Page 75 of The Rules of Dating a Younger Man

“That’s great!”

I frowned. “Yeah.”

“Jesus Christ, woman. What now? Why aren’t you happy that Caitlin is over it?”

“I am. I definitely am. It’s a huge relief that she’s not upset with me anymore.”

“So why do you still look like someone pissed in your Cheerios?”

My shoulders slumped. “Because I don’t think it changes anything between Brayden and me.”

“Why not?”

“Because I think it would still hurt her if we were together. Plus, what would happen down the road? If Brayden and I were a couple, the three of us would inevitably spend time together.” A thought hit and made me a little queasy. “What if we were to get married someday? Then Caitlin would’ve slept with her stepfather.”

Wells smiled. “And I always thought it would be me on one of those daytime talk shows...”

I sighed. “I need to get some rest.”

“You do that. You’re going to need all the strength you can get.”

“For what?”

“To get your ass up to Ryan’s House this weekend and have a conversation with Brayden in person. You at least owe the dude that much.”

CHAPTER 17

Brayden

I rolled into Seneca Falls early on Friday afternoon. There was no sign of Alex yet. For all I knew, she would decide to back out. If so, maybe I could concentrate on getting some freaking work done again this week. Her ghosting me might be easier than having to face her. Who am I kidding? I’d be crushed if she didn’t show up. I wanted to see her. I needed to see her.

The only way to describe this feeling was nervous exhilaration. I was both excited to see Alex and dreading having to hold back. What I’d done when she visited the City—pushing her up against the wall of that building and kissing the hell out of her—had to be a one-time deal. I couldn’t lose control like that if she wasn’t mine. That would be torture.

Needing to expend some nervous energy, I decided to go to the hospital to visit Will. It had been a while since I’d checked in on him.

After getting set up with my volunteer badge, I went to his room. Peeking through the door, which was cracked open, I found him in bed. He was looking out the window. It made me sad to think of all the things he was missing, the normal kid stuff that people like me took for granted when we were younger. At least Ryan hadn’t gotten sick until he was a bit older. Still too young, of course, but our childhood had been unscathed, filled with so many precious memories that didn’t involve a single hospital stay among us, from what I could recall. Will couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven. He deserved to be making memories outside of this damn place.

I knocked lightly.

He turned, smiling. “Brayden…”

“Hey, man, how’s it going?”

He struggled to sit up. “I finished the books you gave me. They were really good.”

“You enjoyed them? You can tell me the truth if you didn’t. I won’t be offended.”

“I wouldn’t lie. Life’s too short to read bad books. Trust me, I wouldn’t have finished them if I didn’t like them.”

“Well, I’m glad.”

“It felt good to get lost in that world. So, thanks.” Will stared out the window again.

“You seem kind of down.” I took a seat. “Everything okay?”

“Not really.”

My heart sank. “What’s going on?”

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