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But then his beautiful eyes dropped to her lips like he wanted to devour them, and that definitely seemed like a good sign.
Especially when he lurched forward to kiss her.
His whole body was wound tight like a giant spring, but his lips parted as they met hers—just a little—and she felt the lightest brush of his tongue against hers before he pulled away again.
That was—what was that?Did it mean he was giving her a chance? Her eyes searched his for answers, hoping that wasn’t just some sad goodbye kiss.
“Yes,” Dylan said thickly. “I want—”
He kissed her again.
This time his mouth opened for hers with a hoarse little sound at the back of his throat. He licked her tongue once, frantically, before he thrust it all the way into her mouth, hungry and needy and messy.
Her hands tangled in his hair, trying to hold on to him. She was never letting him go again, not if she could help it. She felt him grip her waist and jerk her closer on the bed, and that was when she knew he wasn’t letting go of her either.
When he finally pulled back, his breath sounded noisy and harsh, like he was hyperventilating, and he was holding her a little too tightly, his fingers digging into her hard enough to leave bruises.
She loved it.
Brooke kissed the corner of his perfect mouth, then his jaw, then his throat. She licked just below his ear, enjoying the salty and sweet taste of his skin. “God I missed you,” she murmured, kissing him all over. “I love you so much.”
Dylan went very still. He pulled back to look into her eyes. “You love me?”
She was confused for a second, because she hadn’t actually realized that was what she was saying as she’d said it. The words had just tumbled out of her, raw and honest and unrehearsed. She had to go back and rewind what she’d said.
Shehadsaid it. She’d said she loved him.
And she did. She loved him. More than anything.
The only surprise was that it had taken her so long to acknowledge it.
“Yes,” she said, looking into his eyes and trying to imbue the words with everything in her overflowing heart. “I love you.”
The corner of his mouth twitched, and she wanted to kiss it, but she thought maybe she should wait in case he wanted to tell her something.
“I said yes to the partnership.” He looked almost smug. “I’m moving to Los Angeles.”
Brooke felt her heart lift like a hot-air balloon. “You did? You are?”
“I’m doing it for me,” Dylan said. “Even if you didn’t want me around, this opportunity was too good to pass up. Los Angeles is a big city, and I figured we’d find a way to patch things up and get back to being friends again eventually.” He gave her a reproachful look. “I couldn’t let you out of my life completely. You’re my best friend.”
This time Brooke was the one lurching toward him, pulling him in for a frenzied kiss. It felt like a first kiss, both sweet and sloppy, like she was kissing Dylan for the first time after wanting it her whole life and then finally getting it.
When they stopped for breath, she gave him a little shake. “Why didn’t you return any of my calls or texts? Do you have any idea how freaked out I was? I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’m sorry.” He kissed her forehead and she snuggled against him. “Partly I was pouting because I was hurt—and maybe I was punishing you a little too.”
“I deserved it.”
“No you didn’t. I should have stayed to talk it out, but I reacted emotionally.”
“I would have done the same thing if you’d rejected me.”
His arms tightened around her and he nuzzled his face into her hair. “As soon as I got back home, I regretted it. But I knew I wanted to accept that partnership in LA, and I was afraid if I let myself talk to you, you might talk me out of it. So I told them yes, and I threw myself into finishing things up in New York and making plans for the move. I was going to reach out to you as soon as everything was set, when it was too late to back out.”
“I’m so sorry,” Brooke said. “I thought I knew what I wanted, but really I was too scared to let myself take a chance. I was so afraid of screwing up what we had—”
“I know.” He held her face in his hands and traced her cheekbones with his thumbs. “Believe it or not, I know you pretty well. I can tell when you’re scared.”
