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“Seriously,” he adds, giving me a short, sharp look “Think about what you really want Not just today or even from me or anyone else Just what is it that you really want in this life?”

I take some time to think it over, which I can tell pleases him some

“It sounds stupid,” I finally ad To not be afraid of anything anyuess,” I say with a fair amount of conviction

Pearce nods in respect and understanding

“I hear ya, Brynn I certainly hear ya,” he says, but I can sense his questioning leading somewhere

Leading to solances over at ain

“And a fa me blush

I think I get what he’s driving at now

Wow What a smooth operator I’ve known the man all of half a day and already he wants to know if I want kids

“Of course,” I giggle, not even hesitating when I picture kids with a dad like Pearce

He frohen I add h “But only if they don’t have the short, fat gene that I was born with,” I laugh, rerandparents had a weight problem

I’eneration

But Pearce shakes his head, disappointed I’ like this

“I used to count the dollars when I was younger, Brynn When I was your age,” he says, and I can tell this is gonna be one of those stories with abehind it

“I counted the zeroes, and then the corowing quiet

“And then?” I ask, waiting for the moral of his story

“And then I lost count,” he says, looking atno idea what he’s getting at

“My point is, Brynn Is that if we only look at one thing, if we just focus on one part of anything, we run the real risks ofout on the real beauty of it all”

I hum in reply, still not sure

“That sounds like so my opinion, that it’s a lot easier to say how others should view money when you have a ton of it