Chapter 145: He’s Not Him
One Week Later
It was a warm Saturday afternoon, and Emma, Alex, and Claire were gathered around the dining table, waiting for lunch to be served.
The air was light and filled with the sound of their laughter, the kind that only came from the comfort of being with family.
"You know, Claire," Alex teased, leaning back in his chair with a grin, "you're getting a little too comfortable here. Have you even thought about returning to your house? You have a house don't you?"
Claire raised an eyebrow at him, her tone dripping with playful sarcasm. "Why, Alex? Don't tell me you're tired of having me around already."
Emma, sitting between them, chuckled, her eyes darting between her husband and sister-in-law. She loved how easy their relationship had become over the past few weeks.
"Oh, yes, I am," Alex replied, pretending to look serious. "I mean, how can I not be when you keep Emma so busy that I barely get any alone time with her after I get back from work? You're almost like her second job!"
Claire laughed, a genuine, hearty sound that lit up her face. "Well, you should be thanking me, shouldn't you? I'm only not giving you free time to miss her but also keeping her really occupied while you're at work. I think you'll need to start paying me for that job 'cause, God, it's so draining," Claire said with a dramatic sigh and Emma burst into a peal of laughter, unable to keep it in.
Alex shook his head dramatically. "It's exactly because of that I'm letting you stay rent-free otherwise you would've been paying and earning your keep or risk moving back to either your house or your little boyfriend's place," he said with a shrug.
Claire looked at him and then shook her head. "Little boyfriend, really?" she asked and all three of them burst out laughing, the sound echoing through the cozy dining room.
"Isn't he little? I mean, your younger brother is older than him," he said with a wink abd laughed when Claire rolled her eyes.