Read Not About Love (This Love Book 2) for Free Online

didn’t seem shy, but when I said hi to her, she hid her face.
    My brother laughed, teasing me, “You might be scaring her with that long beard of yours.”
    I scoffed. “Her father has a beard!”
    “Yeah, but she knows him. You can look quite ominous. Dit is mijn broer , Lieke,” he told her, and only then did she show her face again. She gave me a small, shy smile, and I smiled back.
    Johan offered me a beer, and we chatted for a while. Lou started playing checkers with Lieke at the bar. Johan, who spoke perfect English with a thick Dutch accent, told me how the pancake house had come to be. The place was rustic, and although it had a few modern accessories here and there, you could tell it had been there for many decades. It was a beautiful little place, and it smelled like home.
    I was beginning to understand why my brother had decided to spend so much time here. Work was his excuse, but I never fully believed that. Sure, the girl was a big part of the motivation, but it didn’t take a genius to understand that this place and these people were special.
    For a moment, I almost wished I had a reason to stay for a little while. My eyes fell on the redhead to my left; she had been engaged in a conversation with Helga the entire time we’d been there. She had been nice to me, but overall indifferent.
    I had to admit I wasn’t used to that, and my ego didn’t like it. What I also didn’t like was that now that I was around her, I felt the urge to break my “one time” rule. As soon as I saw her, my mind immediately went back to that night and to the woman with fiery hair and milky skin I couldn’t forget about.
    “Ally,” I said in a low growl. She turned around, seemingly startled, her eyes wide. They looked even more beautiful in the daylight, a gorgeous shade of blue. The way I remembered them did not do her justice. She was beautiful, confident, so damn sexy. I got closer to her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. Her hair smelled so good, I wanted to grab a handful just like I had that night.
    “You’re looking good. It’s nice to see you again,” I told her, my voice low and smooth. Most times that’s all it took for the panties to drop to the floor.
    She let out a loud breath, her chest heaving. I smiled. She wasn’t indifferent to me, then; she was just pretending to be.
    She straightened herself and pulled her shoulders back.
    “Thank you. You do, too,” she said with a mischievous grin. The look in her eyes was playful, similar to my own. She might have been a good liar, but she was no match for me. I was ready to call her bluff.
     
    * * *
     
    We left the pancake house a while later, after witnessing Ella and Lou’s reunion for a few minutes before Helga ushered us out. She wanted to give the lovebirds some room. I had seen pictures of Ella before so I knew she was really pretty, but there was something different about her in person. The girl I’d seen in pictures was…a girl, but in person…there was something grownup about her that I hadn’t noticed. She only had eyes for my brother. In fact, she didn’t notice any of us, not even Ally. As soon as she stepped into the place, she couldn’t take her eyes off Lou. Our mother was going to be ecstatic when I called to tell her.
    Ally and I said goodbye to Johan, Lieke, Helga, and Hendrick, a musician friend of Ella who had arrived with her at the pancake house.
    Helga and Lieke waved goodbye.
    “I’ll see you later this evening, Boyd,” Johan said.
    “Sure,” I replied, not really knowing what he meant.
    “Ella is playing in a club tonight. We’re all going to the show later,” Ally explained.
    I nodded and waved goodbye to Johan.
    “Do you remember where your hotel is?” Ally asked.
    “Not really,” I told her.
    “Lou told me where you guys were staying. It’s not that far from here. Come, I’ll walk you.”
    She asked a lot of questions about my trip to Italy and seemed determined to fill the silence by pointing out her