Page 4 of Romero and Juliette

We’re currently sitting in the van a block away from the garage.

“The heart wants what the heart wants,” Flynn says.

“What are you even talking about?” I ask, but I’m pretty sure I know.

“Juliette Winslow,” he says.

“What about her?”

“I’ve seen the way you look at her. You have feelings.”

“What? Happily married, and that somehow makes you a love guru? I’m having some pretty strong feelings about you right now.”

Flynn chuckles.

“Well, it doesn't actually matter how I look at her, because the fact of it is, she's young enough to be my daughter.”

“Is that how you think about her, like she's your daughter?”

“Fuck no. Not at all how I think about her, but I know how it would look. People would think I was a creepy old man.”

“You’re older than me, but that doesn’t make you an old man,” Flynn bumps my elbow. “Plenty of couples have significant age gaps. It's not a big deal. Besides, it's not like she's a child; she's an actual adult.”

“Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure her brother would not see it that way, and he'd want to rearrange my face.”

“Definitely a possibility. And Jude looks like he could be pretty mean, but you could probably kill him sixteen different ways, using just your pinky nail and a cotton swab.”

I snort. “I don't think that's accurate.” I turn into the parking lot of the garage. “I don't want to kill him. He’s a good guy.”

“Yep, he did a good job raising his sisters. Now they’re all grown and they're going to fall in love with men and get married, and he's not going to be able to do anything about it, because, again, they're adults.”

“Well, I don't want all three of them. I just want the one.”

“Well, that's good considering that having multiple wives is still illegal in the state of Texas. I don’t know how guys do that. I’ll never want another woman the way I want my wife. Not only would Temple kill them, but she'd kick my ass, for sure.”

“Wanting is not the same thing as deserving or attaining,” I point out.

Flynn blows out a breath. “You’re frustrating as fuck, my friend. How about we go about it from this angle? I've seen the way she looks at you.”

“Oh, well, that is irrelevant. She isn't old enough to know what she wants.”

“I’m calling bullshit! You don't even believe that.”

“You’re right. I don’t. But still, none of this changes the fact that I’m way too damn old for her. She's too young and sweet, and she isn't old and cranky and jaded with a bad knee.”

“That you know of. She might have a bad knee from an old football injury.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that?”

“You should have Temple teach you some yoga moves. You could probably loosen up that knee of yours.”

“Yeah, I'll consider that. But in the meantime, I just need to get ready for this trip.”

“You want me to go with you?”

“No, no, you stay here with your wife. I've got it. It's not a big deal. It's not even that long of a drive, just about six hours each way. So it, it'll be good. I've got my tunes.”

“I still think you should ask her out. ”