Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,54

three times, Cassie looked at him, and the love she hadn’t expressed yet shone up at him, giving him hope.

Yeah, damn right he squared his shoulders, and was grateful it was Anders who opened the door. “Hey, guys, come on in.” The hockey player was generally reserved and kept things cool.

“Hey, everyone,” Anders yelled. “Jake and his girlfriend are here.” He even had the nerve to laugh.

“Asshole,” Jake muttered through a grin.

“Thought you’d like that. Hey, Cass.” He kissed Cassie on both cheeks.

“Fucking Europeans,” Jake said. “Isn’t one kiss enough?”

“Prudish Americans. Always making a big deal out of social kissing.”

“Behave, both of you,” Olivia said, as she came into the hallway. She glanced down at Cassie’s hand in his and then back to his face. “Unexpectedly weird.”

Jake let go of Cassie’s hand to hug his sister. “I need you to know this really fucking matters,” he whispered in her ear, finally seeing the surprise in her eyes as she pulled away. Olivia was always the more intuitive sister.

“Hey, Cass,” she said, hugging her too. Whatever was whispered between the two of them was too quiet for him to hear. With the shake of her head, Olivia led them to the family room, off the kitchen where Emerson and Connor were.

To begin with, there was enough bluster and activity to deflect from their arrival. Anders served up drinks, Olivia put out snacks, and they all shared trite small talk about everything from the macros in garlic bread to the impact of the building boom on crane availability.

Inevitably, silence fell between them all. Cassie looked to Jake, silently begging him to come up with something to fill the gap. It had never been awkward between him and his sisters before, and he hated it.

“So, Cassie and I are dating, which includes everything you think it does. And obviously that’s weird for you all. So, let’s get shit out in the open and get on with it.”

Emerson leaned forward, but Connor placed his hand on her back, rubbing circles as she spoke. “We don’t want to see anyone get hurt. And this feels like at least one, if not both of you, will.”

Jake nodded his head. “Yeah. We might. Next question or comment.”

Emerson huffed. “I’m serious, Jake.”

“I know you are.”

“We are too, Em,” Cassie said. “And we’re still navigating this new relationship. But it would mean absolutely everything to us if you at least tried to understand. Tried to support us instead of making it weird.”

Anders looked at Liv. “Didn’t you say the same thing to Jake and Emerson when we were dating? That they should be supporting you and telling you that you could do it?”

Olivia’s head dropped. “I did. I guess I’m guilty of trying to decide what’s best for you, even though I hated when you did it to me.”

“I don’t think it’s about supporting you, Jake. I’m worried for you.” The way Emerson looked at him and not Cassie told him everything he needed to know.

Connor had told him at the barbecue. He was the one who saw things, Em was the one who made sense of them. And right then, under her gaze, his heart cracked open a little because she’d made sense of what he didn’t want to see and admit. At the end of their month was a wall, and he was the only one trying to knock it down so they didn’t hit it head-on. But without Cassie razing the bricks just as hard as he was, it was going to hurt when they smashed into that wall.

Emerson understood Cassie loved New York more than she loved him. And she was talking as his sister. The oldest sister who’d taken care of them since before their mom had died.

“I know, sis,” he said quietly. “I get what you aren’t saying.” That he was the one she cared about, it was him she was looking out for, and it was him she wanted to protect, even though she was a good head shorter than he was. His heart warmed, realizing that her comments weren’t out of judgment but love and concern. It made her words easier to swallow.

He reached out for Cassie’s hand, and she squeezed it three times before holding on.

Emerson held his gaze for a moment longer before looking away.

“Em. Liv. I don’t want to make things weird between you all,” Cassie said. “If you don’t think I’ve tried to stop this—and maybe we are going to make a mess. But we owe it