Page 122 of The Rules of Dating a Younger Man

My eyes practically popped from my head.

She grinned. “I’m kidding. Still too soon?”

“About a hundred years too soon, Caitlin Marie.”

But as weird as it was, her off-the-wall comment turned out to be just the ice breaker I needed. Laughing about the lunacy of our situation allowed us to acknowledge it and tuck it away, rather than letting it loom over the evening.

The four of us spent the next two-and-a-half hours laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Justin was a great guy, and once Brayden found out he’d invented a few gadgets for his orthodontics business, they pretty much forgot we were in the room. The evening couldn’t have gone better. At least until we were saying goodbye out in front of the restaurant.

Caitlin and I hugged, promising to call tomorrow, but I knew we’d probably be texting from the car in five minutes. When she pulled back, one of her earrings caught on my sweater and fell to the floor. Always the gentleman, Brayden bent to pick it up. When he did, something slipped from his pocket. His inside jacket pocket. Worse, when the hot pink vibrator clanked to the ground, the damn thing turned on. The four of us stood in the middle of the sidewalk, staring down at an eight-inch vibrator vibrating on the concrete.

I shut my eyes. “Please tell me that didn’t happen.”

Justin chuckled. “What? That my girlfriend’s mother’s boyfriend who used to be my girlfriend’s boyfriend just dropped a sex toy bigger than my junk on the ground?”

A smile bloomed on Brayden’s face. “Justin, you are going to fit in perfectly with my friends.”

CHAPTER 29

Alex

With the Ryan’s House renovation over, Brayden and I now had our weekends back, so I spent an amazing couple of days in the City with him. On Friday we’d gone to the MET and had dinner in Chinatown. Then Saturday, since it rained, we’d had a cozy day and night in watching movies and making homemade pizzas.

Today, though, was about catching up with Brayden’s friends before I had to go back to Connecticut on Monday morning. An emptiness always followed me around when I knew I had to leave Brayden soon. But I was excited for a surprise I had for him later this afternoon. The sun was shining today, and I felt optimistic about the future.

Our first stop was Holden and Lala’s for Sunday brunch, and we’d just finished telling them the story of the infamous pink dildo.

Holden nearly choked on his coffee. “That sounds like something that would happen to me.”

“Actually,” Brayden corrected. “You’d plant a vibrator in someone’s jacket just to mess with them. Then you’d watch to see how the hell they explained themselves.”

“You’re right. That’s more my speed,” Holden agreed. “You might’ve just given me an idea for Colby’s next birthday gift.”

Lala bounced baby Hope and turned to me. “So, when are you moving to the building?” She winked. “I know you haven’t figured anything out yet. I’m just kidding.” She shrugged. “But maybe secretly hoping?”

“I could get used to it around here.” I smiled. “We’ve had such a fun weekend, and I certainly don’t feel like going home.”

Brayden wrapped his arm around me. “But alas, her entire career and business is in Connecticut. We can’t take the spa with us. But I can do my job from anywhere and will just travel when I need to. So, looks like I’m gonna be a bit scarce around here for a while. I’ll be spending most weeks up there with Alex once I move my stuff at the end of this week.”

“You? Scarce?” Holden taunted. “What else is new? You’re the most scarce one around here anyway.” He faced me. “Alex, don’t let him fool you. We don’t need Brayden around these parts. Colby and I have everything under control since Owen flew the coop, too.”

“We see Owen a lot, though,” Lala said. “He’s still in the City. Brayden will be a few hours away.”

Brayden having to leave this place had always made me sad. While he had a good relationship with his father back in Philly, his true family was right here. Found family could be much more important than blood family. Just look at Caitlin and me.

I looked over at Brayden, who was playing peekaboo with Hope. He revealed his face with the most adorable expression. It melted my heart and made my ovaries explode all at once. Hope giggled and flashed him the cutest toothless smile.

“Look at the way she’s looking at you,” Lala said.

“Hope loves her favorite uncle,” Brayden cooed. “Right, baby girl? You and I both know I’m your favorite. These other guys are all tied up with their own kids, but Uncle Brayden gives you all of his attention.” Brayden lifted Hope out of her highchair and onto his lap. He blew raspberries as he bounced her. She erupted into little giggles again as she looked up at him.

I thought about her name. Hope.

I held on to hope by a thread when it came to having a baby of my own. Supposedly I’d ruled it out years ago, and I wasn’t even sure it was possible, but more and more lately, I found myself thinking about it.

Longing washed over me as I watched Brayden with her. His gaze drifted to mine for a moment, and he narrowed his eyes as if he could sense something on my mind—almost like he could see right through me. I wished I hadn’t made it so obvious. That wasn’t my intent.

He returned his focus to Hope, but there was a new, unspoken tension in the air after that.

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