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Yeah, as if you didn’t make a note of the date, time and place because he would be there.
As if I have time for this.
As if I can afford to… hope.
Sudden panic grips me. I get up. “I…”
“Brinlee.” His smile is warm. No, hot. Devastating. He has no right to be so handsome. “Is everything okay?”
“I should go,” I whisper.
“Please, stay.” He swallows, and my gaze is caught at the knot bobbing in his throat. Such a male thing, so strangely sexy, along with the faint shadow of his stubble along his jaw and his strong shoulders.
I sit back down.
“A spell,” I whisper.
“Spells are a typical element of fantasy romance,” he says smoothly, though his eyes narrow. “A spell, or a curse. What’s your favorite fantasy romance?”
“I… it’s…” I shake my head and huff, fighting a smile. “I actually love an old one, the Il-made Mute.”
“Is it about the Fae?”
“… it is about the Fae, yes.” I nod.
“And does it involve any spells or curses?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
He grins at me and it’s like a punch to the gut, the force of that grin, the joy sparkling in his eyes. “I’ll add it to my list.”
Then he starts asking everyone their favorites, getting a lively discussion going about the subtypes, and I’m left gawking at him. He makes it seem so effortless. Talking with people. Smiling at them.
Is that why I’m hooked on him? Because he’s so sociable and nice?
Is he… is he that way with everyone, when I thought… when I thought he might like that only with me?
Oh God, how embarrassing. The thought twists in my gut like a knife, but getting up again to go as he talks might be even worse. I mean, this is pure indulgence, being here. I shouldn’t have come in the first place.
Then someone—a beta girl, I think—asks him, “And you, Sawyer? What’s your favorite fantasy romance?”
“I, um.” He chuckles. “I love a series called Hunted Fae.”
My breath catches. It’s the series I had been checking out at his café.
“And why?”
“Because they choose one another,” he whispers, his gaze going distant. “Their origin doesn’t matter, how rich or poor their parents are. No arranged marriages. No obligations. They choose one another.”
There’s so much emotion in his voice, and it touches me deeply, so much so that tears prickle my eyes. Wouldn’t that be nice? To choose your family? To fall in love and then go on and live with those you fell in love with?
But I can never do that. Given the prognosis, I don’t think I’ll ever be free to let myself feel, let alone choose. Even if I found people who would look beyond my debts and my circumstances, I could never be a burden, and I’d never abandon Tyson. I’m all he has.
So that’s that.
The moment Sawyer declares the meeting adjourned, I shoot to my feet, grab my backpack and rush out of the room.
Oh God, what was I thinking? I should never have come here. I should avoid the Book Café, too. Watching him, listening to him speak was marvelous. Soothing. Exciting. All the good stuff. I feel like I got to know him a little bit better, that I glimpsed inside his head, saw what he likes, what he wishes for. I like what I saw. I like it a lot.
