Page 46 of Broken Dreams
Brutus doesn’t hesitate, his nose touches her palm, and she giggles. The horse makes a snort sound, which makes her laugh again.
“He’s silly!”
“He is, but he likes you,” Grady tells her as Brutus comes back, repeating the action. “Okay, slowly we’re going to touch his face.” His hand is around her wrist, guiding her to the white line on the horse’s nose. He teaches her how to pet him and Brutus stays, allowing it.
When the horse steps back, Elodie’s smile is so wide, it makes my heart happy. “I did it, Mommy!”
“You did.”
She turns to Grady, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Tank you!”
Grady hugs her back. “Anytime, Elodie. Anytime.”
And this is why I really want to find a man again.
ten
GRADY
“Hey there, sailor, looking for a good time?” A sultry voice causes my head to lift as I’m sitting at the diner to find the most beautiful woman smiling at me.
“For you, I might just be.”
“Is this seat taken?”
I shake my head. “I was waiting for you.”
Addison takes her seat with a grin. “Sorry I missed you this morning, Elodie was on a video call with Brielle and I couldn’t get the two of them to shut up.”
“No worries, I was able to get Jett in without incident, thank you very much.”
She leans back, looking impressed. “Look at you.”
“I’m growing up.”
“Did you bribe him?”
I roll my eyes. “Did I bribe him? Of course I did.”
That earns me a laugh. “Well, whatever works sometimes. That’s my motto.”
She really is breathtaking. There are times when we’re together that I forget we’re not really together. At the barbeque, we sat next to each other, bumping one another when someone said something, and then she took my burger, laughing as she ate it, and I sat there with my jaw open.
We acted exactly how you’d expect a new couple to be. Playful, laughing, and...happy.
I wasn’t working all that hard to keep appearances up.
I walked her and Elodie back to the side by side and fought every muscle that wanted to lean in and kiss her pouty lips.
Instead, she kissed my cheek and said she’d see me this morning.
Only she didn’t, so I texted her asking her to meet for lunch.
“So did you tell your friends about us?”
Addison and her sister-in-law have remained very close. They talk pretty much every day and she knows about us, which I’m assuming means her husband, Spencer, knows as well. However, Addison has been reluctant to tell her business partner, Blakely, or her husband, Emmett.
“I’m planning to talk to Blakely today about it. It feels weird keeping it from them and then showing up to a wedding with you. I had originally responded with a plus one, but I have to tell Jenna a name by today. But, Blakely and Emmett are who scare me, so it’s best to break the news to them myself.”
