Page 53 of The Rules of Dating a Younger Man

I winked. “Let’s talk.”

He finally turned to Alex. “I like this guy.” He handed her the phone.

Her beautiful cheeks were pinker than I’d ever seen them. “Can I call you later when I’ve kicked him to the curb?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.”

She ended the call, and I laid my head back and took a few moments to decompress from that mini-interrogation. After, I busied myself around the apartment.

About a half hour later, the phone rang. It was a regular call from Alex, not FaceTime. I picked up. “Hey. Isn’t it way past your bedtime?”

“I don’t normally go out so late on weeknights, but Wells wanted to try that tapas place, so…”

“I’m kind of disappointed you didn’t FaceTime me just now. I was counting on getting to see you.”

“Well, considering I’ve just taken my face off, you’re out of luck.” She laughed.

“You don’t wear that much makeup, though.”

“I know, but I like to look my best for you. So I prefer a little help.”

“Trust me, you don’t need any help. And fair warning, one of these days I want to see it all—bare face and bare everything else.” I paused. “Speaking of bare, Wells apparently forgot to ask about my pubes when all was said and done.”

“There’s always next time.” She laughed and let out a long breath. “I’m sorry again about tonight.”

“No apology needed. But it’s funny, I feel like I’ve spent this entire day on the stand when it comes to us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Before Wells, Billie, and Holden’s wife, Lala, gave me the third degree. It was the first time I’d seen them since I put you on the phone with Billie. So naturally, they wanted to know what was up.”

“And then Wells saw an opportunity tonight and took it. I hope that wasn’t too painful.”

“I’m happy you have friends like Wells who care enough to grill the guy you’re dating.”

“Are we dating?”

“Alex, I think about no one else and count the days until I can see you on the weekend. If that’s not dating, I don’t know what the hell is.”

CHAPTER 12

Alex

“Wow…you look great.”

I’d answered FaceTime to find my smiling stepdaughter. “Are you and Wells going out for your birthday?” she asked.

“Actually, I’m already in New York, upstate for the Ryan’s House project.”

Caitlin wiggled her brows. “Ooh. You’re going to see the hottie? No wonder you look smokin’. You never wear eyeshadow anymore.”

“Is it too much?”

“Hell no. It makes your eyes pop. You should wear it more often. What’s going on with youngblood anyway? You haven’t mentioned him in a while.”

I sighed. I’d thought about talking to Caitlin about Brayden again. The two of us didn’t keep many secrets, especially since her dad died. But something kept stopping me. She’d encouraged me to get back out there, but a part of me wondered if her saying it and me doing it were two different things. Caitlin had revered her dad, and I thought she might feel a bit territorial about me moving on when push came to shove. Or…was I just telling myself that as an excuse to not share because part of me was still ashamed to be dating a guy her age?

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