Chloe opened her mouth to speak when she realized something. “Where’s Maddie? I thought for sure she’d be here.”
“Oh, she wanted to. She and Holden both, but they knew you’d be tired after such a long day. They decided to let you rest tonight, but don’t expect it to last. They’ll be here bright and early in the morning. Holden’s going to make breakfast, and Maddie’s going to help us eat it.”
Chloe’s expression turned wistful. “Your brother has always made amazing food. I wasn’t surprised at all when he became a chef. Please tell me he’s making what I hope he’s making.”
Josie lifted her brow. “Do you think he’d pass on the opportunity to make Mom’s famous apple pancakes with maple cream cheese sauce?”
“Oh, God. I just ate and I’m already hungry again. Living next door to you growing up was so awesome.” Chloe squeezed Josie’s hand and blinked away the unshed tears blurring her vision. “Thanks for letting me stay here. I’ve missed you.”
Josie stood, pulling Chloe with her. “I’m glad you called. I’ve missed you too. Mom said if we didn’t send her pictures, she’d disown us.”
“Well, we certainly wouldn’t want that,” Chloe joked. “I like your mom more than I do my own.”
“That’s because your mom makes the devil seem friendly,” Josie grumbled as the pair moved into the living room.
“I don’t know what happened to her. She wasn’t always like this.”
“Roller derby happened. The moment you wanted to do something other than what she deemed appropriate, a stick went up her ass and petrified.”
“That’s the most disgusting mental image I’ve had in a long time. Thanks a lot.” Chloe laughed through her yawn.
“Don’t worry. Maddie will top that in no time.” Josie looked at her watch and grimaced. “It’s late. You have to be wiped out. Let’s get your stuff and I’ll show you where everything is. You’ll be here for a week, right? We’ll have lots of time to catch up.”
“We leave in eight days. I still can’t believe I’m going on this tour.” Chloe followed Josie down the porch steps to her rental car and popped the trunk. While she heaved her bag onto her shoulder, Josie pulled her smaller bag from the passenger seat.
“I can’t wait to hear about the tour. I love his music; I’m excited to see how you’re going to fit into his sound.”
“I promise to tell you everything I know, which, unfortunately, isn’t much yet. I have to be at the studio by eleven tomorrow to go over a few things with Reid before rehearsal at noon. I’m hopeful that after a couple of rehearsals, things will settle down.”
“I’m going to make you explain what you mean by that once you’ve had some rest. Plus, Maddie threatened to break the heel off the shoes I let her borrow last week if you revealed anything juicy while she’s not here.”
Chloe laughed as Josie led her to the guest bedroom. “I know better than to ask if you’re kidding.” Dropping her things, she looked longingly at the bed before turning toward Josie. “As much as I want to fall face first onto that bed, I need to shower. I feel disgusting.”
“I can imagine. Second door on the left. Everything you need should be there. Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.” Josie gave Chloe a quick hug and wished her goodnight before disappearing down the hall.
With a tired sigh, Chloe pulled out her things and headed to the bathroom. Once she’d showered and brushed her teeth, she tiptoed to the guest room and crawled into bed. Not a single thought passed through her mind before she was fast asleep.
In what felt like no time, Chloe woke to the aroma of apples and coffee. She rolled onto her back and squinted against the weak light filtering through the window. Muffled voices drifted down the hall, slowly rousing Chloe from the lingering traces of sleep.
The familiar laugh of Holden, Josie’s older brother, caused a smile to break across Chloe’s face. She climbed out of bed, made a quick detour by the bathroom, and then walked into the kitchen. As soon as she stepped through the doorway, she was greeted by three smiling faces.
“Runt!” Holden crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Chloe, lifting her into the air and spinning before setting her on her feet and stepping back.
“You know I hate that name,” Chloe groaned, her face scrunched in displeasure.
“That’s my fault. I think I’ve exceeded the number of times it’s safe to hit someone in the head with a frying pan.” Madison grinned before embracing Chloe. “It’s so good to see you again.”
“You too,” Chloe answered, following Madison to the island where a steaming cup of coffee waited for her.
“What about me?”
Chloe looked at Holden and rolled her eyes. “How could I not be happy to see the brother I never had or wanted, but ended up with anyway?”
“Maybe if you and Josie hadn’t made a habit of sneaking to parties you had no business at, I wouldn’t have been forced to threaten half the school.”