe me, it was for the best.”

“What happened?”

She shrugged. “I got bounced around a lot as a child between anyone even halfway related to me. Kind of soured me on the idea of family.” She shrugged again and even smiled, though she hated to talk about her childhood.