Fate (Steel Brothers Saga #13) - Helen Hardt Page 0,30
forehead. “Your other friends aren’t normal?”
“That’s not what I meant.” He laughed. “Okay. Maybe that’s exactly what I meant.”
“How so?”
“I have a group of friends from high school. Good guys for the most part, but the more I get to know them, the more they seem a little off.”
A little off?
Whispers filled my head—whispers I’d heard last year at high school.
Daphne’s back, and she seems a little off.
I’d love to ask her out. She’s gorgeous, but a little off.
She thinks she’s all that. Walks around, not talking to anyone. She’s a little off.
“What does that mean, exactly? A little off?”
“It’s not something I can pin down, you know? Just a feeling.”
“What kind of feeling?”
“That something’s not right. I don’t know. They’re a little off.”
This was getting me nowhere. If Brad could explain what the phrase meant, maybe I’d know what those kids at high school meant. I felt normal. I didn’t feel “a little off.”
“They’re just envious,” my mother had said. “You’re the prettiest girl in school, and you spent junior year in London.”
“But I didn’t spend junior year in London,” I’d said.
“But they think you did. That’s all that matters.”
Was it? Was it all that mattered?
I was tired of the lie. I wanted to shout out the truth sometimes. “Hey, everyone! I spent most of my junior year hospitalized for anxiety and depression!”
But I’d never do that. Never. What if I lost my newfound friends? Ennis, Patty, and Sean? What if I lost Brad Steel? What if they all decided I was “a little off”?
Brad cleared his throat. “Penny for your thoughts.”
No way would I tell him what I’d actually been thinking about. “I think this is the most amazing home I’ve ever been in.”
“You should see our main house on the ranch. Makes this place look like a tiny cabin.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I said nothing.
“Maybe you can come home with me sometime. I’d love to show you around the ranch. You could see the animals.” He smiled. “Make sure we’re treating them properly.”
That got a smile out of me. How I’d love to see Brad Steel’s ranch. How I’d love to see his animals.
“Do you have any pets?” I asked.
“We have a couple labs, one black and one chocolate. Ebony and Brandy.”
“Gorgeous names,” I said.
“They’re awesome. Do you have a dog?”
“No. I’ve always wanted one, though. My mom’s allergic.”
“That clinches it then. You have to come visit the ranch. You can get your dog fix.”
He wasn’t really inviting me to his ranch. We barely knew each other. But maybe… Someday…
He took my hand.
Sparks shot through me.
“Come on. Let’s go back to the kitchen. I’ll fix us some drinks.”
I held up my other hand. “I’m still not sure I’m ready for alcohol after the other night.”
“No worries. I have all kinds of soda. Do you mind if I have a drink?”
“As long as you’re able to drive me home.”
“Not a problem.”
The kitchen was beautiful. All black appliances, including the refrigerator, and gorgeous countertops that looked like white marble streaked with gold.
Brad pulled a beer out of the refrigerator for himself. “Coke, Fresca, Sprite. What’s your pleasure?”
“Fresca, please.”
“Have a seat.” He motioned to the barstools set up at the kitchen island and set a can of Fresca in front of me.
“Thanks.” I sat down.
He took the chair next to me, opened his beer, and took a long draught. Then he looked at me as if he were memorizing every inch of my face.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said.
I looked down, embarrassed, my cheeks warming. “Thank you.” Then I took the sliver of courage that came to me unexpectedly. I met his gaze. “So are you.”
He chuckled softly. “You said that the other night.”
“Well, it’s true. There’s such a thing as male beauty, and you definitely have it.”
His cheeks pinked slightly. I’d embarrassed him! It was adorable, almost. Brad Steel could never be described as adorable, but this was pretty close.
“Thank you,” he said. “I look a lot like my mom. She’s got dark hair and eyes like I do. My dad has dark hair, but his eyes are blue.”
“He must be striking,” I said. “I’ve always loved blue eyes with dark hair. I always wished my eyes were blue.”
“Are you kidding? You have the warmest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. They dazzle. They’re perfect.”
My eyes weren’t perfect. Nothing about me was perfect, but when Brad told me I was beautiful, that my eyes were perfect, I almost believed him.
Almost.
If this man thought I was perfect,