Page 6 of Falling for a Grumpy Hero

Addy stared at me from across the table. “What’s that supposed to mean? It wasn’t a trick question, Li. All I asked was how it went, meeting your boss last week?”

“Sure. I know it’s not a trick question, but that doesn’t mean it has an easy answer.” I wasn’t trying to be evasive. It was just the truth. “Mostly because he’s a complicated person.”

She arched a dark eyebrow, her deep brown eyes widening as she leaned toward me. “Seriously, is he that bad?”

I shrugged, swallowing the sip I’d just taken before I shook my head. “That bad? No, I don’t think so. I really don’t actually know yet, though.”

Confusion tightened her brow and she sighed. “It’s not like you to make me fish for answers, Li. Hell, I knew most of your life story before I’d even made up my bed after I walked into my dorm for the first time back at college, so what’s going on?”

I chuckled. “It was my room too, but fine. You’re right. It’s just that I don’t really know what to make of him yet. He doesn’t speak much and he’s easily one of the grumpiest people I’ve ever met, but it seems like he’s that way to everyone.”

“But?” she prompted when I paused.

I sighed. “But he’s already trusting me to liaise with an important potential client and just by having familiarized myself with the projects he’s currently working on, I’ve already learned a lot. Can I really be complaining about someone who’s actually giving me a job I want to do and who I’m going to get to learn from in the process?”

Addy smiled. “You can complain to me about anything you want, but you don’t really seem to want to complain about him. Let me know if that changes?”

“Thanks, I will. In the meantime, how are things going with Taylor?”

“That man is awesome.” She let out a dreamy sigh, her full cheeks rising on a beautiful, wistful smile. “God, I love him. I feel like I’ve been blessed with the best boyfriend in the world. I’m going to marry him one day, Lila. I know it.”

I chuckled. “I love the way you two love each other. You two are my couple goals. If I could find a boyfriend who makes me feel the way he makes you feel, I’d marry him too.”

She nodded and held her cocktail up for a toast. “To meeting the men of our dreams, husbanding the hell out of them, and living our happily ever afters.”

“Well, you’re one step ahead of me there, but I’ll drink to that.” I looked right into her big brown eyes as I clinked my glass against hers. Then I took a sip and swallowed it. “How is everything at the school? Are my two favorite teachers in the whole wide world still enjoying themselves, working and living together?”

“We absolutely are,” she said with yet another dreamy smile lifting the corners of her lips. “Taylor loves his students and I love mine. We drive together most days and then we cook together when we get home.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Are you both okay with that? It’s not getting to be too much?”

“Nope. We’ve actually talked about it and we’ve agreed to be honest if one of us needs some space. A weekend away or whatever.”

“Oooh, can we make it a girls’ weekend?” I pressed my palms together, fingers pointed at the ceiling as I gave her the good old-fashioned puppy eyes. “That could be so fun.”

She laughed. “You got it. As soon as we’ve got some time in our schedules, you and I will plan it, whether I want to get away from Taylor for a couple days or not. How are your classes going?”

“So well.” I grinned enthusiastically. “I know it probably felt like my decision to pursue this came out of nowhere and let’s be honest, it kind of did, but it’s right for me, Ads. I’ve never enjoyed learning more. Following my heart definitely hasn’t steered me wrong.”

“I’m glad.” She took another sip of her drink, real relief softening her features.

I knew she’d been worried about me and she hadn’t been alone. My own parents had had their reservations when I’d suddenly decided to yank up all my roots in New York to move to Virginia to start studying a whole new career direction.

The degree I’d gotten in fine arts helped, sure, but this was also completely different and no one seemed convinced I wasn’t going to crash and burn. As someone who liked a bit of order, structure, and certainty to things, Addy must’ve asked me at least six dozen times whether I was sure I wanted to do this.

I’d always flown by the seat of my pants, though. Well, ever since…

“How’s Ben?” she asked, mercifully distracting me from my thoughts, albeit with an equally unpleasant topic. “Have you heard from him?”

“Not a word and I’ve never been more grateful to anyone for anything,” I said honestly.

Ben Jorgensen and I had been together for three years before he’d suddenly broken up with me. It’d been one of the most shocking moments of my life. I really hadn’t seen it coming, but outside of that, I was genuinely surprised by how little the breakup had affected me.

If anything, he’d done me a favor by giving me the opportunity to chase my own dreams outside of the city. Ben was a Wall Street finance bro. No way he’d ever have moved anywhere else. Meanwhile, I’d been feeling trapped there for a long time.

Addy gave me a puzzled look before she frowned. “You’re grateful he hasn’t contacted you? You guys were together for years, Li. Don’t you need closure about why he did it?”

I shrugged. “I already have that. He told me when he broke up with me, remember?”