Page 156 of I Choose You

“I’m not getting any younger.”

“You’re only sixty,” I argued.

“And you’re already thirty,” he shot back playfully.

Before I saw Brooke in that office, settling down was the last thing on my mind. That might have changed in the course of these few weeks as we managed the roller-coaster of ups and downs of falling in love. What the fuck?

“Oh, don’t give me that.” Dad chuckled, patting my back now. “You don’t have to look so alarmed.”

Love. I loved Brooke.

“I was just teasing. You live your life how you want, that’s all I ask. I just want you boys to be happy.”

And I was. I was happy and fucking in love.

Thinking about settling down had always seemed like a faraway concept. Something to consider someday. Later, after I’d focused on my career and accomplished whatever I thought needed to be done.

Back then, the idea of settling down sounded more like a punishment or fate.

Now, when I slotted Brooke into the equation of a long-term relationship as true partners in life, I wasn’t met with the feeling of fear or the need to procrastinate.

As I let the idea sink into my mind, I was smacked with the realization that I loved her. That, if I were to make the ultimate commitment to a woman, she was the only one I wanted.

52

BROOKE

Kaden: Leaving my dad’s now.

Brooke: Fingers crossed it went well.

Kaden: It did. I’m going to head to Kody’s now.

Brooke: Good luck.

Kaden: Thanks, baby.

Baby.

I smiled and set my phone down, feeling giddy and warm at his endearment. It wasn’t the most original term he could think of to call me, but I liked it. Even though it was just a small thing, it charmed me in a classic, age-old way.

I knew he was going to be busy tonight, tending to the rifts that had wedged in between the three men. So I thought ahead to get ahead. With my laptop idling with a generic screensaver, I settled in against my pillows to knock out some tedious paperwork for Todd.

I tapped the screen and resumed drafting an email to Todd.

Once I ensured it was ready to go—double-checking that the attachments were there and I didn’t pull a Kaden—I sent it.

I got an instant reply. It didn’t come from my laptop but from my phone.

Todd: You’re a workaholic. I wasn’t planning on getting that until next week.

Brooke: Just getting ahead before the weekend gets busy.

Todd: I forgot. The big wedding.

I’d only just told him about the wedding, and as harried as he was as a single parent, I wasn’t hurt or shocked that he’d forgotten. He noticed and remembered the important things, like when Kaden and I stepped into his office last week and told him we were dating.

I’d been nervous leading up to that announcement. I knew it needed to be said, but still, my career was my life. Or it had been my life before I met Kaden and he merged into it all. I was scared about screwing up a good gig I’d worked so hard to succeed at. I didn’t want to leave Halden Inc. I didn’t want to upset my boss.