Page 11 of First Comes Orc, Second Comes Baby
“You had time to pursue your passions, right? Hobbies, sparks of joy?” Charlotte gave him a small, encouraging smile.
It was so endearing, Brahnt opened up a little.
“There wasn't much time, no. There are pursuits outside of work I enjoy.” Mostly pursuits adjacent to business, but tomatoe tomato. “I enjoy building tiny homes by hand.” Brahnt almost winced. He hadn't meant to say that.
Charlotte’s eyes lit up. “By hand? The construction and the electrical and everything? There's a YouTube series I love about a couple who dashed off into the wilderness to live off the grid and build their own tiny home over the course of two years.”
Brahnt smiled, relaxing. The Human seemed genuinely interested. “It takes me much longer to build one, but yes. I do everything myself.”
“Do you sell them?”
Brahnt lifted a brow. “No. They’re donated to one of the charities my company supports.”
“Any chance I can get you to build me a doghouse,” Charlotte said with another flash of a teasing smile, a dimple in one cheek.
“There is more than a chance,” Brahnt murmured, taking another long sip of wine. He drained the glass, then beckoned to the server for another.
Not that it would help.
You know what will.
Shut up,he told his dick.I didn’t ask you.
Charlotte chuckled, waving a hand as she finished off the cookie. “I’m joking.”
“I’m not.” He held Charlotte’s gaze.
He wouldn't make a hasty decision, of course not. But 100% of his interest was engaged, and he wasn't about to let the Human out of this cafe without a second date planned.
For tomorrow.
Fuck it. Who was he deluding.
Preferably the second date would be breakfast in bed.
But maybe he should lead up to that a little more. . .gently.
Charlotte’s smile faded, and she glanced down at the table again. “I'm glad there seems to be a connection between us. I wouldn't mind exploring it further.”
Brahnt set his wine glass on the table and stood. “How about now?”
Charlotte glanced up, eyes widening.
“Another one of my hobbies is cooking,” he said. “Let me make you dinner.”
“Uh. . .I mean, now?”
“In about four hours. We can take a walk first, let the dog stretch its legs. If you still feel the connection at the end of the walk, I’d like to take you to my place.”
Charlotte hesitated. “Just a meal? The MillionOrc rules. . .”
“Specify no sexual intimacy for three months. I understand the rules.”
Understood, and discarded. With every passing second Brahnt didn’t see any reason to continue looking. He wasn’t a window shopper; that wasn’t efficient. The entire point of utilizing MillionOrc was because they did the tedious vetting for him.
He was just doing the sensible thing.
Charlotte grinned. “You know what, why not? It’s a walk and dinner.”
