“Cole?” I ask after a few silent seconds.

“Do you really think we're ready for that?” His voice is soft, like he doesn’t want to let me down. But that's not the answer I was hoping for.

Cole has been telling me he has genuine feelings about me and he wants to make this relationship work. But if he doesn't want to meet Alice, then I’ll know everything I need to know about his intentions.

The message from Alice that I just got on my phone simply says: “We need to talk.”

“Yes, Cole.” I say. “My sister is my only family and she's always worried about me. I think it’ll really make her feel better if she meets you and gets to know you.”

I haven't told Alice about Cole. I know, I know. I should’ve told her. But I haven't had a chance to just sit down and chat with her.

Even though we live together, she works all the time and she's only around either very early in the morning or very late at night.

I stayed home all day yesterday, but I spent the whole time sleeping like a log. I was exhausted after all the work I’d done preparing and actually doing the presentation. Also, I spent a lot of time in Seattle not sleeping and doing other things with Cole instead.

I guess the fact that I’m not home this late at night, combined with my using a strange phone number, makes Alice panic a little bit. I mean, she usually freaks out even when nothing has happened.

I’ve been worried about how she's going to react, especially considering her frantic phone call on my way to the airport when she told me to not sleep with my boss.

And then I went and did just that.

Cole’s grip around my body tightens. It feels good. It brings me back to the present, reminding me I’m in the bed of a gorgeous man whom I’m really starting to fall for.

“If it's really that important to you...” He doesn't sound too enthusiastic, but I guess meeting the family is just one of those things that most people see as a chore.

“It is important to me. When she's worried she spams my phone and I’d rather not deal with that every time I stay the night here.”

“Every time you stay the night here? Sounds like you're planning to do it quite a lot. I like the sound of that.”

“I won't stay here much if it freaks Alice out every time,” I say, trying to keep the conversation on track.

“You two must be really close,” he says softly.

“We are. She's helped me through so much.” I sigh. This is going to be a pretty long story, but if Cole's really going to stick around then he deserves to know the truth. “My dad left not long after I was born and my mom, well, she didn't do a good job of raising us. So Alice had to raise herself, and take care of me as well. As soon as she turned eighteen, she moved out and took me with her. My mom never so much as tried to look for me.”

Cole remains silent, but his hand is gently stroking my head. It feels comforting.

“That was ten years ago.” My voice starts to crack, but I keep going. “I moved out to my own place but after a...personal tragedy, I had to move back in with Alice. She's my rock.”

I can't bring myself to tell Cole about Scott.

I’ve always hated bringing up exes to new partners, but this is on a whole other level of awkward. Scott is definitely not an ex. I would've happily spent the rest of my life with him if he didn't pass away so suddenly in a tragic accident. I could never bring myself to leave him.

How do you bring up a dead guy you still love to a new guy? And while you're still in his bed after having mind-blowing sex, no less?

“Tell her we’ll see her at the mall tomorrow, baby,” Cole says soothingly, his hands caressing my skin and my hair. “I want to know everything and everyone that's important to you.”

“Okay.” I let my tears fall freely onto Cole’s luxuriously fluffy pillow, the little salty droplets seeping into the soft fabric of the pillowcase.

“I love you.” Cole kisses the back of my head and wraps his arms around me.

I keep quiet, but I place my hands on his strong forearms and gently caress his skin in response.

I’m not ready yet to tell him I feel the same way, but I have to admit I like the way things are going. It’s safe and comfortable with Cole spooning me, his hard body warm on my back.

* * *

“Yay.” I pull a chair back and take a seat while Cole does the same beside me. “I knew you'd be off today. It's the third Saturday of the month.”

“And you assume I don't have any plans.” Alice smiles while I take in the sight of all the delicious food on the table.

This particular restaurant is usually super busy, especially during the weekend. It's almost impossible to get a reservation at the last minute, but Cole made it happen. I asked Alice to order for all three of us while Cole and I were at the Apple store buying my new phone.

“Yes. I love you. But seriously, you need to get a life.” I glance at Cole. “This is my sister Alice. And Alice, this is Cole.”

“Your boss,” Alice says pointedly. Her lips form a big wide smile, but her eyes don't look very friendly. She extends a hand and says, “Hi, I’m Alice. Pleased to meet you.”

“Pleasure is all mine.” He shakes Alice’s hand and smiles. “I’m Cole. Emily’s boyfriend.”

Uh-oh. This is not going to be easy. We haven't exactly had the boyfriend-girlfriend discussion. I don’t mind Cole seeing our relationship that way, but Alice doesn't seem too impressed.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she says, sarcasm dripping with every syllable she utters. “I thought it was too early for bringing up something like that.”

“So.” I clap my hands together to break the tension and draw their attention to me. It's probably best if I’m the one who steers the conversation. “The conference went great. My presentation was a big success. Right, Cole?”

“You did really well, baby,” he says, smiling at me with that tender look in his eyes that I’m really growing to love. Maybe seeing how much Cole cares about me would soften Alice’s heart.

“And guess who I saw?” I look at Alice, who’s still eyeing Cole with suspicion. I stab some lettuce in the salad and bring it to my mouth.

“Who?” She asks as she takes a bite of her burger. It's so unfair the way Alice can eat anything and stay skinny while I have to watch what I eat and only occasionally treat myself.

“Marco,” I say.

“Oh. I totally forgot that he lives in Seattle now,” Alice says, looking genuinely surprised.

“I thought you texted him a few months ago after the interview.” I shovel more salad into my mouth. “By the way, this Caesar salad. It's really good.”

“Well…” Alice looks up like she's trying to remember.

“You know what's weird?” I take a sip of the Diet Coke Alice ordered for me. “He told me he didn't recommend me for the job. He said he didn't even know Cole. Well, not personally, anyway. I wanted to ask you about this when I was in Seattle, but I dropped my phone in the pool and couldn't reach you. You know, I don't remember anybody's phone number these days.”

“Whoa, hold up.” Cole raises his hands. His eyebrows are taut and there are lines in his forehead, but his lips are upturned. “You dropped your phone in the pool? As in the swimming pool at The Trident?” He bursts into laughter when I nod. “You didn't tell me that!”

“Well, I was mad at you at that time.” As much as I like seeing Cole laugh, I don't want our fight to be the subject of  the first story Alice hears about us. “Wait. So, Alice, you told me Marco was the one who recommended the job, right?”

“I did.”

“See? I know I’m not crazy. So Marco just...forgot? He told me it was probably one of your friends instead.”

“He's right,” Alice says. “It's Randy from the restaurant. I just thought you'd be more motivated if you thought you knew the person who recommended you.”

“That's silly. You know I always value your input.”

“Well, I can't explain it to you. It seemed to make sense at the time.” Alice takes another big bite of her burger.

I look at Cole, who's been silent for a while. I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Right. Randy." He finishes chewing his steak and swallows. "I remember now. He's my father’s old friend. He asked me to personally see you."

Alice and Cole continue to not say much to each other as they eat, forcing me to be the one to keep the conversation going. I’m not going to lie, I was hoping it would be a little easier than this. But they seem determined to not get along for some reason.

When Cole excuses himself from the table to make a phone call, I use the time to have a frank conversation with Alice.

"Alice, you're not even trying." I put my fork down. It clangs as it hits the plate. "Can you please give him a chance? For me?"

"I really don't think this is a good idea, Em," she says.

"You're the one who's been telling me it's time for me to start dating again." I look at her with disbelief.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you were going to date your boss." She sighs. "I thought you were smarter than this."

“You’re saying that because I'm dating Cole? You used to date your boss too!" My voice grows louder as my frustration mounts. Such hypocrisy!

"Hello? Used to. I'm not dating him anymore. With good reason." Alice's eyes widen and her eyebrows are raised. "It's just not a good idea to date your boss."

"Look, just because it didn't work out for you or for Mom doesn't mean that I'm doomed to fail, too. I'm not you, and I'm definitely not Mom. And Cole's not your boss, or any of Mom's bosses." Some heads have turned toward us now, and I look around to make sure Cole is still outside. Lowering my volume, I say, "I like him, Alice. Like, really like him. And this is the first time since...you know."

"I just don't want you to get hurt." Alice takes my hand and looks straight into my eyes. "Maybe you should let this one go. There will be other men that you'll like. Em, I have a bad feeling about this."

"It's not that easy, Alice. It's... I don't..." I rack my brain, trying to find the right words to say. "I was starting to think I was never going to fall in love again. And then I started to fall for him."

"Oh, God. It's even worse than I thought." She sighs.

"Alice. I understand if you're worried. But I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself," I say.

"You don't get it, Em. I have a really bad feeling about this."

"You keep saying that, but you still haven't told me why," I say.

"You're right. I can't tell you what to do or how to live your life."

"So you're going to try to get along with Cole?"

"That's not what I said." Alice frowns when she notices Cole approaching our table. "I can't stop you from seeing him, but I don't have to be happy about it."

My mouth hangs open. I can't believe she's acting like such an immature brat. She doesn't even know Cole!

As Cole takes a seat beside me, a waiter comes along. He stops at our table and asks, "May I clear the table? Can I interest you in some desserts?"

"We'll just have the check, please," I say curtly, glaring at Alice.

"Very well," he says as he gets the empty plates on the table, somehow balances them on his hands, and walks away.

I planned to spend the rest of the night with both Cole and Alice, but it's obvious now that's not going to be a pleasant experience. And while Cole hasn't tried very hard, it's Alice who's being overly hostile toward Cole. She has unfairly judged him without even trying to get to know him.

"Excuse me." I stand up, causing my chair to drag across the floor behind me, making a loud noise.

I don't care anymore who's watching. I make my way past tables of dressed-up diners as best as I can, navigating through my blurry vision. This night couldn't have gone any worse. And now I have to go hide in the ladies' room to cry.