Page 57 of Dreaming at Seaside
She nodded again, as if she were making sense. She probably was, but not in man-speak.
“Come again?”
“Ugh!Okay. Listen carefully. This morning I noticed that there was a loose board on my deck, and my first thought was,Oh, Caden can fix that for me.”
“Sure. I’m happy to.” He never considered himself a complete novice in the world of women, but now he was having his doubts.
“That’s just it. I know you will, and before you, I’d have thought,Let me get my hammer.” She held her palms up again. “See the issue? With you I let myself be a…a…”
“Girlfriend?”
“Agirl.”
He couldn’t stifle a laugh. “Sorry, but uh, if you weren’t a girl, then you and I would definitely never happen.”
“Tsk.” She playfully pushed his chest and smiled. “A weak girly girl. I left that girl behind in high school, and I worked really hard to become a woman who could be completely self-sufficient. But I’m so comfortable with you that I let you do things I can—and should—do myself.”
He did the only thing he could do. He wrapped her in his arms.
“Bella, Bella, Bella. It’s okay to be a girly girl. In fact, I love your strong, efficient side as much as your girly girl side. What’s the worst that happens? You let me do a few things you can do on your own, and in return I let you lead me down a path of allowing myself to have a life separate from my son?”
“Yes.” She smiled up at him. “That’s exactly it. Then if you hurt me, I have to get used to doing all those things again.”
“And if you break up with me? I’d have had a taste of life with you, and after being with you, there’s no going back. So we’re in the same boat.” He kissed her lips and felt her smile. “This would have been a lot easier if you’d just said that you feel the same way but you’re afraid of becoming too reliant on me.”
She jumped from the truck. “That’s what I did say.”
Caden shook his head to try to clear his confusion.
“Just to be sure I understand. Youarefalling for me? And it’s okay if I do things for you and treat you like a girly girl sometimes? Or should I not fix the deck and bring you flowers?”
She grabbed her tote from the back of the truck and swung it over her shoulder. “Falling for you,check. Bring me flowers,check. Fix my deck?” She went up on tiptoes and kissed the dimple in his chin. “You’re the first guy who picked up on my love of pink. You can fix my stupid deck as long as you know I’m completely capable of doing it myself.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a challenge?” He took the tote from her arm and carried it to the deck.
“No,” she said as she unlocked the door. “They usually call me a pain in the butt.”
“Well, there is that, but a welcome pain with a fine butt.”
