Page 139 of Giddy Up, Daddy

This feels like a really good sign.

I agree. We can’t mess this up.

I get straight to the point. “Are we wasting our time?”

“I don’t think so.”

It’s not a no, but it's not a yes either. So, it’s complicated. That's unsurprising when I think about it, so I continue.

“How do we woo her?” Nate asks at the same time I say, “What does she need?”

Sadie raises one eyebrow and answers me first. “She needs to know that she has value, and honestly, she needs stability. Someone or someones who can offer those two things. But also…” Sadie grins. “She’s always going to be a bit of a princess, and she needs to be allowed to do that.” She looks at Nate. “Same answer.”

It’s a roundabout answer. It says a lot while saying nothing at all. The answers aren't really the ones I was expecting, but I think I can work with them. An idea hits me and I jump up inexcitement, open my wallet and throw a few bills down on the table to cover our lunch and a very generous tip.

“Thank you, Sadie.” I grab her face and kiss her cheek, before running out the door, with Nate running behind me yelling “What’s going on? What just happened?”

Chapter Eighteen

Nate

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I’m honestly confused on how he got from what Sadie said to this, but he did, so here we are.

“It’s not going to solve everything, but it will get her to talk to us.” He’s confident. “That’s what we really need, another date so we can find out from her what she likes and who she is, and really figure out how to woo her for real.”

“Can we agree not to just jump straight to sleeping with her this time?” I grumble, because in my mind, that’s where it all went wrong.

Of course it will be a moot point if Bo is wrong about this, and he very well could be. It does seem kind of crazy.

“We’ll keep sex off the table for now,” Bo agrees. “Although it might not be possible. She could see all this…” He waves his hand around at the chaos he’s caused. “And decide we’re irresistible.”

“Oh yeah, right. Obviously. Of course. What was I thinking?” I roll my eyes. “I’m just saying, I think we need to be worried less about wooing her and more about courting her.”

“And I’m saying we need to be able to woo her into letting us court her.”

“Okay, okay.” I finish dressing, and laugh at the getup Bo has lured me into. “It's a small town, in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week. Are you sure all this is really necessary?”

“You heard Elle. She needs to be treated like a princess sometimes.”

“I’m not sure she meant like anactualprincess,” I argue. I’m still worried we might be going overboard.

“Well,” Bo steps forward and pats the breast lapel of my suit. “We’re going to find out I guess.”

Elle

“What in the hell is going on out there?” Jeffrey’s voice cuts through the sound of my fingers clacking away at the keyboard.

The office goes still as everyone follows his gaze. I try but I’m too far back and there’s a crowd of people gathered outside the window.

“That looks like news happened literally on our front porch!” Ashlynn cries excitedly. “Let me grab my camera!”

There’s a handful of us in the office today, more than there usually are at one time, and they all grab different devices, cameras, recorders, their phones, and run out the door. As curious as I am, I stay put because it’s their job to report the newsworthy happenings in this town, not mine, and I have work to do.

I’m working alone for only a couple minutes when the bell on the door jingles and Ashlynn runs back in. “Elle! You have got to come see this!”

I glance out the front window but still no clues as to what’s going on outside. “I’m good, thanks.”

“No, I meanyouhavegotto come seethis.” She won’t let it go. She actually comes over to my desk, slams my laptop closed and grabs my hands. “Come. On.”

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