Page 75 of A Castle in the Sky: Fern & Connor
“It’s not… it’s not what she thinks,” mumbled Connor, no longer sure how he ended up in this situation.
“I don’t think there are many ways to interpret that,” Gracie said ironically.
“It’s like this. My ex, she liked to walk around in transparent clothes just for the shock value. If someone flashed her nipples at you, wouldn’t you be shocked?” Conner countered heatedly.
Gracie thought about that.
“Yeah, I guess I would stare for a second. I have been known to stare too long at certain images that pop up on my feed. Mostly rugby stuff.” she mused.
“That’s all it was. I don’t want her… or lust after her. Fern is all I want. But I don’t know what she wants anymore.” Connors bravado punctured like a deflated balloon.
"Women are easy if you know the basics.” Gracie explained, “Outside the bedroom, she wants you to help with the bloody chores. Do the laundry. Order takeout that she likes without her having to tell you she is tired. Let her have a break. Get her ice cream. And when she's on her period? Silently suffer. Maybe even empathise. Hot water bottles. Cuddles. Warm drinks. Tell her she's a warrior and you cannot possibly understand what she is going through.Which you can't."
He nodded earnestly. "I'm listening."
Gracie held up a finger. "But in bed?"
Connor blinked. "Eh?"
He did not want to be discussing this with Gracie but he was desperate.
"Word of advice. Check her reading list."
"What reading list?"
She nearly rolled her eyes to the back of her head while muttering something about men being clueless, bumbling idiots who couldn't find a clit without a map and a torch. Then she enunciated carefully to a blushing Connor, "Men watch porn, but womenreadit. If you don't like reading, get an audiobook. Our kind have certain preferences before the... you know. "
The dog huffed as if agreeing.
Gracie tilted her head. "Do you pay for her Kindle subscription?"
"Yeah, I bought her a Kindle for her birthday. She loves it," he said slowly. "Why?"
"Well, then." She clapped her hands. "You know what to do. Think of it as a game book. Or a roadmap."
He stared at her, baffled. "Gracie, I… What exactly—"
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Connor, figure it out." She snapped her fingers at her dog. "Come on, Tiny. We've done enough community service for the night."
As she disappeared toward her back door, she called over her shoulder, "And don't lurk in the bushes like a pervert! Women don't have time for half-hearted men!"
Connor stood there, baffled.
Then, despite everything, his lips twitched.
He would do anything—anything—to be the man Fern wanted. Even if that meant reading all the books in her damn Kindle library.
Chapter 33
Fern was not sure what she expected when she agreed to attend his therapy session with Connor. She'd gone to the first out of... obligation? Curiosity? Reluctant courtesy? She wasn't sure.
But by the end of it, she realised she'd only ever scratched the surface of what he'd lived through.
She sat on the comfy sofa beside him, hands folded tightly in her lap, listening as Connor spoke with a raw honesty she had never heard from him in all their years together, not even during their worst arguments.
And then there was Rick.
Rick was... not what her brain had conjured when she heard the words clinical psychologist.
