Page 21 of Housebroke

“All the time. Granted, I haven’t made the best decisions, so I understand why they feel like they have to constantly check up on me. But I am an adult and I’m trying to make my own way, even if sometimes it’s the wrong way. I don’t need them right on my heels telling me how I’m screwing up my life.”

He reached across the table and grasped her hand. “You have a plan for your life, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’re doing fine. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

She wasn’t used to someone pumping her up, or telling her she was doing well. Plus, his hand on hers? Some zingy electricity thing going on that made her feel all kinds of things.

“Thanks. I appreciate your confidence in me.”

“Hey, I know how it feels to have people not believe in you.”

“Oh? You have the same kind of family?”

“They thought it was crazy that I left my cushy investment broker job to flip houses. They thought I was gonna fail and go broke. When the fact of the matter is, I’m—”

He paused.

“You’re what?”

He smiled. “I’m having the time of my life, and I’m not broke.”

“That’s great. And you should work at something you enjoy. Life’s too short to be stuck in some stuffy office if you hated it. Are you having fun doing this?”

“I am. And I don’t flip every house I buy. I invest in some, I have rental properties, and I do commercial investments as well.”

She cocked her head to the side, studying him. She learned something new about him every day. “Aren’t you just so busy.”

“I like being busy. And keeping my body occupied as well as my mind.”

“Then I’d say you’re living the dream, Linc. We should all be so lucky.”

He took a long swallow of his water. “Aren’t you doing the same?”

“Not exactly yet. But I have plans to get there.”

He studied her for a few seconds, then asked, “What’s your dream, Hazel?”

“To run my own rescue organization. To be able to take in as many unwanted and abandoned animals as I possibly can and find homes for them. Which I know isn’t going to make me a lot of money, but it’ll make me happy.”

He nodded. “Admirable. And expensive.”

“Yes. It’ll take me some time, but I’ll get there. And I have other ideas for how to make money. But I have to start somewhere, and finding a place for me and the dogs to live is the first step. We’ll get there.”

“I like your confidence. You have to believe in yourself and in your dream to make it happen.”

She stood and started gathering the dishes to take out to the guesthouse to wash. “Thanks. And I do.”

Not once had Linc laughed at her or told her that her dream was impossible.

She liked him more and more every day. Maybe it was because they both came from families who didn’t believe in their dreams. She’d watched the play of emotions on his face when he’d talked about his family. He’d treated it with a shrug, but she saw the hurt, knew what that felt like. They might be different in a lot of ways, but in this, they were very much alike.

And that hand-touching? They had some chemistry. Because when he’d touched her, she’d seen the reaction in his eyes, in the way his lips parted, in how he’d absently rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand.

That zingy thing between them? It might be fun to explore.

When she was ready.

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