Page 21 of Approved

“You bet. Allison was the one who asked to see you, and you know I can’t deny her anything.”

“That’s good enough for me. Come over around 7:00 p.m.? I’ll have dinner for all three of us. Steak for us and nuggets for Allison?”

East chuckled. “We should come over more often, if you will make us steaks.”

“You know you are always welcome. We could build a walkway between the two houses, or just build a bigger house and all live together.” I considered my offer and wondered what Tyler would think about living with my brother and niece. I knew it should be weird that my thoughts about my future always included Tyler. My heart insisted that it wanted him, and I was losing the battle, keeping away from him, so I naturally included him in my thoughts of my future.Clearly, I have lost my mind.

“West?” I had tuned out whatever he was saying.

“What?”

“Oh, you are distracted, which means we have something to discuss. I’ll see you tonight.”

I briefly considered arguing with him about what he said, but he was right, so I didn’t bother. Knowing I would see them tonight was good; they were some of my favorite people. “Okay. See you then.”

As soon as I got off the phone, I sent a message to Tyler.

WEST

I hope you are having a great day.And while you answer that. Tell me about your perfect date.

Asking for a friend. Don’t ask who the friend is.

Sitting in my office at The Dapper Duck, I made a grocery list for dinner delivery. I found Spark in their office.

“Hey, I’ll be leaving early today.”

“Ohh, another hot not-a-date? Mr. Brooks is very handsome.” They wiggled their eyebrows.

“Not tonight, spending time with Allison and East.”

Spark’s smile was huge. “I love those two. Tell that sexy brother of yours he needs to come by more often.” I gave Spark a look.

“What?” They looked at me. “That man is hot, funny, and that adorable daughter. He’s the full package.”

“Spark, we are twins, we look the same.”

“No way.” They said. “He is much better looking, and I don’t know.” They stopped and looked at me, with their head cocked for a minute. “Better.”

I wasn’t even sure how to address that since we were identical twins, but if Spark saw a difference, who was I to argue? I worked until around 5:30 p.m., then double-checked with my amazing manager and pulled into my driveway by 6:00 p.m. The person who delivered my groceries pulled away from the curb as I parked.

My phone chirped as I unlocked my door, and I immediately hoped it was Tyler since I hadn’t heard from him all day. Before doing anything else, I checked my phone, and when I saw it was him, I felt a flutter in my chest.

TYLER

Perfect date. Something simple. I want to talk to my date and get to know them.

Sorry, it took so long to reply. It was busy today.

Taking a deep breath, I dialed his number.

“Hello.” Hearing his voice made the light flutter become a full swirl.

“Hi. Hello. What’s up? How are you doing?”

He chuckled, which went straight to my dick. “Hello, West.”

“Hi. How are you? What’s up?”

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