Page 84 of Reel Love

“I love your laugh,” I tell her.

“Do you, now?”

“I actually do.”

I take my keys out of my pocket and turn up the walkway to my home. “This is me.”

She drops my hand so I can unlock the door, and then she steps into my house ahead of me, with my hand gently grazing her back to guide her.

“When you would tell me I made you laugh during one of our matches onPlay on Words, I always tried to imagine what your laugh sounded like. And then I made you laugh a few times when I was taxiing you to and from LA.”

She pauses and looks up at me.

“Knowing I made you laugh and hearing what it sounds like … feels like a gift.”

“Do you always say things like that?” she asks.

“Like what?”

“Kind, thoughtful, amazing things that make a woman feel special?”

“I’m not really in the habit of talking to too many women besides my mother and my sister. And the women who go out on tours with me. But, mostly then I’m explaining how to operate a tank, or describing the life of a sea cucumber.”

She laughs so hard she snorts. “There you go, making me snort again.”

“I’m still pretty sure you managed that without me.”

“I never snort. My mother would be horrified.”

“What’s she like?”

“My mother?”

“Yeah.” I walk through my small living room into the kitchen. “Can I get you anything? Water? Tea? Something to eat?”

“I’m fine. And my mother is … unique. A force. Someone I hope you never meet … well, for a long time. She’s … selective and … difficult. Let’s just put it this way, Brigitte calls her Mother Gothel.”

I pour myself a glass of water and walk back in the living room. “From Tangled?”

“You’ve seen the movie?”

“I’ve seen many movies that most men would deny watching, thanks to my mom and sister. Tangled is one of my favorites, though. You’ve gotta love Flynn Ryder.” I contort my face into an exaggerated smolder.

“Oh my gosh! You even smolder. What have I gotten myself into? That’s wholly irresistible.”

“Is it?” I laugh. “Want a tour? It’s really lengthy. I’m not sure you’ve got the amount of free time it will take to peruse my luxurious abode.”

“... to peruse your luxurious abode?” She chuckles.

“Here,” I wave my hand around the living room. “We have the living room, family room, sitting room, entry, and parlor. Also, the library.” I point to my bookcase. “No rolling ladders, which is why Belle left me for the Beast.”

“Understandable,” Alana says, her smile filling her face. “A girl needs her rolling ladder, after all.”

“And talking dinnerware. That’s another thing I’m short on.”

She’s looking pretty entertained, so I keep going.

“And in here, just through the house, in the north wing, we have the kitchen, the butler’s pantry, and the …” I smile. “Yeah. That’s all I can think of for this space.”

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