First comes love.
Then comes marriage.
Then comes a-
Unfortunately, life is not a checklist, and there's no white picket fences and baby carriages. After a failed long and stable relationship, Arryn Rivera tries her hand at online dating and gets mo...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The minute Rhys pulled into his parents' drive, an uneasy feeling crawled up his spine. He didn't recognize the red Malibu. He'd already gotten a text from his sister earlier with pictures, so something had to be up with this. A blind date hadn't happened in a while, but now that Laken was history, he feared the worst.
He sat in his truck for a moment, contemplating his next move. Leave. Text them that he had to work late. Or better yet, he'd been there, saw the car, assessed the situation, and wanted no part of it. Accalia would call later to confirm his horse's ass status. Mom would call to apologize and swear she had nothing to do with it. Dad would call to tell Rhys to be kind to his sister and mother. Dealing with three phone calls would be as bad as sitting through a dinner with a surprise date. Fuck it.
He got out and lumbered across the lawn. Giggles and screams came from the backyard, so he walked around the corner of the house to the gate, and shoved it open. Effy and Olive ran to meet him. "Uncle Rhys!"
When they reached him, he slipped an arm around each girl, lifted them, and twirled. "How're my two favorite nieces?"
"We're your only nieces," Effy said.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot that."
"You're silly," Olive said.
"That's why you love me." He gave each girl a kiss on the cheek and set them back on the ground.
Olive's big brown eyes widened. "Mommy has a new girlfriend for you."
He waggled his eyebrows. "I don't need one, but how does she look? Is she missing any teeth?"
The five-year-old fell into a giggling fit, light brown curls flying in every direction. "Noooo."
"What about her hair? Does she have some, or is she bald?"
Olive scrunched up her nose. "She has long hair."
"She's pretty." A year older and a carbon copy of her younger sister, Effy crossed her arms. "And nice. She's my substitute teacher. Mommy said you couldn't do any better."
He arched a brow. "Did she now?" He leaned down to their eye level, putting a hand on each girl's shoulder. "For your information, your mama doesn't know everything."
The backdoor opened, and the matchmaker stepped to the porch. "Come inside, Rhys. I have someone I want you to meet."
He spun around and frowned. He loved his sister but sometimes wanted to throttle her. Today, he fought the urge with all he had. "Yeah. That's what I hear." He moved to join her, then whispered. "Didn't you get my text? Not interested."
"Don't get your panties in a bunch. This isn't the same girl. This is someone else. I'll introduce you, and you can take it from there."
"You don't get it. Effy said she works at the school. That makes this awkward. If I'm not interested in her or if she doesn't like me, then it's an embarrassing situation for you, Effy, and the teacher. Not good. Now I feel obligated to take her out."
