Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“What about what you wanted? Did you want kids?”
His question caught me off guard. The truth was, while I’d been neutral at the time, now I sometimes wished Richard and I had at least one child together. Caitlin would’ve had a sibling. I shook myself out of my thoughts, dodging the question. “It just wasn’t meant to be.” I tilted my head. “I assume you don’t have children?”
“Why would you assume that?”
“Because you have so much energy, I suppose.” I chuckled. “Kids are exhausting.”
“You’d be correct. I don’t have kids yet.”
Yet. “So you definitely want them...”
“Someday, yeah,” he said.
Another reason I shouldn’t be playing with fire. “I also figured you had no kids because if you had a child, it might be difficult to take off on weekends to come upstate like this.”
“Well, that’s true. And it’s why my buddies can’t be here most weekends, although they’re coming up tomorrow. All of my close friends have kids now.”
“Tell me about your friends,” I said, shuffling the ice in my water glass.
“Ryan was the fifth in our crew. We all grew up together in Pennsylvania. Colby, Holden, Owen, and me. Ryan left us a large amount of money after he passed away, and we used it to buy the building we all live in. We rent out the other units.”
“So you’re a landlord.”
“I am.”
“Impressive.”
“Not really. I’m much prouder of my work in prosthetics and with Ryan’s House.”
“Of course, but I mean, it’s impressive that you all came together and put that money to good use rather than wasting it. Investing it in real estate was a smart idea.” I smiled. “And I assume it’s pretty cool living in the same building as your friends.”
“And then we all go down to Central Perk for coffee,” he quipped.
I snapped my fingers. “Oh, right. Like the show. I thought you were too young to remember Friends.”
“Ouch.” He laughed. “Admittedly, I used to watch that show in my Superman pajamas. So perhaps you’re not totally off-base.”
“Those must have looked adorable on you.”
He sighed. “Actually, it is fun living in the same building as my friends, but the drawback is that we’re always up in each others’ business.” He cocked his head. “Are you seeing anyone?”
“That was an abrupt change in topic.”
“That’s how I roll when I’m curious about something…or someone.”
“No. I’m not, at the moment.”
“So you’ve dated here and there since your husband passed away...”
“Yeah. Lots of bad apples, for the most part. No one serious.” Certainly no one I have chemistry with like you.
“Well, someone like you can afford to be picky.”
“Thank you, but that’s assuming there are lots of great choices.” I chomped on some ice. “Most of the men in my age bracket are divorced, with complicated baggage. And if they’re not… Let’s just say there’s often a good reason they never got married.”
“See?” Brayden wriggled his brows. “This is exactly why you should go younger.”
“Let me guess, you know just the person for me.”
“He even likes the same bourbon as you.”
I chuckled.
After our food arrived, the easy conversation continued to flow nicely. Once we’d devoured our pizza and eggplant, I decided to just ask already. “How old are you anyway?” I’d joked earlier that he was young enough to be my son, but I knew that was an exaggeration.
“Thirty-one. I’ll be thirty-two this year.” He shrugged. “See? I have nothing to hide.” He grinned. “What was your guess?”
“Anywhere from twenty-five to thirty.”
His eyes widened. “Damn. Twenty-five?”
“That was a worst-case scenario,” I admitted.
He sighed.
After a few moments of silence, I prodded, “You’re not gonna ask my age?”
“Nope.” He shook his head as his eyes seared into mine.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t give a shit how old you are. You can tell me, if you want. But it’s not gonna change anything.”
I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair. “You’re not even gonna try to guess?”
“You don’t look any older than thirty-five. That’s the only opinion I have on the matter.”
“What if you found out I was twenty years older than you?”
He crossed his arms. “You’re clearly not.”
“You’re right. But that wouldn’t matter?”
“It wouldn’t,” he answered without hesitation.
“Well, it should.”
Brayden narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“Because there’s a huge difference in life experiences with that much of a gap.”
“From what you just told me, the experiences you’ve been having with men your age haven’t gone so well.” He arched a brow. “Have you ever dated a younger man?”
“No.”
“So you have no experience by which to judge us. I volunteer as tribute to show you what it’s like. I think you need to try it before you knock it.”
“You won’t be knocking anything,” I taunted.
He laughed. “You’re lucky I get right up when someone shoots me down. Most of the time, I’m even more motivated.”
I shook my head. “What am I gonna do with you?” He’d opened his mouth when I added, “Get your dirty mind out of the gutter.”