Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Brooke winced. Fallon’s blunt honesty was the kind that only a good friend would give, but it still hurt to hear.
“I’m not lonely…” she started to say, but trailed off at the no-nonsense look in Fallon’s eyes. Brooke couldn’t bullshit her. “Okay, I’m lonely. I mean, I have friends and coworkers. I have my mom. And my career is important to me. I have a pretty full life. But lately, it seems like everyone around me is in a happy, fulfilling relationship, and I just wish I had that too.”
Fallon touched Brooke’s hand, which still held the baby. “You deserve it.”
Brooke nodded, doing her best not to let tears well as she spoke. “I want to come home to someone that can’t wait to see me, and who wants to spend time with me. I want to feel a warm, masculine body pressed against me in bed at night and wake up to someone’s smiling face in the morning.”
The someone in her mind was Aiden, and she hated that she couldn’t get him out of her thoughts and dreams. After all this time, she should be over him.
Fallon’s eyes softened. “That’s beautiful, Brooke. I really want that for you.”
“I’m sure I’ll meet someone eventually.” She looked down at the infant in her arms and lowered her voice. “I think she’s asleep.” The subject change was deliberate.
Fallon stood and carefully took Gabbi from her arms without waking her up. Brooke followed her down the hall, opening the door to the nursery. The room was dimly lit by a nightlight, but Brooke could make out the various animals painted on the walls. An elephant, a giraffe, monkeys in trees, and birds flying near the ceiling. Fallon was an amazing artist, and she’d painted all this herself.
Brooke lingered in the doorway, watching as Fallon crossed to the wooden crib and slowly placed Gabbi on her back. Turning on the mobile, which had bunnies hanging down over her, Fallon silently tiptoed back to Brooke and slowly closed the door behind them.
A pang of longing hit her unexpectedly. In all her musings, she’d never thought about wanting kids. Of course she did, someday, but this was the first time she felt that biological urge. Did she see herself having a family or did the specter of Aiden linger and shut down that hope? Because she couldn’t envision the scenario with anyone else.
Once back in the hallway, Fallon let out a relieved breath. “Let’s go to the living room.” They settled side by side on the comfortable sofa. “Thank God she’s finally getting used to sleeping in the crib,” Fallon said.
“I bet.”
Fallon met her gaze. “I’m so glad you came to visit. I’ve missed you. Besides, I have something to ask. I don’t know if you’ll agree but now that you’ve admitted you’re not interested in anyone, I hope you’ll keep an open mind.”
“About what?” Brooke asked warily.
Pulling her phone out of her back pocket, Fallon opened her photo gallery and held it out for Brooke to see. A man with dark eyes and dirty blond hair cut short on the sides and longer on top stared back. He had a clean-shaven jaw and a dimple in his chin.
“He’s cute, right?” Fallon asked.
Brooke raised one eyebrow. “You do remember that you’re married, right?”
Fallon slapped her arm playfully. “He’s for you. His name is Mark and he’s a lawyer from Noah’s firm. I want to set you up with him.”
Oh, no. But before Brooke could reply, the front door opened, and Fallon’s husband, Noah, walked inside. The twins weren’t with him, so Brooke figured they’d been dropped off at Charlie and Jared’s house.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, coming into the living room and going straight to Fallon. He pressed a kiss to her lips before turning. “Hi, Brooke. How are you?”
She smiled. “I’m good, thanks. And you?”
His grin told the story. “Great. Is Gabbi napping?” he asked his wife.
“Yeah, she just went down,” Fallon said. “And I was showing Brooke a picture of Mark.”
Noah glanced at the screen and shook his head, a frown on his handsome face. “I don’t like that you have his picture on your phone.”
Fallen rolled her eyes. “Maybe I’ll make it my wallpaper so that I have something pretty to look at.”
He let out a growl-like noise, and Brooke snickered. These two had the kind of teasing relationship anyone would aspire to.
While Fallon and Noah talked, Brooke thought about Fallon’s suggestion. She’d been planning on turning down the blind date, hating the idea of an awkward night full of forced small talk. But watching her friend and her husband, Brooke decided to take a chance and say yes instead.
What harm could it do? Maybe it wouldn’t work out, but maybe it would. Maybe she’d end up with their kind of relationship, one full of love and respect. She wanted a man to look at her the way Noah looked at Fallon. She wanted to glow with happiness the way her friend did.