Page 178 of Shadowing You

“Better every day.”

Brooklynn sat gingerly beside him. “Is this okay? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It’s fine.” He wished he could sit up straighter. “I’m fine.”

“Okay.” She shifted so she could face him. “I’m sorry about how I acted the day we first met you, in Virginia.”

She was sorry? “Don’t be. I’m sure it was a shock.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t your fault. I can’t believe I’ve had a brother all these years and didn’t even know it.”

Ethan didn’t know what to say to that and wasn’t sorry when Mei Lin cleared her throat. “And this is—” Mei Lin’s brow creased. She turned to the red-bearded giant beside her and said with no embarrassment at all, “I had it a second ago.”

“Forbes,” the man said.

Ethan had already known that one. Forbes Ballentine had been known as a reclusive billionaire, but he seemed comfortable enough in this crowd. Ethan reached out his hand, wishing he could stand. One lesson he remembered his father teaching him was never to shake a man’s hand while sitting down.

But without the help of the armrest Brooklynn was blocking, standing would be even more humiliating.

Forbes gripped Ethan’s hand. “Good to meet you officially.”

“You were at the hospital?”

“I mostly stayed in the waiting area. Your room was crowded.”

“That, I remember. I’m surprised the nurses didn’t kick everyone out.”

“Oh, they tried,” Brooklynn said. “We’re stubborn.”

“Who’s stubborn?” The redheaded sister approached and sat on Ethan’s other side. “I’m Cici.”

“I remember.” Ethan recognized all his sisters, though not from the hospital but from his online stalking. “Thanks for sharing Asher with us. If not for him⁠—”

“No problem. Thanks for bringing him back in one piece.”

Ethan laughed, then stifled it, pressing his hand against his chest.

Mei Lin handed him a pillow, and he thanked her and hugged it like a favorite plush toy. He hated being a patient. “Asher brought himself back—and saved our lives.”

Cici’s smile dimmed a little. “It was the least we could do. I wanted to apologize for that day in the restaurant.”

“The day you had the shock of your life?” Ethan shook his head. “We’re good. I’m sorry you found out that way.”

Brooklynn leaned forward to look past him at her sister. “I already tried. He doesn’t hold grudges.”

Not true. Ethan had held a grudge against his father for almost two decades.

Alyssa wandered over, holding a glass in one hand, a chip in the other. “Are we having a sibling meeting?”

“Do I count as a sibling?” The man behind her was blond and trim and obviously smitten.

She smirked at him. “Not yet.”

This was Callan. Ethan had spoken to him at the hospital. He was the FBI agent who’d found Ài Le. He and Alyssa had saved Mei Lin’s life.

Callan grinned. “Thirty-three days, sweetheart, and you’re all mine.”

A little girl called from behind him, “And mine, Daddy!”