Page 44 of Crazy In Love (Love & War #2)
“Can I be excused?” Franky drags his finger over his now-empty plate, collecting any last-minute dessert. “I want to watch TV. Please?”
“Sure, honey.” She smiles and waits for him to stand, and when he’s out of the room, she brings glittering eyes back to mine. “He’s the hold a door for you in public, pull your hair and smack your ass in private type.”
“Alana!” Tommy rounds on his baby momma. “The hell did you just say?”
“What? I’m calling it how it is. He’s kind and courteous.
He’s handy with the tools, helps little old ladies at the grocery store, says yes ma’am, no ma’am , can fight, supervises the pedestrian crossing outside the school sometimes, is an extrovert like Fox, and comes with absolutely no scandal, which is a pretty big deal in this town, since literally everyone around here has a skeleton or two in their closet. ”
“What skeletons?” I taunt. “What scandals?”
“Well, my skeleton is the whole teen pregnancy thing. And running away. Then, coming back. Then getting pregnant again.” She wrinkles her nose.
“That puts me firmly in the loose whore category.” She hooks a thumb to the side.
“Tommy and Chris’ biggest mistake was, ya know, being poor.
” She rolls her eyes. “Yours is that you’re an outsider. But Cliff is just…”
“He’s just what, Alana Bette?” Tommy glowers. “What is it you love so much?”
“He’s broken no hearts,” she sighs. “I can’t find a single female in this town or the next with anything bad to say about him.
He has no random babies or baby mommas. He’s a good sport.
As in, he fights and he trains, but he doesn’t even care to win.
If the participation ribbon was a person, it would be Cliff. ”
“Hmm…” I glance over at Chris and grin. “He sounds pretty amazing.”
His eyes burn hot, like lava traveling along the side of its mountain.
“I could talk to him,” Alana offers excitedly. “Set it up.”
“You make quite the assumption,” I counter. “Who’s to say he finds me attractive? He might think I’m an uppity Yankee troll, too.”
“No, he?—”
“You count on his kindness, so his acceptance may be nothing more than good manners.”
“He already told me how pretty he thinks you are.”
“What?” Chris strides back to the table and sits heavily in his chair. “Cliff thinks Fox is pretty?”
“Uh… yes?” Alana scoffs. “ Everyone thinks Fox is pretty.”
I fan my face. “Shucks, Lana.”
“But he said those words?” Chris presses. “He said he’s into Fox?”
“Yeah?” I question. “He said those words? He’s into me?”
“Uh-huh.” Alana scoops cheesecake onto her tongue. “He sure did. And since you’re my friend and everyone else around here looks at you like you’ve got some weird New-Yorkian fungus growing out of your eyes…” She stops and shakes her head. “You don’t. You’re perfect, by the way.”
“Thanks.” I slide the tip of my finger across the surface of my plate. “I needed to hear that today.”
“Since you’re my friend, he knew to come to me.
He thinks you’re pretty and smart. He mentioned how hard you worked to get those tiles out of the bathroom, since you wanted to save him the work and time.
He’s as tuned in to the local gossip as the rest of us, so despite the fungus thing, he’s heard only good things about your management of the shop.
He knows you work for some bigwigs up in Manhattan, which implies a certain level of success and brains. ”
“She’s the chief happiness officer!” Chris snarls.
Incredulous, I cock a brow and shoot a look his way. Really?
“I’m not saying you lack brains! I’m just saying that’s not even a proper job.”
“By the end of our conversation, he asked if you were seeing anybody.”
“He asked that?” Furious, Chris swings his gaze back to Alana. “He specifically asked?”
“He did.” She sets her fork down and pats Hazel’s bottom.
“He’s a gentleman, so he never would have stepped on toes if you were already seeing someone else, and he understands your vulnerability, considering the work he’s doing at the apartment.
He would never want to express interest, receive a rejection, and then have you feel uncomfortable while he’s finishing out the job. ”
“He sounds exceptionally thoughtful.” I roll my lip between my teeth and meet Tommy’s dancing eyes. “That’s rare these days.”
“So, if you’re interested, too,” Alana continues, “I can let him know. Once he has the green light, he can ask you out for real and not worry about offending you.”
“Geez, Fox.” Slowly, violently, Chris brings his eyes around and stares at the side of my face. “Sounds like it’s all worked out. Will you say yes?”
“I think you should say yes.” Tommy sits back with a smug grin, folding his arms and scratching his chin like he thinks that’ll hide the tremble of his jaw.
“You think so, huh?” Chris glares at his brother, anger wafting off the man like waves lapping at the beach. “You think it’s a good idea to set one of your fighters up with Alana’s best friend?”
“Why not? She’s a free agent, ain’t she?” He brings his gaze to me. “And Cliff travels a lot. So you could probably meet up in New York pretty regularly if you decide you like each other enough.”
“It’s decided, then.” Alana detaches Hazel from her boob without flashing even a speck of nipple, and bringing her up, she lays the baby on her chest and elicits a full-bellied echoing belch. “I’ll tell him next time I see him.”