Page 119 of The Rules of Dating a Younger Man

“I bet you do…”

“Seriously though, babe. Everything’s going to be fine. And even if it isn’t—which it absolutely will be—we’re going to get through it together. We’re a team now.”

I sighed. It had been a long time since I’d had anyone to lean on. It was going to take some getting used to. But even when he wasn’t physically standing by my side, I knew in my heart that Brayden was here for me, no matter what. I smiled. “Thank you.”

“No thanks necessary. But I do need you to do something for me—before Caitlin arrives.”

“What’s that?”

“Go to the front door and grab the stuff that was just delivered.”

“How do you know something was delivered?”

“I got a notification on my phone. I thought you might be freaking out tonight, and since I’m not there to comfort you, I mailed you some supplies.”

I walked to the door with a different type of anxiousness. This kind made me smile. Out front was a large cardboard box. It had my name on it in Brayden’s familiar slashy handwriting.

“What did you send me?” I brought the package inside and set it on the living room coffee table.

“Switch me to FaceTime so I can watch you open it.”

“Okay.” I hit a couple buttons, and Brayden’s handsome face came on the screen. He had no shirt on, which went a long way toward distracting me. “Hi.” I gave him a goofy smile.

“Hey, beautiful.” He lifted his chin. “We probably don’t have long before your company arrives, so why don’t you open that up?”

“Alright, but you’ll have to call me back later with no shirt on so I can properly ogle you.”

He chuckled. “You got a deal.”

I ripped open the box, lifted a sheet of bubble-wrap packing, and found a bunch of small items inside. On top was a package of cookies, but I’d never seen the brand before. I held them up. “Comfort cookies?”

“They’re infused with CBD. I thought you might need to nibble one. It won’t make you high or anything, but it should relax you a bit.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea. We just started doing CBD massages at the spa, and people seem to love it.”

“Keep going.”

Next I lifted a candle. The glass container was all black, except for the white label which had only one big word: Calm. “This is perfect timing. I was just about to light a candle to get rid of the smell of my charred teapot.”

The packed box also had bath salts, chamomile tea, a scalp massager, and a stress ball. The last item at the bottom was in an unmarked red velvet box. I lifted it. “What pretty packaging.”

“That one is my favorite. It might also be a gift for me.”

My eyes widened as I opened the box to find a hot pink vibrator. I felt my cheeks heat as I slipped it out. I wasn’t a vibrator virgin, by any means. There was one in my nightstand right now, though it was nowhere near as big as this thing.

“I wasn’t sure if you had one,” Brayden said. “But your face is never so relaxed as it is after you come. So maybe we could have a little video sexting later. I’ll tell you all the things I’m going to do to you when I get there tomorrow while you use that on yourself.”

“It’s…big.”

Brayden winked. “I was going for as life-like as possible so you can pretend I’m there with you.”

I shivered. “Look what you did. I have goose bumps already.”

“And you look a heck of a lot calmer than you did before you opened the box. So I guess mission accomplished, even though you haven’t enjoyed any of the contents yet.”

I took a deep breath and smiled. “I do feel a lot better. Thank you, Brayden. That was very thoughtful of you.”

He laughed. “Some of them are dirty thoughts, but whatever it takes.”

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