Page 66 of Leo and His Love Bunny

“I don’t have to tell you what’s right. You know. You don’t treat her like she’s nothing. You don’t date two or three women at a time. That’s not right.”

I know it. I know lots of guys who do it though. Which, of course, doesn’t make it okay.

Cal opens his mouth to say something, and I jerk my head, since I can’t put a hand up to stop him. “I’ll say something to her. Maybe not today, but soon.”

I need to get my stuff together. Need to figure out the pros and cons, and then talk to the Lord about it. In my experience, God doesn’t always tell us to do the reasonable thing, and I want to be ready. I want to make sure that if I’m going to jump into something I think is a bad idea, that I’m only doing it because God wants me to.

“All right. You have a month.” Pete drops down from the bar and looks me in the eye. “One month.”

“Or?” I say, amused. That’s ridiculous. The idea that he is going to give me a time frame.

“What do you mean, or?” He says, smirking at me. “Either you say something to her, or I will.”

I stand there staring at Pete, and part of me really wants him to. That will save me the embarrassment in case she says no to my face. But, I don’t even entertain that thought for two full seconds before I throw it away. If I’m not man enough to approach her, I don’t deserve her.

“I’ll say something. Just relax.” It’s one thing for me to tell him to relax. It’s another thing for me to get myself to do it. But, I think he’s right. I think Nora just might have been exactly what God wants for me. And I’ve just been too dense to see it. Now, I have to make sure that’s right, and then I need to figure out how I’m going to approach her.

Chapter 29

Nora

“Can I sit in the water?” Carson asks, looking at the water tumbling over the rocks into a small pool before the stream rolls and spills the rest of the way down the mountain.

Leo shrugs his shoulders.

“Sure. But you’re going to be wet the rest of the hike.”

I love how easy-going he is with the boys. He would make such a great dad. It’s too bad that he is determined that he is not going to have a relationship.

“I’m thirsty,” Briggs says, and I realize he’s standing beside me looking at me.

He had given me his water bottle to carry about two thousand feet back, and I hand it over to him, grateful we’re stopping for a bit. I’m not in terrible shape, but hiking up the side of this mountain has put a strain on my casual exercise routine.

“Here you go,” I say, handing his bottle over.

He takes a deep drink, and then hands it back saying, “Can I swim too?”

The roar of the water is almost too loud for me to hear him, but Leo nods. “As long as you’re okay that you’ll be wet the rest of the hike,” he says.

Briggs nods, and runs after his brother, stepping into the water.

“I guess I should have warned them to watch for snakes, but it might put a damper on their enthusiasm,” Leo says with a little smile as he opens up his own water container.

I suppose I’m not supposed to notice that my “friend” is gorgeous. He’s sweating, and his T-shirt is damp, but his biceps flex as he takes a drink, and I have to remind myself twice to look away.

I like the stubble on his jaw and it’s the reason my eyes want to move from his biceps to his throat as he swallows.

I look at my feet instead.

“I’m sorry. This probably isn’t your thing,” he says as he uses the back of his hand to wipe his mouth before he puts the lid on his drink.

“Oh I’m enjoying it. I’ve always been fascinated by water, and I used to make this hike quite a bit. Mistletoe Falls is one of my favorite places in the whole world.”

“Really?” He looks like he doesn’t believe me.

“It’s true. I made this walk everyday after school my junior year of high school. I started out not thinking it was going to be something I was going to have a streak on, but it ended up that way.”

“Every single day?” he says, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t believe me.

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