Page 18 of Unwrapping Love

He laughed. “I’m the sixth of eight kids. I was different from them. I think we were all different, but I was the one that never said no to a dare and lived with more of a free spirit. Half the time I did it for the laugh, the other half, I did it to get in trouble and be sent to my room.”

She frowned. “That’s odd. Why?”

He sighed. “Because there was no peace in my family with that many kids in a small house. My brothers couldn’t enter my room during my punishment if I was in trouble and sent there.”

Her jaw dropped. “That’s almost brilliant, in a way. Except for the part about being punished.”

She could only imagine the things he did if he was being dared.

He shrugged. “It was fine. I went to college in California so I could breathe some and learn to be my own person without family underfoot. I loved it and never left.”

And since she hadn’t looked into him, now was a chance to ask him more.

“Part of that free spirit then. What did you go to college for?”

“Art,” he said. “More like digital design. I fell in love with surfing and thought it’d be neat to design my surfboard. It was a big hit with my friends and the next thing I know, I’m doing it for others.”

“That’s cool,” she said. “Do you still do it?”

He laughed. “I own Sixth Surf.”

She paused. “Ahhh, sixth kid. Got it. So you design surfboards?”

“I manufacture and design them. I’ve got several professional surfers using them, and a line with one female pro. I’m working on getting a male on board soon.”

“Damn,” she said. “I thought you looked like a surfer dude. It’s your laid back personality mixed in with the sun-kissed hair.”

“Sun-kissed hair?” he asked. If he didn’t look so appalled, she’d burst out laughing.

“The lighter colors streaked in. Sorry. Guess that isn’t a manly enough description.”

“As long as you think I’m manly I don’t care how you describe me.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. Yeah, the attraction nob cranked to the right. This could be trouble.

She cleared her throat. “You look in a mirror, so you know how women view you.”

He snorted. “You’re not quite like most women I’m around.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment because I know there aren’t that many like me.”

In more than one aspect.

She walked to the fridge to get some water while she cooked and noticed a lot of beer in there. He had said he’d been here prior. She’d never seen the cans before, but read Fifth Kid Brewing on it.

The design was funny to her, and she pulled it out to look at it closer.

“Do you like beer?”

“Not really. The can is very colorful and I wanted to look at it closer. The brewery name caught my eye. Fifth and you’re sixth. So you know, kind of ironic with what we are talking about.” He burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“That’s my brother Elias’s brewery. He’s the fifth kid.”

“Oh, my God. Do you all own businesses and put your birth order number in the name?”

“You really know nothing about our family, do you?”

“Nope. Why would I?”