Take the Chance (Top Shelf Romance #9) - Brittainy Cherry Page 0,76

in love before. I thought I knew what love was. I thought I understood its curves, its angles, its shape. But then, I kissed you.”

“And?”

I swallowed hard. “And I realized you were the first and only thing that ever made my heartbeats come to life.”

He studied me, uncertain. “But?” he asked, moving in closer. He slid his hands into his pockets and bit his bottom lip before speaking again. “I know there’s a ‘but’. I see it in your eyes.”

“But…she’s my sister.”

He grimaced knowingly. “Jane.”

I nodded. “Lyric.”

“So, you think never? You and I?” The hurt in his eyes from his question broke my heart.

“I think society would have a lot to say about it. That’s my biggest worry.”

He was even closer than before, close enough to kiss me again. “And since when do we care what society thinks, my hippie weirdo?”

I blushed, and he moved my hair behind my ear.

“It’s not going to be easy. It might be very hard, and weird, and out of the norm, but I promise you, if you give me a chance, if you give us a few moments, I’ll make it worth all of your time. Say okay?”

I lived in the moment, and my lips parted. “Okay.”

“I want to take you out on a date. Tomorrow. I want you to wear your favorite outfit and allow me to take you out.”

I laughed. “Are you sure? My favorite outfit involves stripes, polka dots, and a million colors.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else.” He smiled.

God. That smile. That smile did things to me. I placed Talon on the floor so she could crawl around as Graham kept speaking.

“And, Lucille?”

“Yes?”

“There’s poop on your cheek.”

My eyes widened in horror as I moved to a mirror and grabbed a baby wipe to clean my face. I looked at Graham who was snickering to himself, and my cheeks didn’t stop turning red. I crossed my arms and narrowed my stare. “Did you just ask me on a date even though there was poop on my face?”

He nodded without hesitation. “Of course. It’s just a little poop. That wouldn’t change the fact that I’m in love with you and want to take you out on a date.”

“What? Wait. What? Say that again…” My heart was racing, my mind spinning.

“I want to take you out a date?”

“No. Before that.”

“That it’s just a little poop?”

I waved my hands. “No, no. The part after that. The part about—”

“Me loving you?”

There it was again. The racing heart and the spinning mind. “You’re in love with me?”

“With every piece of my soul.”

Before I could reply, before any words left my mouth, a little girl walked past me. My eyes widened at the same exact moment Graham’s did as he stared at his daughter.

“Did she…?” he asked.

“I think…” I replied.

Graham scooped Talon into his arms, and I swore his excitement lit up the whole house. “She just took her first steps!” he exclaimed, swirling Talon in his arms as she giggled at the kisses he was giving to her cheeks. “You just took your first steps!”

We both began jumping up and down, cheering Talon on, who just kept giggling and clapping her hands together. We spent the rest of the evening on the floor, trying to get Talon to take more steps. Every time she did, we cheered as if she were an Olympic Gold Medalist. In our eyes, she was exactly that.

It was the best night of my life, watching the man who loved me love his baby girl so freely. When Talon finally fell asleep that night, Graham and I headed to his bedroom and held each other before sleep overtook us.

“Lucille?” he whispered against my neck as I snuggled myself closer to his warmth.

“Yes?”

“I don’t want it to be true, but I want to prepare you. There’s going to come a time that I let you down. I don’t want to, but I think when people love each other, they sometimes let each other down.”

“Yes,” I nodded, knowingly. “But I am strong enough to lift myself back up. There will be a day that I let you down, too.”

“Yes,” he yawned before pulling my body closer to his. “But I’m certain on those days I’ll somehow love you more.”

The next morning, I was still on my high from Graham and Talon. That was until I went into work. Mari sat in the office at Monet’s Gardens with her fingers laced together as she examined the bookkeeping binders. Normally she handled the paperwork side of the