Page 66 of Good For Me

He snorts out a laugh. “Not at all. Our parents are actually very protective. They’d prefer all their kids to live at home forever and never start lives of their own.”

I make an exasperated noise, throwing my hands up. “Well now I feel so much better! So you’re saying your parents are going to think I’m trying to steal away their precious baby boy?”

“Nah,” he says easily. “That’s what I’m telling you. My mom is going to love you. She’s going to want to make sure you stick around, guarantee it.”

“Why on earth would you think that?”

His tone is matter of fact. “Because she’ll know right away you’re out of my league. She’s a smart woman—she’ll want me to snap you up before you come to your senses.”

My stomach gives a strange little flip. I’m not sure if I’m flattered by the assertion that I’m out of his league or concerned by his easy, automatic way of putting himself down. He seems to do that kind of thing a lot.

I don’t have time to push the fact, though, because there’s a break in the trees up ahead and then a picture-perfect faded yellow farm house comes into view. It’s surrounded by rolling green lawns, the forest thick and dark behind it. The house is well cared for but clearly old, with a wraparound porch and a set of bay windows. It seriously looks like it belongs in a storybook.

On a sloping hill to the side is a much more substantial house—a mansion, really—made entirely of glass walls and dark logs. Of the two properties, the glass house seems to be the one best suited to a family of rock stars, so I’m surprised when River parks the jeep right in front of the smaller house.

“This is my parents’ place,” he explains. “They lived here when Rose was born. Eventually the family bought the land all around here, and my uncles had the lodge built.”

“It’s really beautiful,” I say, taking in the trees and sprawling grounds, the rolling mountain peaks in the distance. “You guys spend a lot of time here?”

“We do full-family vacations here a few times a year,” he says. “But my parents and siblings are here even more than that. The property is pretty special to us.”

“I can see why.”

We climb out of the car and I indulge in a big stretch. My limbs are feeling tight from the drive from the airport, not to mention the flight—though River booked us first class seats for that. I’ve never sat in first class in my life, and I probably looked like a total hick, getting all excited over every little thing and not being able to sit still.

“You sore?” River asks in that same concerned voice he had when I talked about puking. I’m not sure where this protective streak came from, and I’m even less sure if I like it.

“I’m fine.”

“Do you want to go lie down before we say hi? The rest of the family won’t be here for a while, so you definitely have time for a nap if you think—”

“River.” I give him a stern look. “I said I’m fine. You hovering is not going to work for me.”

He grumbles something inaudible and sticks his hands in his pockets, kicking at the gravel. I’m distracted by the sound of a screen door slamming open. When I look up, I see a tall blond girl flying down the porch steps of the farmhouse, hurrying towards us.

“Hi,” she says, slightly out of breath when she reaches us, a huge smile on her face as she focuses on me. “It’s so nice to meet you, Jasmine. I’m Rose.”

“You could have just walked out here like a normal person, you know,” River says drily, and she punches his arm. Even if I didn’t recognize her name, I would know this is River’s sister. She looks just like him, for starters, and the two of them behave exactly the way I would expect siblings to behave—not that I would know firsthand, or anything.

Rose turns her stunningly beautiful smile back in my direction. “I’m really so glad you’re here.” Before I can say hello, she pulls me into a hug and I immediately go tense. I’m not in the habit of hugging strangers. Hell, there are only a handful of people on the planet that I hug on anything like a regular basis.

She must notice my discomfort, because she releases me immediately. “Sorry,” she says, cheeks a little pink. “I’m just so excited to meet you.”

I cast a sideways glance at River, who’s watching us with an unreadable expression on his face. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” I say lamely.

She laughs. “Please don’t trust a word my brother says.”

“Thanks, Rosie,” he mutters. “That’s exactly the message I want her taking away from this weekend.”

Her eyes go wide and guilty. “I just meant about me. You can trust everything else he says. River is a really trustworthy person, actually, so you should—”

“Jesus,” he mutters, running his hands over his face. “I just got done telling her it wasn’t a mistake to come here and you have me doubting myself after three minutes.”

“It was not a mistake,” Rose says firmly. “We’re going to have a wonderful time.” She leans a little closer to me. “I’m sorry if I’m being a little extra. I’ve been nervous to meet you. River always says such good things about you.”

That startles me. It’s hard to imagine this gorgeous sun goddess of a woman being nervous aboutme. And what kind of things has River been telling her?

“Are you hungry?” she asks. “Leo is putting out some trays of sandwich stuff.”