A Long Time Coming (Cane Brothers, #3)(30)

“Birdwatching, huh? Seems like a good time. Don’t know much about birds, but I don’t mind learning.”

“If that’s the case, would you like to go for dessert?”

“I would love it.” Birdy loops her arm through mine, and we walk out of the restaurant together.





“Okay, this cheesecake is amazing,” Birdy says as she takes another bite. “The raspberry swirl should be illegal.”

“I told you it was good,” I say as I take another bite. “And you doubted me.”

“I didn’t doubt you. I was just thrown off. I wasn’t expecting to grab dessert from a food truck.”

“I live off food trucks,” I say while taking another bite. “Near where we live is a taco truck that makes the best fucking tacos with dipping sauce. Lia and I try to limit ourselves, but it doesn’t help that they’re parked right around the corner.”

“Do you and Lia eat dinner together often?” Birdy asks.

“Uh, not really. Maybe like twice a week. Whenever she’s not with Brian.”

“I wish I lived near my friends. It would make it easier to hang out.”

“It is convenient.”

She picks at a piece of cheesecake and says, “I think I’m overstepping when I ask this, but I guess I’m just curious. Have you and Lia ever been . . . romantic?”

I shake my head. “Nah, we’re just friends. Never even thought about it. I guess it’s an honest question to ask when you see two people of the opposite sex hanging out as much as we do. My brothers always ask me despite me giving them the same answer.”

“I’m sorry if that was inappropriate. I was put through the wringer with my last relationship, so I guess I just want to be up front and honest, not that this is a relationship or that you want to ask me out again, but just in case, I like to cover everything.”

“I get that. I’ve, uh, I’ve never really been in anything serious, nor do I date much.”

“Oh, really?” she asks. “I guess that was stupid of me to assume otherwise.”

“No, not stupid. We did go on a double date, so your assumption is valid.”

She sets her fork down and crosses one leg over the other. “So why don’t you date much, Breaker? You seem like a pretty levelheaded guy. Sweet. Kind. Thoughtful. Why aren’t you putting yourself out there?”

“Going deep tonight, are we?” I joke. “Well, I guess I just haven’t found the person I want to spend more time with. It’s not that I’m against dating, but I just haven’t clicked with someone enough to spend more time, if that makes sense. And with my busy schedule, I haven’t really put the feelers out there either.”

She nods. “I can understand that.” She glances to the side and says, “And I guess you’re not that lonely because you have Lia.”

Very true. Lia keeps me fully occupied when I need it.

“Yeah,” I answer softly.

“So what happens after she gets married? Do you think you two will hang out as much? And I ask that not in a mean way, just trying to understand.”

“Don’t worry about insulting me or anything like that. I get the curiosity. And we talked about it a little today, said we could find a house near each other, still hang out.” I twist my lips to the side. “I don’t know. I’m not sure how much we will see each other, though. I know we’ll never forget about each other, but I do know our dinner dates will probably become few and far between.”

“I can only imagine they would because married life is different,” Birdy states, confirming my fears.

“It is.” I bite down on my lip. What does that mean for me? I can tell you what that means. It looks like I’m going to be a whole bunch of lonely soon. “Shit, Birdy, looks like I need to start dating.”

She laughs and pats my hand. “Well, when you’re ready.”

I look up at her and smile. “Maybe I could be ready. What do you think? Would you want to do this again? Maybe not with such a sad ending talking about my pathetic life?”

“It’s not pathetic at all. I actually think it’s sweet. My mom always told me that true friendships are hard to find, but they are the most important things to hang on to. What you have with Lia is so special. You want to hang on to that.”

“I do. But I think you’re right. Married life will be different, and I might not be lonely now when I have her, but that will change after she’s married. It’s about time I put myself out there.” I take Birdy’s hand in mine. “Would you like to go on a second date with me? Maybe a hike? I can show you some birds.”

She smiles brightly. “I would love that.”





Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

I grumble under my breath and peel my eyes open as I glance at my phone that is lit up.

Who the hell is texting me?

With blurry eyes, I bring the phone closer to my face and note the time. 1:15 a.m. This better be fucking important.

I glance at the sender and see that it’s from Lia. I rub my eyes a few times and then swipe on her text to read it.

Lia: Hey, you up?

Lia: You never texted me after your date.

Lia: Are you still with her?