Page 58 of Made for You
Any admission of something like this in the past would’ve ended conversations, ended dates, ended interest.
He grinned, evidently charmed by my love for the formula and not put off by it.One more way Bruce is better than the rest.
“I want to come back to that when you can show me on paper—maybe I’ll wrap my brain around it. But for now, let’s get our dessert and then go make out in my truck before I have to return you to Rosie, yeah?”
We chuckled together, the tension and fullness in my chest easing at the shared laugh and his graceful handling of the subject change. We’d end up circling back to this, and more importantly, to his vulnerabilities at some point, but I deeply appreciated that he was ready to move on, so I rolled with it.
“We better not rush too much or she’ll be deeply disappointed in me,” I said, winking at him with a cheesy flash of my brows.
He grinned wide, wide, wide and it was so dang charming, my heart squeezed.
“Honestly? I think if I take you home at all, she’s going to be disappointed inme.”
My mouth dropped open with a muted guffaw, then I laughed outright because he was absolutely correct. “I should be shocked, but I have to admit I think you’re right.”
He chuckled lightly, obviously enjoying the moment just like I was. “You know…” He leaned both elbows onto the table and ducked his head conspiratorially.
I edged forward in my seat, drawn to him—practically compelled to move closer to that handsome face. After a beat, he continued.
“I think we’ll get there.”
Those eyes reeled me in like nothing I’d ever felt, and heat broke open in my chest.Therewas him not taking me home to Rosie at all. I bit my lip, absolutely floored he’d just say that.. and yet, this was us. So far, every interaction had been honest, upfront. Kind of alarmingly so.
This?
This was not alarming. This was something I certainly hoped did happen. So I told him so.
I leaned in another inch and held his gaze, a small smile tugging at my lips, and agreed. “I think we will, too.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
Bruce
Fingers knit, we walked to her front door. More than a little bit of me recognized how different this was from most dates I’d had with women I liked this much.
Scratch that. I’d never liked anyone this much. So that’d be women I’d likedhalfas much, or even less. I hadn’t dated since becoming Kiley’s guardian, and even before then, I’d never been a frivolous person, nor was I into one and done. That said, I hadn’t maintained many long-term serious relationships because the nature of my job had always seemed a little at odds with that unless you were going to marry the person. I’d never had any clarity on that—on what I’d need to know before I asked a woman to be mine.
Until now.
This was what I’d been waiting for—this consuming reality. I knew Nikki was it for me. Call it crazy, call it an old wives’ tale, whatever. The unit lore held true, and here I was, totally sold out to this woman, and she didn’t even know it.
I wasn’t being subtle, that was for sure, but she couldn’t possibly realize how far gone I was. Probably for the best.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, humming against my keys so it made a racket. I’d silenced all contacts except Kiley, so I whipped it out. I’d already made mention of this about twenty minutes ago when her first text had come through.
“She okay?” Nikki asked, fingers squeezing mine in what felt like both question and reassurance.
I read the text. “I’m sorry I’m bugging you. I just had a really bad day.”
My stomach fell. The selfish jerk in me wished it hadn’t been today, but that same instinct to solve her problems made it worse—not just wishing it wasn’t happening but needing to fix it. I didn’t want my sister to be in pain, and if my staying here and kissing Nikki like I wanted was going to prolong her bad day, I would forgo even that.
“Sounds like she’s having a really bad one.”
“Want me to come with you?”
The genuine concern in her voice, and the real offer to be there for Ki, shone brightly in her response.
I wished that was the right thing. But something told me it wouldn’t be right now. Even though Kiley knew I was out with Nik and even though she’d essentially sanctioned our relationship, I couldn’t push it.
