“Among other things.” The woman had a way of causing his heart to move in his chest when she smiled, and movement below his belt when he watched the sweet sway of her hips.
“That’s good.”
Real good. Too good.
He exhaled and slowly shook his head. “I don’t know. She’s my neighbor and your fiancée’s sister. And sort of Noah’s teacher right now and could be his teacher in the fall if she doesn’t get that other job. What if things go south?”
That would be a colossal mess.
“What if they don’t?” Holden asked. “Think of what you’d be missing out on.”
True. He nodded.
“There are no guarantees in life,” his buddy pointed out.
Hell, he knew that one unequivocally.
“Look, Amanda is obviously beautiful and down-to-earth. She’s almost thirty, which is only a few years younger than you. She’s single now. Emily said her sister had dated some limey in England, but it ended over a year ago.”
Whoever had let her go was an idiot.
“She’s smart,” Holden continued to list Amanda’s attributes, as if Dante didn’t already know, “Noah likes her. She’s definitely funny.”
A snicker rose up his throat. “Roger that.”
“She makes you feel good, right?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
She made him feel a lot of things andgoodwas absolutely one of them.
Holden set a hand on Dante’s shoulder and squeezed. “Then don’t deny yourself that.”
It wasn’t that easy, but he was working on it.
After a few seconds, he nodded. “I’m hearing you.”
“Are you?” Holden frowned, removing his hand from Dante’s shoulder. “Because I’m worried that you’re letting guilt from the past get in the way of a happy future.”
He raised a brow, thought about that a moment then cocked his head. “I don’t think I’m so much worried about me as I am Noah. I don’t want to make a mistake.”
He refused to put his son in danger, either physically or emotionally.
“I understand, but isn’t that what life is about?” Holden asked. “Taking chances, making mistakes, and learning from them. Aren’t all of those things important for Noah to learn, too?”
Damn. “I forgot about your ability to lay out the hard truths, man.” He shook his head but grinned. “And again, I’m hearing you. Of course, I don’t want to shelter Noah, but at the same time, he’s so young and has already experienced so much loss.”
Holden exhaled and nodded. “I know, so now maybe it’s time he experienced some of the good things life has to offer.”
“There you go again, making sense.” He smiled.
“Look, all I’m asking is that you give yourself permission to open up to possibilities.”
His snicker echoed between them and twitched Braddock’s ears. “Is that all? That’s a big step.”
“I know it is. But you have big feet.” Holden winked. “They can take it.”
He snorted. “Man, first Dex claims I have two right hands, and now you say I have big feet. That doesn’t paint a great picture. It’s a wonder Amanda even looks at me.”
