Page 35 of Handsome
“Yeah,” I said, and met her gaze.
She had a tug inside her gaze that was stronger than a magnet.
My brother's voice broke through the second we were alone. Warren called out, “Sarah, I’m sorry for stealing my brother from you.”
She came over to me, her face bright pink as she raised her voice and said to Warren, “It’s not a problem.”
Warren replied, “You’re making Cyrus easier to talk to. Keep it up.”
She held my sleeping son to her chest and glanced down at the water, away from me. To be near her, I looked out at the moon that was just now rising above the horizon and marking a path across the water. She let out a sigh and said, “I thought you two were best friends.”
Warren said, “He’s the one who usually just listens without giving an opinion. You found yourself a good man there, Sarah. Give Joshua a kiss for me when he wakes up.”
I needed to get off the phone before Warren totally blew any progress I'd made with Sarah.
And earning her trust was at the top of my list.
Sarah said to Warren, “I love how your family is there for each other. Oops! Joshua is awake, so I have to go.”
She smiled at me, and my entire body responded to that smile.
A moment later she went back inside, presumably to put Joshua down for a nap.
Warren said, “Might as well admit it. You like her, Cyrus.”
The door clicked shut and my skin buzzed with a desire to be near her again as I said, “She’s unlike anyone I've ever met.”
Warren then asked, “And it doesn’t bother her about Leah and you?”
Now there was a sucker punch to my gut, but then Warren always had a strong and accurate sense of what’s right and wrong. I tugged on my ear like I’d been caught and said, “There was nothing there, but from what has been explained to me, she and her sister did not have the best relationship.”
The rest of the story was private and not mine to tell.
Warren asked, “Do you know why?”
“Not yet.” I said. First, she needed to trust me.
Warren then said, “Well, don’t push. We’re all on a different internal clock, and sometimes people keep secrets because they don’t want to cause hurt.”
And that was more about Warren's fear. I took a deep breath and said, “Maman and Pedarare going to be fine.”
Then Warren said, “And you can win Sarah’s heart if you want to. I have faith in you.”
I puffed out my chest and I said, “I’ve never had trouble with women.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but you've never showed this much interest before. Take your time and study, but don’t wait too long, because someone else might try to steal her away.”
We were on Sarah's schedule, but I said, “Lucky for me, she’s coming with me to the family's island. And now I have to go.”
“Goodbye,” he said.
I said the same and headed back in.
I wanted to make sure Sarah was all right...
…Okay, I'll admit I just wanted to be near her again.
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