The Family You Make Read online

  Ten minutes later, she and Riggs had cleaned up the mess. Ms. Riley sat on her stool watching Netflix on her phone, ignoring them both.

  Riggs looked at her face again.

  “Still fine,” she said.

  “Is there someone I should call for you?” he asked. “Let them know you’re okay?”

  “Nope.”

  “Someone’s got to be worried about you.”

  “Nope.”

  “No one?”

  She slid him a look. “Are you fishing to see if I’m in a relationship?”

  “Are you?”

  “No.” She’d had boyfriends, but no one to write home about, and nothing lately. Her first serious relationship had been five years ago, but they’d split when he’d fallen in love and she hadn’t been there yet. Her last involvement had been a year ago, and they’d split because, according to him, she was closed off and “grumpy.” True, and she’d made an attempt to change that. But even then, when he’d come back a month later to try and make up, she’d told him she hadn’t missed him when he was gone.

  Except . . . she had.

  Okay, so not him exactly, but she’d missed having someone in her life, someone to have fun with, be physical with, someone to talk to.

  Was that her problem? Was she lonely? Good God, that made her sound so pathetic, but she suspected it was true. But for so long, she’d been motivated by circumstance, money—or lack thereof—and she’d told herself over and over again that nothing mattered but the security and safety money could bring her. Certainly not love.

  At her continued silence, Riggs grabbed two pints of ice cream, taking the time to hold them up to her for approval. The double fudge chocolate and Neapolitan.

  She nodded, and then he slapped more money on the counter. Without looking at Ms. Riley, he grabbed a plastic-wrapped spoon and came back to Tae.

  “You’re going to pollute your body with dairy and fat?” she asked in disbelief, knowing he ate clean. Or at least he used to.

  “After tonight? Yes.” He gently pressed one of the containers against her aching eye. With his free hand, he offered her the other carton and spoon.

  She nearly melted. Nearly. Instead, she narrowed her eyes. “This doesn’t make us friends.”

  “Agreed.”

  Praise for Jill Shalvis

  “Shalvis capably weaves the complex, intertwining relationships into an appealing story of second chances. This is sure to satisfy.”

  —Publisher’s Weekly on The Forever Girl

  “Fans of the TV drama series This Is Us as well as love stories ripe with secrets waiting to be spilled will devour Shalvis’s latest in the series.”

  —Library Journal on Almost Just Friends

  “Sisterhood takes center stage in this utterly absorbing novel. Jill Shalvis balances her trademark sunny optimism and humor with unforgettable real-life drama. A book to savor—and share.”

  —Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author, on The Lemon Sisters

  “Jill Shalvis’s books are funny, warm, charming and unforgettable.”

  —RaeAnne Thayne, New York Times bestselling author, on The Lemon Sisters

  “The love story you need to read this summer isn’t what you expect: it’s about the love between sisters. Jill Shalvis has written something totally different for your beach read this year—and you’re going to love it.”

  —Bustle on Lost and Found Sisters

  “Readers will be utterly charmed by Shalvis’s latest, and will be eager to visit Wildstone again.”

  —Bookish on Lost and Found Sisters

  “I love everything about this book, the family dynamics, the humor and the amazing romance. Just amazing!”

  —Lori Foster on Lost and Found Sisters

  “Shalvis’s rich cast of characters add just the right dose of color and sage advice, while she spins yet another sexy contemporary tale that showcases her indelible wit and eye for sweet, compulsively readable romance.”

  —Entertainment Weekly

  “Romance . . . you can lose yourself in.”

  —USA Today

  “Hot, sweet, fun, and romantic! Pure pleasure!”

  —Robyn Carr

  “Jill Shalvis will make you laugh and fall in love.”

  —Rachel Gibson

  Also by Jill Shalvis

  WILDSTONE NOVELS

  Love for Beginners • Mistletoe in Paradise (novella)

  The Forever Girl • The Summer Deal

  Almost Just Friends • The Lemon Sisters

  Rainy Day Friends • The Good Luck Sister (novella)

  Lost and Found Sisters

  HEARTBREAKER BAY NOVELS

  Wrapped Up in You • Playing for Keeps

  Hot Winter Nights • About That Kiss

  Chasing Christmas Eve • Accidentally on Purpose

  The Trouble with Mistletoe • Sweet Little Lies

  LUCKY HARBOR NOVELS

  One in a Million • He’s So Fine

  It’s in His Kiss • Once in a Lifetime

  Always on My Mind • It Had to Be You

  Forever and a Day • At Last

  Lucky in Love • Head Over Heels

  The Sweetest Thing • Simply Irresistible

  ANIMAL MAGNETISM NOVELS

  Still the One • All I Want

  Then Came You • Rumor Has It

  Rescue My Heart • Animal Attraction

  Animal Magnetism

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.

  THE FAMILY YOU MAKE. Copyright © 2022 by Jill Shalvis. Excerpt from THE FRIENDSHIP PACT copyright © 2022 by Jill Shalvis. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  FIRST EDITION

  Cover design by Nadine Badalaty

  Cover photographs © Getty Images; © Shutterstock

  Chain with locket © JuliyaKul/Shutterstock, Inc.

  Digital Edition JANUARY 2022 ISBN: 978-0-06-302550-9

  Version 11122021

  Print ISBN: 978-0-06-302548-6

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