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It was awkward sitting there, just looking at one another, and she racked her brain for something to talk about other than exes or past loves.“How did you do it?Go back to dating?I mean, I’m assuming you’ve dated since your wife passed so many years ago—”
“I have,” he said simply.
“And?Every time I think about it, it…seems so stressful and awkward.”
“Not when you meet someone you’re interested in and form a friendship.Then it’s…natural.”He held out his hand for hers and began pressing on her skin with the tweezers.
“That sounds nice.But I’m not sixteen anymore, and there are more people in my life now who factor in.”
“It’s still your life, Hadley.You set the pace, the boundaries.It falls into the same category as telling your parents about the divorce,” he murmured.“When the time comes and you’re ready, you’ll step up.”
Step up.What did he mean by that?Her family had approved of Kyle but she knew a man like Bryson… Her mother’s feelings for him were clear, and it was sad that she judged so harshly, but realistically, how could she date someone knowing full well it meant catching the brunt of her mother’s disapproval?Wasn’t that the same as setting herself up to fail?“How do you meet people?”
He pulled the second splinter out, and she quickly placed the ice over the ache to soothe it.When she looked up, she saw the way he gazed down at her, and she faltered.
“That’s a little harder.But…I doubt you’ll have any difficulties.Any man would be lucky to date you.”
She swallowed hard and flicked her tongue over her lips.Boundaries.Her mother wasn’t livingherlife.Nor would she.A heartbeat passed and Hadley decided to…step up.“Does that include you?”
Bryson stilled, his gaze meeting hers.“It does.”
His words touched a place in her she didn’t know existed, and when she thought of taking that big first step into the dating world, she wouldn’t mind having a friend at her side.“Well, um… I was thinking…er, wondering if… Would you like to accompany me to an art show this weekend?Be my plus-one?It’s okay if it’s not your thing but I thought—”
“I’d like that,” he said.
She clamped her lips to stop the rambling.Okay then.She bit her lower lip and managed a smile he returned with that oh-so-gorgeous grin, increasing the fluttering in her body.“I guess we…have a date then.”
Bryson winked at her, upping the sensations even more.
“I guess we do.”
