Page 87 of Ethan

I peered up at him. "He canceled our date during the week. He's never done that before."

"Do you think he's reconsidering?" Noah asked.

"I hope not." Heat prickled the skin on my neck and spread to my ears. "I'm in love with him."

Liam set his glass down and stared at me. "Already?"

Noah looked between Liam and Owen, then at me. "Can I be honest with you, Ethan?"

I sucked in a long breath.

What.

"Go ahead," I replied.

"We didn't think you'd last this long with him."

My chest tightened and the heat in my ears really kicked off. "Why not?"

"The age gap," Owen said. "We thought you'd come to the conclusion it was too much."

"Fuck off." And I fucking meant it. "Age doesn't even come into play with us."

"Yet," Liam said.

"Can I play devil's advocate?" Noah asked.

I crossed my arms. "Have at it."

"What happens in twenty years?" Noah placed his hand on the table. "Life expectancy in Canada is eighty-three. What are his last ten years going to look like? Will you become his caregiver? Will he spend it in poor health while you're in your 50s and 60s? Still relatively young in the grand perspective. Do you want to tie yourself down like that?"

"Jeezus, Noah." I glared at him. "Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence."

"Just some things to think about," Owen said.

I directed my attention at Liam and then back onto Owen. "You all feel this way?"

"We think you might be setting yourself up for heartache," Noah replied.

"You love him," Liam said, "but you might want to rethink this relationship."

I pushed my chair back and surged to my feet. I was livid. My face was burning—my heart thundering. My fists clenched of their own accord. "Fuck all of you!"

I stormed out of there—all three of them calling for me to stop.

My lungs burned as I power-walked my way home.

I crashed on my bed in tears. The guys were right. I needed to think about this. Not just from a selfish perspective. I didn't want Daniel to ever feel guilty for getting old ahead of me. We were at completely different stages in our lives. Daniel was about to retire. I expected to work for another thirty years. What would our life look like? Then there was the issue of his daughter.

Daniel missed her and his grandson terribly.

Grandson.

He was old enough to have grandchildren.

Fuck, what are we doing?

The parking lot at Thetis Lake was packed. Most people were headed to the lake's edge to do a bit of sunbathing and swimming, enjoying the summer heat.

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