Broken Course (Wrecked and Ruined #3)(17)

"Of course."

"Yeah. Well, her name is Sarah Erickson and I have a date with her tonight," I rush out with an unexpected pang of guilt.

"Excuse me?" Erica says, leaning in close. "I thought she was a severely broken, homely woman."

"Turns out, she is a broken, smoking-hot bombshell with a wicked sense of humor." I shrug and lean back in my chair.

"You are out of your mind. Don’t be that dick who takes her out because…well, because you are freaking weirdo," she whisper-yells, very aware of her surroundings—just like I taught her to be. I try to cover my prideful smile, but she snaps at me, "Don’t you dare grin at me. What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t be with her."

"Slow down. I’m not trying to marry her or anything," I quickly reply.

"Don’t say that! That’s worse!" she screeches at a decibel that is barely even audible.

"Um…okay?"

"Those are the ones you end up falling in love with. It’s karma’s way of punking you," she snaps, annoyed with my inability to follow her invisible flow chart. "Jesus, look at me and Slate. I didn’t want to be with him either, but now, I’m married and five months pregnant." She rubs her stomach with the smallest tilt of her lips.

I know she’s trying to give me a stern lecture on why I shouldn’t pursue Sarah, but that brief moment where she reminds herself of her own happiness is overwhelming to me.

"Shit, you’re grinning again," she mumbles, recognizing that this is a lost cause.

"I’m going to be grinning for a while. You may want to start getting used to it." I glance down at her rounded stomach and swallow hard to fight the emotion.

"Slate won’t let me name him Leo," she whispers.

"Oh, thank Christ for that," I respond on a laugh, but the sentiment cuts me to the quick.

"I would though," she states firmly.

I have to wave her off before this conversation gets too heavy. She can’t name that baby Leo—he deserves more than that.

"So. Sarah Erickson? One to ten on the creepy scale?" I change the subject back.

"Twenty-nine," she answers frankly without missing a single beat.

"I guess that’s better than thirty."

"It was a one-to-ten scale, jerk. Twenty-nine is terrible," she bites out, but the concern on her face is endearing.

"I went out with her last weekend and gave her food poisoning."

"Food poisoning, huh? The second best gift you can give a date…besides an STD."

"Your jokes are getting worse. Slate isn’t helping your sense of humor." I take the last sip of my coffee.

"Leo, I love you." She becomes serious and reaches out to grab my hand. But as usual, her touch makes me retreat. "We have enough shit in our lives without adding broken souls into the mix. You need Suzy Normal who can remind you what something real feels like."

I’m sure she is probably right, but there is a woman I can’t stop thinking about who I bet would disagree. Erica knows me better than anyone, and while I’m sure she is just trying to protect my best interests, she has no idea what she is talking about.

"She’s not like us. She’s honest—bluntly so. It’s inspiring to watch her rise above all the bullshit," I grit out.

"Holy. Shit. You really like this girl," she announces, obviously surprised.

"I don’t know. I guess. It’s just… She’s different."

"That’s lame and cliché, Leo" She calls me on my attempt not to elaborate, making me laugh.

I shrug. "It’s also the truth."

"I really don’t think this is a smart idea. Is she aware that you know about her past?"

"Not yet," I answer uncomfortably. That is the part I’m most worried about. If someone knew all my shit right off the bat, you can bet that I’d tuck tail and run. I have a sneaking suspicion Sarah might be the same way.

"Well, if you are adamant about seeing this woman, you might want to tell her sooner than later."

"Yeah, I know. Seriously though, Erica. How crazy of an idea is this? I like her despite her past, and in some sick way, I’m hoping that, if I can overlook the things she did, maybe she will be able to do the same with me."

"Leo, that is not a healthy attitude to start a relationship on. I know you respect her for the things she said that day at Foundations, but I don’t like this pedestal you have her on."

"I agree with you…to a point. I’m not going out with Sarah because of some misplaced feelings. I ran into her randomly on the street. I didn’t even know who she was when I first approached her. But yes, when I did recognize her it, piqued my interest. However, I asked her out for the same reasons I would ask any woman out."

"Because she’s hot," Erica laughs.

"No, smartass. Well, yes, but I meant that she’s funny and interesting too."

"Okay, fine. I won’t say anything else about it, but please be careful. I don’t want you to get in over your head until you really get to know her. Just because you know her past doesn’t mean you know anything about who she is today."

"Yeah, okay." I let it go. She’s right even though I hate to admit it. "Let’s get out of here. I’m supposed to pick her up in a few hours and I have to get some work done first. When are you heading back to Indy?"