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“It’s a good thing, because I’m definitely going to be bad at this. I’m not sure you’re aware, but historically I am aterriblegirlfriend.”
“Listen, this isn’t going to be perfect. Relationships are hard, and this is all new for both of us. There are going to be plenty of challenges along the way. Like, I know I’m not brainy enough for you, and I’ll never fit in with your academic colleagues.”
“Hey, that’s not true.” She gave his waist a sharp pinch and he wriggled in her grasp.
The thing about Dylan was that he didn’t know what he was worth. He had no idea how special he was. Brooke had been trying to tell him their whole lives, but it never seemed to take. Maybe because she’d only been doing the job part time. Loving Dylan should be a full-time career. She could dedicate herself to the task 24/7 and it still wouldn’t be as much as he deserved.
But maybe then he’d at least understand how much he mattered.
“One of my brainy colleagues poured liquid nitrogen down the sink in his apartment and shattered the pipes, so I wouldn’t go giving them too much credit.”
Dylan’s spontaneous laugh broke something apart in her chest. “Okay, well maybe notallof them.”
She reached up to smooth his hair off his forehead as she gazed at him. He was absolutely gorgeous, just stupidly beautiful, but she couldn’t see his physical appearance objectively anymore. All she saw washim. “You’re the smartest man I know, and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.” Reverently, she kissed his cheek, his jaw, and finally the corner of his mouth.
He turned his head to capture her lips with his. As he kissed her he pushed her onto her back, levering himself above her on the bed. Sighing in pleasure under the sheltering weight of his body, she stroked her hands up and down his back as their tongues tangled together.
At some point they’d need to get up and go back to the hospital, but the prospect didn’t seem so daunting anymore. And there wasn’t any rush. They still had time to enjoy this.
They had all the time in the world.
“I love you,” Dylan said as he pressed open-mouthed kisses along her collarbone.
Brooke smiled as the words sank into her, warming her from within. “Horrible decision on your part. You should probably reconsider.”
He caught her earlobe between his teeth. “Nope, you’re stuck with me.”
“Good.” Her eyes drifted closed as that sense of rightness clicked into place again. Whatever they were on the precipice of didn’t frighten her anymore, because the foundation under their feet was rock solid. Unbreakable.
She’d never been so happy to be stuck.
Epilogue
Brooke was late. There’d been no parking to be found anywhere near the address Dylan had texted her, so she was forced to speed-walk the four-block hike from her car.
On the bright side, it gave her the opportunity to take the measure of the neighborhood. It was a quiet residential street in Culver City, not too far from her apartment in Palms. A mix of small apartment buildings and duplexes lined the street, with a few single-family homes thrown in here and there. Many of them had actual front yards, which seemed like an unimaginable luxury to Brooke after eight years of dorm and apartment living.
A couple of children played in one of the yards ahead. A little boy and a little girl of seven or eight were having a Super Soaker fight as two women watched them from the shade of the porch. The children’s gleeful shrieks and laughter filled the air as they chased each other around the small patch of grass. They paused as Brooke approached, calling a temporary cease-fire to greet her with matching waves. She returned their greeting and smiled at the two mothers on the porch.
The sidewalk in front of their house was covered with chalk drawings, and Brooke stepped onto the narrow strip of grass along the street so as not to disturb their art. There was a hopscotch grid, a picture of a unicorn, and a race car. Next to that was a drawing of a girl with the name Ava scrawled beneath it, and another drawing of a boy with the name Mason. Between them, the letters BFF had been encircled with a crudely drawn heart.
When Brooke looked up again, she saw Dylan a few houses down. Her breath caught at the sight of him. Tall and handsome, his blond hair shining in the sun, he was talking to a woman in front of a Spanish-style duplex. In contrast with Dylan’s jeans and untucked button-down, the woman was dressed up in slacks and high heels, her brunette hair the kind of smooth and wavy you could only get from a curling iron.
Dylan smiled at the woman as he spoke, and she laughed and touched his arm. Brooke didn’t bother to hide her grin, not the least bit bothered by the woman’s blatant flirting. She’d grown used to it by now. Everywhere Dylan went, women—and quite a few men—went doe-eyed and dreamy around him.
Brooke couldn’t bring herself to blame them, since she did the exact same thing herself.
In that moment, Dylan turned, catching sight of Brooke for the first time, and his whole face lit up in a dazzling grin.
The way he was looking at her right now? That was why Brooke never worried when women tried to flirt with him. Because that look on his face was one he reserved just for her.
He walked away from the woman with the pretty hair without a backward glance, opening his arms as he came to meet Brooke. She practically skipped the last few steps and launched herself at him, pressing her lips against his cheek. “I made it.”
Dylan squeezed her, lifting her off the ground a little, and kissed her on the mouth. “Hello, you.”
“Sorry I’m late,” she said as he set her down again. “Parking’s a bear around here.”
“Fortunately, this unit includes a driveway for off-street parking,” the brunette woman said, coming toward them with a broad smile. “Are we ready to take a peek at the inside?”
