“Come, sit.” She moved back over to join me, and he took a seat in the chair next to me. To my surprise, he reached over to take my hand. The feel of his warm skin against mine was a balm on my stressed-out mind, as Jolene looked between us expectantly.
“So?” she prompted, and he glanced at me.
“So?”
“So, tell me about how the two of you met.” She raised her eyebrows at the two of us. “And how you got married.”
“Uh.” I looked over at Kristo, but he slid in quickly with a story about meeting at the gala and running off together on a whim. Which was basically true, but she didn’t have to hear about everything else that had come afterward. I had a feeling she would freak out if she knew I had agreed to stick with this for money over anything else.
“It’s so good of you to come and visit,” she sighed at Kristo, and I could practically see the cartoon love hearts pumping in her eyes as she stared at him. I was glad she was so taken with him. She had always been a better judge of character than I was, or perhaps it was as simple as the fact that she managed to swiftly draw out the truth in people, thanks to her conditions.
And more to the point, he seemed to like her. And not in that polite, self-aggrandizing way the guys I had introduced her to before had liked her. No, he was actually talking to her, laughing with her, smiling along with her jokes and cracking them straight back in her direction. He wasn’t beating around the bush and finding ways to shimmy out of the responsibility of being related to her. No, he actually wanted to get to know her, and for that, I could only gaze at him in relief. If we were going to be in this for a full year, then it was good to know he at least got along with my sister. I just had to hope my time with his family went as well.
“We should do lunch.” Jolene clapped her hands together. I couldn’t help but giggle. Sometimes, I knew she went out of her way to sound grown-up, especially when she was around new people, but she was still my baby sister more than anything else, and it was cute to hear her speaking in such an adult fashion.
“That sounds great.” He glanced down at her chair. “Does this place have a way to get the chair out of here, or how does this work?“
“Yeah, we can’t fit it in the car,” I reminded her, and she waved her hand, ever the optimist.
“Yeah, I know that,” she replied, shooting me a look. “But they have a van we can use to take the chair out and about in. We could do something next week if you want.”
She was glancing up at Kristo nervously, and I could tell this meant a lot to her. She was playing it cool, but it was clear to anyone paying attention that she was a little nervous at the notion of him turning her down. But he nodded at once.
“I’ll need to call up work and make sure I can get the time away, but I don’t see that being a problem,” he replied smoothly, confident as ever. She grinned.
“In that case, I’ll pencil you in for Wednesday,” she replied, casually, and I smiled at her. She was getting to be so grown-up. It was easy to forget once in a while that she was still as much my baby sister as she’d ever been. I couldn’t believe how easily she was accepting all of this, taking it into her stride like it was nothing. But then, the two of us had been through enough that I assumed she was used to accepting what would have been odd for someone else at face value. Maybe I would even tell her one day why I’d done it, the truth behind Kristo and me, but for the time being, I was happy to keep that under wraps. It was for the best.
“I guess we should be going.” I glanced down at my watch again, reluctant to bring this to a close but knowing damn well it was time to get a move on if we wanted to see his family in time. Jolene’s face dropped, and I felt that familiar twist of guilt, the one that came every time I left her all over again.
“You’ll be back soon, though, won’t you?” she asked, and Kristo nodded before I could jump in.
“Of course, we will,” he assured her. “I want to get to know my sister-in-law, right?”
“Good.” Her face cleared and brightened into a smile. “I can’t wait.”
“I’ll see you before you know it, Jo.” I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight, some part of me not wanting to let go. When I stood up, Kristo touched my arm to draw my attention.
“Where can I speak to someone about payment?” he asked quietly so Jolene couldn’t hear.
“At the desk downstairs,” I replied at once, and then went back to hugging my sister. If only she knew how much easier things had just gotten for us.
“I really like him.” She nodded to the door after he left. “I think you got a good one there.”
“I barely know him,” I confessed without thinking. “We’ll see.”
“Call it sister’s intuition.” She tapped her nose, and I laughed.
“I should be going.” I looked at the door and made a face. “But I’ll be back to see you as soon as I can, all right?”
“All right.” She waved me toward the door. “I’ll catch you later. And congratulations!”
I grinned as I headed downstairs, and I found him leaning on the desk waiting for me.
“It’s taken care of,” he announced casually, and I blinked at him, taking a moment to figure out what he was saying.
“The money?” I blurted out stupidly. He nodded.
“A year in advance,” he replied. “Paid up.”