“Thirty-five.”
Brady nodded, then asked, “Thirty-five and single?”
I signaled to the waiter to grab us our check and replied, “She was married. It wasn’t good. Now, she’s single. Has been for a couple years.”
“So she’s been married, owns her own business, and has entered into a relationship with a twenty-six year old singer who’s never been in a relationship and is at the beginning stages of his career.”
“You have a problem with that?” I shot him a look, daring him to answer my question the wrong way.
“Nope,” he said, the p making a popping sound when he spoke. “Just be careful, brother.”
Chapter Ten ~ Bronagh
“I want to take you camping,” Brendan had stated a couple days ago, causing me to look at him curiously.
“Camping? You don’t really look the type.”
“What does a camper look like?” he’d asked with a chuckle.
I shrugged, unsure of the answer myself.
“I guess I just never thought that would be something that you’d enjoy.”
“Well, it is,” Brendan said with a smile, caressing my arm in a way that I could really get used to. “My dad used to take us. Brock and Brady remember that more than I do, but later, after, whenever Brock managed to get a day off, the three of us would take off to our favorite spot and spend as much time as we could outdoors.”
The look on his face told me what that time with his brothers meant to him, and I found that I really wanted to share the experience with him.
“I’ve never been camping,” I admitted, causing him to look at me with a broad grin.
“Then let me show you,” he replied. I knew that with that look on his face, and tone in his voice, he could ask me to do anything and the answer’d be yes!
That was why we were currently parking his brother’s truck in the middle of nowhere.
We got out of the car, but when I would have turned to grab my things, I noticed Brendan was rounding the front of the car. He crooked his finger, his fac
e so handsome with a small little smile lifting the corners of his mouth, that my feet starting taking me toward all of his goodness, before my brain even had a chance to comprehend what I was doing.
When I reached him at the front of the truck, he pulled me into his arms, kissed my forehead, and cradled me gently in his arms.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” his said against my knit cap. He’d warned me that the temperatures would get cooler at night, so I’d packed accordingly.
“Me too,” I replied, snugging into the soft fabric of his well-worn plaid shirt.
We stood there, holding each other, as the crisp mountain air blew around us, and I was grateful for the warm sweater I’d thrown on over my long-sleeved shirt at the last minute.
I sighed, wanting to mentally capture this perfect moment and hold it close forever.
Too soon he pulled back, his green eyes surveying my face.
“Ready?”
“Absolutely,” I replied, sure that my smile was big enough to light up the sky but not caring.
We trekked through the trees, about a mile away from where we parked. The scenery was beautiful and calming, but when the trees broke and we entered the clearing, I felt my breath hitch.
We were stopped at the bank of a stream, forest all around us, and the sun beginning to set to the right of us. It was the most beautiful thing I’d seen since the last time I’d traveled to Ireland.
“It’s gorgeous!” I exclaimed, dropping my bags at my feet and taking it all in.