Page 63 of The Chad Next Door
“You are aware that I don’t care where we’re making out as long as you’re kissing me, right?”
“I am fully aware,” I growl and pull her against me so I can pick her up and move to try the window seat first, kissing her the whole way there.
Turns out there’s no bad place to make out inside my house. Hope says this is a matter of serendipity, which has me feeling ridiculously hopeful, especially when she slips away to give the kids a call and see how they’re doing, promising to tell them hi for me.
I use this momentary free time to see if Houston’s girlfriend, Darcy, ever texted me back. I shouldn’t have texted her last night, but it was a good way to keep myself distracted after sending Hope to her guest room. Darcy didn’t reply last night, nor has she sent anything this morning, but that doesn’t surprise me. I warned her that Houston was going to learn the truth about her identity eventually and told her that if she didn’t tell him, I would. I wonder which option she’ll pick.
Houston likes her. A lot. After talking to him last night before Hope showed up, I’m pretty sure he’s fallen for Darcy hard and may even be in love with her, but that means nothing if she’s lying to him. Especially because there’s the whole thing with Tamlin Park, the reporter who, according to Micah, has some serious chemistry with my brother but may or may not be out to ruin his career.
This wouldn’t be quite so complicated if Darcy was who she says she is.
“You always look so serious when you think hard,” Hope says, settling herself on my lap and wrapping her arms around my neck. I must have gotten lost in thought for a while if she’s back already.
I brush my thumb against the red skin on her chin. “Sorry.”
She shakes her head. “I knew I was signing up for beard burn the moment I first thought about kissing you.”
“Which was when, exactly?”
“Spaghetti night, probably.”
For some reason, I feel a strange rush of pride when I say, “I was first, then.”
Her eyes go wide. “What? When did you think about it?”
“When you picked me up after my run.”
“That was, like, a week before me! And here I thought I had to wear you down.”
Chuckling, I kiss the tip of her nose. “Oh, you absolutely wore me down, but not because I didn’t want it. I was trying to stay far away from you but only had so much resolve. Why do you think I decided to chop wood within sight of your kitchen?”
Her eyes glitter as she pulls herself in close. “I still haven’t gotten to see that, by the way, and Iwillbe demanding that sight at some point. What were you thinking about earlier?”
The way this woman moves from thought to thought is exhausting, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. “Houston and Darcy.”
“Did you find out something new?”
“No, but I think I should talk to him sooner than later. I don’t want him to fall too hard and get hurt.”
“You’re a good brother.”
I noticed early on that she is so good at saying little things like this that sound inconsequential but mean everything. But this one hits harder than anything else she’s said to me, and my heart feels like it’s expanding in my chest.
“You think so?” I ask, genuinely wondering if she meant it. Then again, Hope never says anything she doesn’t mean.
Sensing my need for validation, she grins and places her hands on my cheeks so I can’t look away. Not that I want to. “Chad Bigfoot Briggs,” she says, ignoring my eye roll. I guess I should tell her my middle name at some point. “You are the best man I’ve ever known. That makes you a good neighbor, a good friend, a good brother, and someday a good father. Hopefully sooner than later on that last one.”
Well, I’m a goner. This moment will forever be named as the moment Hope Duncan completely and entirely stole my heart. I will never get it back.
“I’m going to text Houston and see if he’s available for lunch,” I say slowly, most of my energy going into sending said text because it won’t happen otherwise.
She smiles wide, fingers already curling into my hair at the back of my neck. “And until lunchtime?”
I don’t bother speaking my answer, diving into a kiss instead.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chad
