“No, she didn’t.”
I could have cried from the relief. I still felt like I’d aged though.
“What happened?”
Brooke got this tentative look on her face and grimaced. “That’s woman-to-woman confidentiality. I can’t tell you.”
I sucked in a breath. “What?You have to. I will literally die, or possibly kill Brad.”
She laughed andGod…I loved the sound. I reached for her and she blushed.
I liked that too.
“Brooke 101: you blush when you find something or someone—AKA me—irresistible.”
She smacked me in my chest and stepped back. “Stop it, mister. You are getting way too good at reading me and it’s scary.”
I laughed, loving the fact that I was right.
“Why is it scary?”
“Ryan 101: you’re a nice guy and I thought you were an asshole. Officer Asshole.”
“You know, I kind of like that.” If she’d seen what I’d done at the station this morning, I wondered what she would call me. I was pretty certain Patterson thought I was an asshole, but he was a bigger one.
“You’re not supposed to. Ryan 101: you freak out too much and you need to calm down.”
She stepped closer and pressed her dainty hands to my chest. I loved the way we’d started this 101 game. When had it even happened? I couldn’t remember, but I liked it and I liked her.
Two weeks—the next day it would be two weeks since she’d arrived in town. It wasn’t long enough to develop such a fascination, but somehow I didn’t care about that.
I was fascinated, end of story.
Fascinated and freaking out, just like she said.
“Calm me down then, Brooke. Give me something to work with. I’m screwing up at being her dad, and it’s hard not to freak out.” That was perhaps more than I should have said.
“You aren’t screwing up.” She smiled with reassurance.
It was actually good to hear someone say it, someone who wasn’t my parents.
“Feels like I am in times like these. I don’t know what the hell to tell her, and I should know.”
“Why should you know? Is there a rule that says you should know everything when you become a parent? Did your parents know everything? Mine definitely didn’t.” She shrugged.
“I wouldn’t have known what to tell her tonight if you weren’t here, and God, she’s reading books and all sorts of stuff since she met you. I didn’t even know she liked Shakespeare. I just don’t know.”
“Ryan, the freaking out—it’s happening again.” Her sexy lips curved. “You have a very good daughter, a girl with a good head on her shoulders. She knows what she wants, and above all else, she doesn’t want to disappoint you.”
“She said that?” I couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah, she did. I won’t be accused of telling you how to raise your child, but I will say you should trust that. Trust that she loves you. My dad did that, and we had a wonderful relationship.”
Her words calmed me. They actually calmed me.
“So I shouldn’t kill Brad?”
“No. You don’t have to.” She chuckled.
