Page 120 of Light My Fire

“She’ll love you,” she repeats. “My grandmother.”

Not shewouldlove you but shewillas if it’s a foregone conclusion that I’ll meet her.

I swallow. “I’m sure she’ll think I’m too old for you.”

Brooke just laughs.

She starts across the lobby and I follow, thoughts of meeting her family warring with thoughts of how damned good this girl looks in blue jeans.

I open the door for her, and we step out into the getting warmer but not yetwarmMarch night.

I drop the conversation about meeting families. “How about Millennial Park?” I suggest. “It’s pretty with all the lights at night and there’s a great brewery close by that I like. We can walk until we get cold and then get dinner.”

“I love that,” she tells me. “I want to just talk and spend time with you. We don’t have to do anything special.”

She’s so easy to be with. I don’t want to go overboard and make this too romantic. I don’t want to make or even imply promises of love and forever that I can’t deliver but getting to know her, and letting her know me, is important.

She can’t be my fuck buddy or my fling.

This either is going to go somewhere real. Or we’re going to end it. Before someone gets hurt.

I have an Uber waiting at the curb. I didn’t want to drive tonight and worry about parking or having a few drinks. This way I can give her my full attention.

I open the back door and Brooke slides in. I follow her, leaning forward to tell the driver where to drop us off and then settling into the seat next to the girl I want to touch so badly my hand is itching.

As the car pulls away from the curb, Brooke turns to me.

“For the record, my grandmother is lovely and would be completely fine with your age.”

“Come on.” I give her a smile to cushion my response. “I’m sure she pictures you with someone more like Wyatt.”

Brooke frowns. “She’ll love Wyatt too. And Jackson. But if you treat me well and make me truly happy and really love me, she would absolutely love you. That’s what’s important.”

My gut clenches. She talks so easily about love and falling into it and relationships developing. Yes, my feelings for her are strong and it happened quickly, but I know well that it takes a lot more than that to make things reallywork.

Still, I love the way Brooke makes it seem simple. Treating her well, making her happy, loving her? Fuck, that not only seems simple, but I can’t imaginenotdoing those things.

“She’s very open-minded,” Brooke goes on. “My brother is in a poly relationship, as you know, and she’s thrilled.”

“Thrilled?” I ask. That’s an interesting choice of words. Accepting maybe, but thrilled?

“Yes,” Brooke says adamantly. Then she grins. “She’s convinced Blake’s so lovable that of course he has multiple partners. I’m sure she’ll feel the same about us. I mean, she likes me even more than she likes him.”

I chuckle softly. I know her brother, Blake. He’s a retired hockey goalie and known to be kind of an ass, actually. At least to reporters and such.Notbubbly, sunny, and full of joy, like Brooke. Though he played hockey with the same passion I see in Brooke when she’s with the dogs or talking about school and being a vet. Clearly, passions run in the family.

“You and Blake seem pretty different,” I say.

“Not really.” She tucks her hair behind one ear. “He comes off grumpy and I come off shy. But it’s really that we’re both introverted. We each have a very small, close inner circle and that’s all we need. To everyone else we’re quiet and standoffish, but to people who really know us we’re happy and talkative and open.”

She smiles at me and it hits me how fucking glad I am to be in her inner circle and that she feels comfortable being open with me.

“I think there’s some misogyny at play to be honest,” she adds. “A guy is quiet and keeps to himself and he’s ‘broody’. A woman like that is either shy or a bitch.”

I can’t argue with that though I frown. She’s really neither of those things, even shy, and fuck everyone who thinks so. They’re just not good enough to get close to her.

“Well, I think it’s safe to say you’re past anyshynesswith the three newest members of your inner circle,” I say.

She grins at me. “Yeah, going from virgin to poly in two weeks isn’t very shy, is it?”

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