Free Falling by Design by Valia Lind Page B

watch. I swear she's going to start taking bets. I'm done trying to talk her out of predictions.
    "When we were little, you never stood up to him or anything. Now that you're all Elizabeth Bennett, he can be all Mr. Darcy and bam! Happily ever after." I laugh because I can't help it. If Dakota doesn't start writing down all the crazy ideas running through her head I might have to. We'll make a fortune.
    "We hardly have an epic romance going," I have to point out, not that it will help any. Dakota is pretty set in her ways. Chance hasn't exactly been helping either. Speak of the devil.
    "Are we talking about Grayson and Brooklynn?" he asks, coming up beside me. These people really need to stop sneaking up on me and my conversations. I can't keep anything low key around here.
    "Of course we are," Dakota answers, giving Chance a full-blown smile. His face lights up in a way that I find adorable, but Dakota doesn't even realize she just shocked Chance speechless. Not with her words, but with the fact that she shared her grin with him. I hide my own and turn to Dakota.
    "We have to go."
    "Fine, but we're talking about this after." Of course. She wiggles her fingers in a little wave, before weaving off to find her own car.
    "You can close your mouth now," I say poking Chance in the stomach. He jerks, giving me a dirty look for a second before throwing his hand over my shoulder and guiding me to his Cassandra. Like a proper gentlemen, he opens the passenger door and shuts it behind me. When he’s done arranging himself in the driver seat, I turn my attention to him.
    "But seriously Chance, when are you going to talk to Dakota? You're going to have to if you guys ever give this tension between you an opportunity to be anything more."
    "Thank you Dr. Laura," he grumbles not taking his eyes off the road, "But Dakota and I are perfectly content in our current state of irritability. But speaking of relationships, when are you and Grayson diving off the deep end and actually going on a date?"
    "Try never?"
    "Come on, Brook, I know you have a past. Hello, I was there. But Grayson is not the same guy you remember. Have you ever thought maybe you don’t know the whole story?"
    "Maybe not, but no one just comes back, finds their biggest enemy, and tries to befriend them. The world is not that perfect."
    "Your trust issues aren't very attractive."
    "Good thing you're not actually attracted to me then, right?" He glares at me, and I fear we'll have one of our "special" talks but he doesn't start up on how I'll meet someone perfect one day. It's not like I want Chance to like me like that. He's perfect just where he is in my life, but he does have a tendency to play it up a bit. Especially around audiences. Not that this is important right now.
    It took me a long time to let Chance into my inner circle of friends, so he knows exactly how much work trusting anyone is for me. It's hard to see the good in people when you can't even be supported by those who should be the first in line to cheer you on. My sister was the first to betray my trust, and ever since then, it seems like everyone else followed suit. I can’t even imagine trusting Grayson enough to have a normal conversation with him, without coming up with the worst case scenarios in my head.
    "You can't judge everyone by your family's mistakes."
    As always, Chance sees right into the heart of things. He understands exactly where this fear comes from, even before I understand it myself. He reaches over and grabs one of my hands in his, giving me the comfort of knowing not everyone is of the bad lot.
    "Look, I'm not saying Grayson is your, how did Dakota put it? Happily ever after. But I know that you need to give him a chance to explain. You owe that to yourself. He owes you an apology. The closure that can come from knowing the full story maybe just what you need. There is always more going on that you know, trust me. Just hear him out." He gives my hand another small squeeze before