"That's awful," Brooke muttered mostly to herself. "I can't believe she would do that to you."

"She said wasn't her fault," Sean continued explaining. "Something about how he was the one who initiated the action and suddenly she found herself kissing him."

Brooke reached for Sean's free hand. He was holding up his head with his left hand and keeping his eyes downcast as he retold the story of his wife's betrayal. Brooke listened patiently as a cup of coffee on the table beside her cooled. They had been at this little café in the middle of the city for about an hour.

"She didn't pull away," Brooke observed from the story. "That was her mistake."

"She said it was all a mistake too," Sean said. "But then I asked her why she let him do it. I wanted to know why something like this could even happen. Why she was out with this guy and alone with him in the first place?"

"Did she tell you?"

Sean nodded pulling his hand away from hers. He set it beside him on the seat of the booth and Brooke drew back and rested against her side of the booth. Her eyes and ears were still totally alert to him and only him.

"He was an old friend of hers," Sean explained. "She told me that she was going out to lunch with him one day and I didn't mind. I let her go. I let this happen."

"This is not your fault," Brooke argued immediately. "You were not the person who made her do this."

"But maybe if I had been there with her or if I had been better to her-"

"No," Brooke dismissed. "There was nothing you did or could have done. If this hadn't have happened now, it would've happened later."

Sean ran both of his hands through his hair and shook himself a bit as if to shake off all the thoughts. He met Brooke's brown eyes and gave her a small smile before taking a drink from his own coffee.

"I'm sorry," he breathed. "This really isn't something we should be talking about."

"It's fine," Brooke assured with a smile. "If it makes you feel better to talk it out, then I'm only happy to listen."

"You're sweet," Sean replied adjusting in the booth. "But I've done enough talking. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

Brooke took in a deep breath before letting it out. "Well, my life isn't quite as active as yours seems to be. I'm going to college and I'm working three jobs to help pay off some debts and to get the work experience. I hardly have a day off but I make some time for fun when I can."

"When do you have time to breathe?"

Brooke shrugged. "I breathe when I sleep."

Sean chuckled at her nonchalant tone. "How do you even have time for a social life then?"

"I make time," she replied simply. "I have to have a little fun in my life."

"I'm guessing you don't go on many dates then?"

Brooke shook her head. "Not really."

"Are there any ex-husbands in the picture for you? I've only rambled about my ex so I guess it'll be fair if you complained about any of yours."

Brooke smiled sweetly. "I really didn't mind the rambling."

"Well…" Sean said shifting in his seat. "Now it's your turn to ramble."

"Alright, well I had one boyfriend for a while in college. He was the last serious one I had."

Brooke paused for a minute to take a drink from her cup. Sean waited patiently for her to go on but she didn't.

"What happened?" he prodded her further.

She sighed. "I found him making out with some other girl at a party. It didn't really end well after that."

"I can't imagine how it would," Sean agreed. "When did that end?"

"A few years ago," Brooke said waving her hand in the air. "It's not really important. I was hurt at the time but then I realized that he wasn't the one for me."

"That's too bad for him," Sean commented. "He really missed out on something great."

Brooke glanced down into her lap as she felt a blush creep over her cheeks. This man was too sweet to believe.

"So it's just been you in your apartment? No roommates or friends or anything?"

She thought for a moment feeling as if the answer was a 'yes' but she couldn't fathom why. "No. It's just me my little place. Every now and then I dog sit for a woman in my building but it's fairly quiet. I'm only ever there to sleep it seems."

"Why do you have to work so hard?"

"To pay off the debts," Brooke repeated.

Sean nodded in understanding. "But I thought those loans didn't have to be paid off until you graduated from college?"

"They don't," Brooke said simply. "I just really don't want to have any debts when I get out of college. I don't know. It's just a goal I've made for myself. It might be a bit unrealistic."

"No," Sean disagreed. "It's definitely possible but you're taking away all you fun."

Brooke shrugged. "I don't have anyone to have fun with so it's not too big of a deal."

"Oh," Sean muttered a little dejectedly. "Well that's a shame."

"But who knows," Brooke suggested loudly. "Someone can easily change that."

Sean met her eyes and smiled brightly. She seemed so sincere and gentle. For goodness sake, she had let him ramble on about his soon to be ex-wife for an hour. He didn't know anyone who would go through that torture.

"Maybe we should get out of here?" Brooke suggested.

"I've got nowhere to be," Sean said with a wave of his hand.

Brooke bit her lip and sighed. "I've got work in about an hour."

He nodded. "I should've guessed. Well then, I'll head back to Nate's then."

"I'll walk you," Brooke offered gathering her things from the booth. Sean did the same and they left their coffee cups resting on the table. Sean pulled out a few dollars from his pockets and left them for a tip before the two exited out of the café. Sean began to lead the way as he knew where he was going. Brooke strolled next to him in a shared comfortable silence.

"How long are you going to live with Nate?"

Sean sighed. "Until I can get back on my feet. I need to work some things out with Grace and finalize a few things and then I'll figure it all out."

She tried to avoid the wife topic. Though she wouldn't tire of listening to him if that's what he needed, she felt that it was still a bit of a sore thought for him.

"How long have you known him?"

"Oh for quite a while," Sean said simply. "He's my best friend and I would do anything to help him out."

"That's so nice," Brooke expressed. "I wish I had a friend like that."

"Nate is seeing this one girl," Sean brought up suddenly. "Maybe all four of us could go out and you could get to know her."

"Oh!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Is that the redhead we met at the movie theater?"

"Oh no," Sean denied. "She's apparently just a friend."

"Apparently?"

"That's what he says but I kind of ran into them both and she was running away while he was shirtless."

"That would certainly seem to complicate things a bit," Brooke commented.

"I would think so," Sean agreed. "Yet, he denied anything from happening."

"Shame," Brooke muttered. "She was pretty."

"Lily isn't that bad though," he went on deep in thought.

She giggled at his tone. "That doesn't sound that positive either."

He chuckled along with her. "No, she really isn't bad at all. She's a bit odd but Nate likes her, therefore I will support their relationship."

Brooke smiled to herself at that. She couldn't understand how his wife had let him go. He seemed like a wonderful friend and a perfectly good husband.

"Here we are," Sean said stopping short in front of a tall building. "This is my stop."

Brooke beamed up at him. "Well, I guess I'll catch a cab to work."

Sean's smile slowly faded. "I'll see you later though, right?"

"You know my number," Brooke responded smartly. "That's up to you."

Sean thought about her statement and seemed confused at it.

"I wouldn't mind getting woken up the few minutes I have to sleep in between jobs to squeeze you in sometime."

"Noted," Sean replied smiling again. "I guess I'll talk to you later and we'll arrange something."

"Sounds wonderful," Brooke agreed taking a few steps toward the curb. She still had her eyes trained on him. "I can't wait to hear even more about your wife."

"Ex-wife," Sean corrected.

"Almost ex-wife," Brooke pointed out with a laugh. Surprisingly, Sean found himself laughing at it too. It wasn't a subject that he enjoyed talking about or even laughing about yet somehow, this girl made it seem… better.

A cab pulled over to the curb at Brooke's signal and she opened the door to climb inside. After she got one foot inside, she turned back to Sean who had climbed up the stairs to the front door of the apartment building. Their eyes briefly met and Brooke waved to him.

"I look forward to next time," Sean shouted toward her. "I won't be such a bore."

"I look forward to it."

Brooke sat back into the cab and told the driver her destination. She glanced out her window at Sean but he was already gone. As the driver sped away, Brooke glanced down into her lap with a large grin on her face. She vaguely remembered someone telling her that she would grow up and live happily ever after with a man in white picket fenced house. It seemed like a distant memory. Maybe some relative had said that? Either way, she was reminded of it now and maybe this was just the guy to make that story come true.

Sean entered into the apartment building but stopped before trudging up the stairs. He was still legally married but that was coming to an inevitable end. Was it really smart to get into any sort of relationship right out of another one? People would think so negatively of him. It would almost seem as if he would be the one that cheated. Things could not look worse for him… and yet, he found himself unable to care about the opinion of others. No more thinking of the past, but now he could focus on the future.

So it's been a few weeks since my last update and I sincerely apologize for that. I've been mega busy with school. It's not even funny how much homework I'm buried in. So I'll try to get another chapter out next weekend, but I don't know if that will happen. Check my Facebook page for more details.

This chapter takes place somewhere after chapter 20 in Cupid's Granddaughter and sometime before chapter 27.

Other than that, here is a cute little chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!

~ GermanSam