Page 34 of Falling for a Grumpy Hero

Addy paused for a beat before she laughed. “If you want a guy like that, you’d be looking for the male version of yourself, but you already had that with Ben and look how that turned out. That dude would not shut up and he was always ready for one of your adventures, but he was also a closet commitment-phobe who couldn’t take anything but his job seriously.”

“I hadn’t looked at it that way,” I admitted quietly, blinking a few too many times as the realization sank in that she was right.

Ben had talked a lot. At least as much as me. He’d been super vocal about the fact that I was his girlfriend when there were other men around and he’d always made me feel like he was proud of being with me, but when push had come to shove, he hadn’t seen us going anywhere.

He just hadn’t bothered to tell me that before we’d gotten serious. Moved in together. Started planning our lives together.

Deep down, I’d always felt like something was missing in our relationship. A connection, perhaps. That notorious but indefinable spark I’d heard and read so much about. I hadn’t been sure about a future with him either, but I’d been willing to give it a shot until he’d decided it wasn’t working for him.

Under the circumstances, I couldn’t blame him for calling it off. In fact, I’d felt sort of grateful to him for pulling that trigger before we got in any deeper.

Now I’d met a man I had an undeniable connection with. I’d definitely felt sparks galore when he’d kissed me, but His Grumpyship didn’t seem at all ready for the epic, storybook-worthy kind of love I was looking for. But ready or not, maybe my feelings for him aren’t something I should be ignoring as thoroughly as I have been.

I focused on Addy again, my mind racing. The next thing I knew, words were spilling out of me like a flood, but she kept up, used to being my soundboard in moments like this. “Let’s say you’re right. Let’s say that what I thought should be my type isn’t my actual type. I’m still someone who loves love. I want to feel it deeply and spread it around. Ford isn’t like that. He seems like the sort of guy who hasn’t ever loved anyone other than his dog, and even that’s a stretch.”

“Maybe you should just start by telling him that you have a crush on him,” she said calmly. “See how he reacts to that rather than simply deciding that he’s incapable of loving someone the way you think you want to be loved.”

“I don’t think he’s incapable. I think he’s just unwilling.” God, I don’t know if that’s devastating or infuriating, but it sure is something. “I also can’t just go around telling my boss that I have feelings for him. No matter what happens between us, I really am starting to love my job and I don’t want to lose it. I also can’t afford to lose it, so there’s that.”

“Do you think he’d fire you for liking him?” Her eyes narrowed like she didn’t believe that in the slightest. “From everything you’ve said about it, CE seems like a pretty laid-back company. I doubt there are rock-solid HR policies in place against workplace relationships over there.”

“That’s true.” In the short period of time I’d been there, I’d learned that people at CE dated all the time and it was never a big deal. It just made for gossip around the coffee maker. Personally, I loved that kind of thing, but I didn’t know if Ford would be able to handle it.

And that’s if he even wants me the same way that I want him. On the other hand, he’d kissed me. He’d made the move. Not me.

“I’ll think about it,” I said finally before I spun around and actually started looking at the garments available in the little boutique.

A shop assistant was eyeing us from behind a counter, no doubt suspicious of these women who’d walked in and hadn’t checked out a single item yet. I smiled at her, hoping she accepted my silent apology for us commandeering her store for a pep talk before we’d even bought anything.

She didn’t return my smile, but she didn’t chase us out either. As I sighed and swung my head away from her, I spotted a few swimsuits on display against the back wall and drifted over with Addy in tow, thankfully finding many beautiful, sparkly but affordable creations to distract me from my thoughts of the tantalizing lips of the man who signed my paychecks.

I shook my head at myself. Crap, out of all the men in the world, why did I have to be attracted to him?

Addy picked up a green one-piece with cutouts around the hips and a low back, examining it before she held it out to me. “This would look amazing on you.”

I took it from her, but I wasn’t convinced it was suitable to wear to a coworker’s house. “It’s gorgeous, but don’t you think it’s a little risqué for a daytime barbecue with colleagues?”

“Girl, I believe that if you’ve got it, flaunt it. It’s not a G-string. Your ass would be secure and your nipples won’t be flapping around either. That makes it appropriate.”

I giggled, staring into those dark eyes for a beat as I tried to decide if she was serious. “Is that really your definition of appropriate? No ass or flapping nipples and we’re good to go?”

She rocked her head back and forth. “Yeah, I think so. I mean, I wouldn’t wear it to a work thing, but I teach kids. What’s appropriate for me is very different. You could totally pull that off.”

I ran my fingers over the satiny material and dropped my gaze back to the suit, ending up buying it as well as a floral-patterned one-piece with a bra-bikini-like top and a cute bow at the front. Undecided about which one I would actually wear, I left the store with both, relieved to at least have options now.

Addy chatted to me about Taylor and some of their plans for the weekend as we left the mall. A little ways down the block, we passed a very bougie new “doggy spa” that seemed to have just opened up. Immediately, I tried to imagine bringing Rook to a place like this and I chuckled.

“What is it?” she asked, eyes bulging when she noticed the place. “Oh, my gosh. Really? I love dogs, but do they need a spa? I don’t even take myself to those because it’s so expensive.”

I shrugged. “I could use a spa day in the near future. We should save and splurge on it as a treat, but I was actually just thinking that Ford and Rook would probably both keel over if they saw this place.”

Addy smiled. “When it comes to Ford, maybe that’s what you should do?”

“Bring him to a place that would make him keel over?” I frowned through my amusement. “That wouldn’t really be helpful, Ads.”

She laughed. “No, not that. I meant that maybe you should befriend his dog. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but your man seems different, so maybe the way to his heart is through his pet. Also known as the only creature he has ever loved according to you. Use it, don’t use it. But if you really want to find out if he’s that guy you’ve been looking for, do it. Become Rook’s best friend.”

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