Page 52 of Sheltered

Finally, after an extended and uncomfortable silence, Blaze’s features softened as he smiled at me. Then he said, “Harlow, these are my sisters, Izzy and Zoe. Izzy, Zoe, this is my girlfriend, Harlow.”

Sisters.

They were his sisters.

Until he’d given me that bit of information, I hadn’t realized just how anxious I felt about these women. I hadn’t ever been in a position to feel jealousy in a romantic relationship—Blaze certainly gave me no reason to—and I wondered if that was part of what I’d been feeling before I knew the truth. Had I been concerned that at least one of these women had dated Blaze before I came along? With him being the kind of guy he was, I didn’t think it was out of the realm of possibility that he’d remain friendly with a former girlfriend.

But there was no need to be concerned.

Because they were his sisters.

And he’d just told them I was his girlfriend. He really was the perfect man who always seemed to know exactly what to do in every situation.

“Girlfriend?” Izzy queried, her surprise evident.

“Yeah, Iz. Girlfriend,” Blaze confirmed.

Both women turned their attention to me again and assessed me. Ultimately, they smiled and extended their hands. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Harlow.”

One after the other, I shook both of their hands. “Likewise.”

“Since it seems as though our brother isn’t interested in sharing you with us, we’ll just ask you. How long have you two been dating?” Zoe asked.

“Oh, it’s only been a few weeks,” I answered, thinking it felt like so much longer than it actually was.

“How did you meet?” Izzy pressed.

“You don’t need to answer that, Harlow,” Blaze interjected. I immediately realized he wanted to save me from the embarrassment of having to share the truth about my horrible online dating experience.

“We just want to get to know her, Blaze,” Zoe informed him.

“I can appreciate that, but you don’t need to do it now when she isn’t prepared for this,” he retorted.

I loved the way Blaze wanted to protect me from everything, but I didn’t think it was necessary in this case. “It’s okay,” I insisted. After sending him a reassuring look, I returned my attention to his sisters and said, “I found myself in a bit of a horrible situation on a first date a few weeks back, and Blaze didn’t hesitate to step int to help me out, salvaging my first night out in a long time. We hit it off and have been seeing each other ever since.”

“That sounds like an interesting story, but we won’t ask you to share the details now,” Izzy returned. “Whatever happened, we’re glad he was there to help.”

I smiled brightly at them. “Me, too.”

Following a beat of silence, Zoe suggested, “Hey, why don’t you set up a time with Mom and Dad, and we can all sit down for dinner to get to know Harlow better?”

I had to take it to mean good things if Blaze’s sisters want me there for a family gathering. I sent a smile and nod of approval in his direction, wanting him to know I was more than okay with it as long as he was.

He smiled at me adoringly before glancing up at his sisters. “I’ll work it out with Mom and Dad soon.”

“Perfect,” Zoe bubbled.

“We’ll get out of your hair now, but it was really nice to meet you, Harlow,” Izzy said.

Nodding, I replied, “You, too. I’ll look forward to having the chance to talk to you more soon.”

I got two bright smiles in return.

After we all said goodbye to one another, Blaze’s sisters took off. “They were nice,” I declared.

“Yeah, they’re really sweet, even if they tried to give me a difficult time,” he noted.

Laughing, I said, “Well, apparently, they don’t like that you’ve kept me hidden.”