Love Me Softly (Harrison Sisters #1)

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Riley

June

“G ive me your phone,” my sister said from behind me.

I zipped up my empty suitcase, pushed it under my bed, and turned around to where she lay spread out on the bed on her side of the room we would be sharing for the next week. Even with us both in our mid-twenties and living together, there was something about being forced to share a room again that took me straight back to being kids. It felt different from just sharing the small house we rented. Being on a family vacation where we all shared this cabin in the mountains added to that. The older we got the more the annual family vacation to Copper Ridge made me feel like a child.

“Why do you need my phone?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Because I said so.” She rolled her eyes and shoved her hand out toward me. She pushed her jaw length highlighted hair behind her ears as she sat up. “God, I just sounded like Mom. Please just give me your phone.”

I rolled my eyes and lightly slapped my phone into her hand. “But Moommmm.” I tried to say with my best preteen attitude, but it came out with a laugh.

She swiped away at the screen for a couple minutes and then handed it back. There were three new app icons on my home screen. “Open them and use them. You have five minutes before I start using them for you.”

I squinted at the screen. “These are dating apps.” I pressed on one until the option to delete popped up. “I told you I’m done with relationships forever.” After she picked me up from the apartment I shared with my best friend on that disaster of a night six months ago I decided that being alone forever would feel better than ever having to live through another breakup again. The feeling of loneliness was nothing compared to that pain.

“Please don’t make me say it. I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to be one of- “

“One of those people that falls out of love with me while I’m falling in love?”

“Plus, we’re on vacation,” I added as I dropped my phone onto my bed.

“I’m not saying you need a relationship. I think you need something casual. Something fresh and fun with someone you haven’t known your entire life. It doesn’t have to go anywhere past this week. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be the same person all week.” Emery delivered her reasoning like it was a speech she had been practicing.

“Everyone I’ve dated hasn’t been someone I’ve known my entire life.” I rolled my eyes again. Only my sister could have me rolling my eyes like I’m thirteen again.

“Let’s see,” She held up her hand and started counting them off on her fingers. “Our brother’s best friend. Your former high school enemy turned college roommate. Your best friend’s brother. Your best friend. Riley, your dating history sounds like a bunch of failed romance tropes and you’ve known every one of them since you were a kid.”

I threw a pillow at her. She was right. My dating history sounded like I’d been chasing every romance trope hoping one would finally stick. The important detail she forgot was that none of it was my fault. They all started it. It always started with them confessing their love for me and asking me to give them a chance. They all said they would wait for me to fall for them as long as I would give them a chance. I fell for those words every damn time. Every time I told myself that it would be the last time I did.

“I know what I said. But it’s been months of waiting for you to figure out what you want. I need someone that knows they want me, that doesn’t need to figure out what they want.”

It always turned out the same. I would finally tear down my walls and fall in love only for them to change their mind. While I was busy falling in love, they were always busy falling out.

I sat on the edge of her bed with my eyes still glued to my phone screen. “There’s one fatal flaw in your plan, I don’t even know how to use these or what to say on them. What am I supposed to put on my profile? Doesn’t do casual or serious? I’ll make you fall for me but never love you back? Guaranteed to give you a bad time?” I’ve never understood the appeal of dating apps, I already struggle enough with dating people I met in person. How could I just look at a profile and decide that this person was the one? Immediate attraction wasn’t a thing that happened to me. It took me a lot of thinking things over to even decide to date someone, don’t even get me started on how long it took me to commit to a relationship. I threw myself back into the mattress and tossed the phone onto her stomach. “If you want me to do this you might as well man the controls.”

I didn’t want to do this, but maybe I could appease Emery by letting her create everything and leave her under the impression that I would give things a try. I could delete the apps later.

“Christ, Riley, stop throwing yourself such a pity party. You’re young, pretty, and on vacation. Have some fun.”

Emery sat up against the pillows and started typing something on my phone. I looked over at her studying her features. We practically looked identical. We shared the same ash brown hair, light brown eyes, roman nose, and down turned lips. My own hair was long and wild despite all the effort I put into trying to style my curls while hers always looked flawless. Somehow the features all just fit together better on her than they did me. We even shared the same plus size body type and slightly above average height. Her curves read as feminine and a little sexy while mine just make me look like I let myself go.The biggest difference between us were the tattoos that covered almost every inch of her skin below the neck. Our whole lives I always felt like I was the prototype while she was the perfect mix of our parents’ genes. It always caught me off guard when she called me pretty.

I covered my face with my hands and shook the thoughts out of my head. Emery could always read my mind, and I was not in the mood to hear a self-love speech on top of her sudden need to force me to date.

“Fine, find me someone to have some fun with, little sister.”

“Please tell me you two aren’t in here fighting like old times,” a deep voice that was hard to distinguish if it belonged to our dad or brother said from the doorway.

I uncovered my face to see our older brother, Milo, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked nothing like Emery and I. Somehow, he came out as a clone of our dad with his tall thin build and warm brown hair. The only thing he inherited from our mom was her snub nose, the only feature Emery and I didn’t get from her.

I shot a glare at Emery warning her not to say a word to him about her plan. “We’ve made it six months sharing a house. I think we can make it one week sharing a bedroom. We’re mature adults now,” she said while still focused on my phone. Sharing a house was stretching the truth. Our situation was more like I was a long term guest in her house.

I jumped up and slapped my hands against my thighs. “Please tell me my favorite nephew is here,” I said. I needed out of this room and this conversation with Emery.

He pointed over his shoulder as he said, “In the kitchen with Mom and Jenna. I think he’s already trying to talk Mom into letting him have smores for dinner.”

I bounced out of the room ready for a hug from our nephew Aaron. He was five and the sweetest kid I had ever met. A hug from him was always the best medicine for anything. I left my phone in Emery’s meddling hands, telling myself I would deal with it later.

“Hurry back. Don’t think you’re using Aaron to get out of this that easily,” Emery called after me.