The Three-Week Arrangement (Chase Brothers) Read Online Free PDF Page A

asked, “And she is…?”
    “She’s on the Von Adler committee with me,” his mother said. “Or rather, I with her. She fancies herself in charge of the whole thing, after of course the Von Adlerfamily, and with her connections, one would be hard-pressed to argue. Anyway, she said you were taking her daughter to the gala. Ethan, I’m just so overjoyed.” And she was. She beamed . “Of course, I don’t think she was too thrilled about it. She seems to have had her heart set on Boyd Von Adler as son-in-law material, so I wouldn’t take it personally. Clearly, Rue means something to you if you’vetaken such a big step.”
    And just like that, he had a headache. “Mom, stop. I’m afraid you were misinformed.”
    Her face fell, and the confusion and sorrow left behind gutted him. “You’re not going to the gala?”
    “Of course I’m going to the gala.” Alone . Like always. He paused, searching for words to explain the situation with Rue, while the light of hope filled her face again. Inthe silence, Ethan’s father Russell approached.
    Clasping him on the shoulder, he leaned close. “I know this has nothing to do with your mother, but you’ve made her damned happy, son.” He retreated with a wink, leaving Ethan staring at his mother, who looked like she might burst.
    His whole family looked that way, although to a lesser degree than his mother. Even Estelle and Kelsie,who had never met Amy, were beaming.
    For once, he wasn’t the object of sorrow.
    It lifted weight from his shoulders he didn’t realize he carried.
    “From what I know of Rue, she seems to be such a nice person,” his mother said. “Not exactly one for the beaten path, but it’s hard to fault a girl for wanting to make her own way.”
    “You’ve met her?” Crosby asked. “She exists?”
    “I think she exists,” Sawyer supplied helpfully. “His shirt is on inside out.”
    Ethan closed his eyes, praying Sawyer was just giving him a hard time. Because Ethan hadn’t exactly paid attention when he’d yanked on his shirt at Rue’s, nor had he been home since. He’d just walked, during which time his clothes had dried, and the plain white, tagless tee hadn’t exactly screamed this sideout .
    “Wow,” Liam said. “So this is serious? Have you been holding out on us?”
    Ethan shot a glance toward his shoulder, where visible seams definitively screamed inside out . Perfect. That would have been a great detail to notice before he was standing in front of his entire family. “She’s just a friend.”
    “Yeah,” Sawyer said with a knowing smirk. “Like Kelsie is my friend .”
    “You’ve had more friends than anyone I know,” Ethan snapped and immediately felt like a jerk. “Sorry, Kelsie.”
    She gave him a warm smile. “You’re not telling me anything I haven’t said a few times myself. That said, I think he’s housebroken now.”
    Liam snorted “Housebroken? Try neutered .”
    “Wait a minute,” Sawyer protested. “I am absolutely, entirely intact.”
    Estelle rolledher eyes as she walked past with a plate of deviled eggs. “This is such appropriate dinner talk.”
    “Try living with him,” Kelsie shot back. She got up to help Estelle, muttering over her shoulder, “Talk about ruining an appetite.”
    Sawyer smirked and called after her, “Are we talking about your cooking now? Because when it comes to me , you can’t seem to get enough.”
    Crosby snorted.“Probably because she’s never satisfied.”
    “I could have lived out my days without hearing any of this,” Ethan heard his mother say from across the room.
    Ethan could have, too, but he was grateful the conversation had moved on from his situation with Rue, so he kept his mouth shut. But he experienced an unexpected tug. Until Crosby met Estelle, Ethan had been the only one of the brothersto ever have a serious relationship. After losing Amy, he hadn’t considered himself out of one—not enough to make him feel as if he’d missed out on anything.