blind man would miss the tension between the two of you.” He must read the panic on my face. “Don’t worry. Everyone here is wrapped up in their significant other. I, on the other hand, have had a lot of time to people watch. Just promise me you’ll think about giving my big brother a chance.”
“Did Conrad put you up to this?”
“Hell no. As the youngest, only unattached Riggins brother, I have a reputation to uphold.” He laughs. “I just see the way he looks at you, and that’s exactly how the rest of them look at their wives.” With that, he gives me a hug and makes a beeline for his parents, stealing Carter from their mom. He takes him to the dance floor and starts spinning him around, and Carter’s laughter echoes through the room over the music.
For the second time in a matter of minutes, I’m sending up a silent prayer. “Please let him be right,” I whisper.
Chapter 16
Conrad
I slept like shit last night. I got home from the cabin around five and texted Aspen, asking her to come over. She declined. Not that I expected her to actually accept the offer, but it still put me in a bad mood. I lie awake all night trying to think of ways to show her that what I feel for her isn’t just some random idea from the time we spent together. The best I can come up with is to just stay consistent. To let her see that I want her in my life. No, I need her in my life. Not as my brother’s sister-in-law but as my… everything. Whatever the two of us decide that looks like is okay with me.
She just needs to be mine.
It’s a little after 5:00 a.m., and going to sleep now would be a disaster considering I have to be at the office at eight. Instead, I drag my tired ass out of bed and text Marshall.
Me: Gym?
Marshall: You think you can keep up, old man?
Me: Probably not. No sleep. See you there.
I don’t wait for his reply. Instead, I dress in clothes for the gym, grab my phone and keys, and head out. I’ll come back here to shower and get ready for work, and maybe grab some breakfast. On second thought, stopping at Warm Delights for breakfast sounds like a better plan. I know my girl will be there. Suddenly, regardless of my lack of sleep, I’m looking forward to the day. At least the beginning of the day. If I’m lucky, she’ll agree to dinner, and I can look forward to the ending too.
“You look like hell,” Marshall greets me.
“Fuck off.”
He throws his head back in laughter. “Trouble in paradise?”
I glare at him. “Spot me,” I say, going to the weight bench.
“What are you going to do about it?” he asks, standing behind the bench to spot me.
“What am I going to do about what?” We both know that I know what he’s talking about. I choose to ignore the fact.
“How are you going to get the girl?”
“That is the million-dollar question. I’ve been up all night, and nothing I can come up with seems to be enough. How do you convince a woman you spent a few magical days with that you want her forever?”
“There you go using that magic shit. You can’t tell me that you buy into that.”
“I didn’t, no. Now, I absolutely do.”
“And forever? Really, Con? That’s a long-ass time.”
“Not long enough.”
He whistles. “Aspen has you by the balls.” I don’t confirm or deny. Not that he needs confirmation. He knows me well enough to read between the lines.
We work out in silence for maybe ten minutes when he blurts, “Flowers.”
“What?”
“Flowers. You win her over with flowers.”
“Come on, man, you have to know I need more than flowers to prove to her that I’m in this.”
“Women love flowers,” he defends.
“I’m not disputing that. However, flowers are not going to say, hey, this guy wants to be with me.”
“Have you ever tried it?”
“No.”
“Then, don’t shoot it down. I’m telling you. Flowers is where it’s at.” He taps his temple and grins.
“Fine, I’ll send her flowers, but you need to put that thinking cap of yours back on. It’s going to take more than that to convince her.”
“What did you do?” he asks accusingly.
“What do you mean? I didn’t do anything. Unless you count falling for her.”
“So, why is she resisting so much?”
“She thinks I’m not the settling down type.”
“Well, yeah, but look at our