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There was amusement evident in his expression. “You’re really uncomfortable with my question, aren’t you?”
“Let’s turn the tables: do you love me?”
He hesitated before answering. “I’m not sure how to answer, and maybe that’s why I’m asking. I told you in the hospital that I loved you like a friend, and I always have, so…”
I realized what he was getting at. We weren’t in a relationship where we were developing feelings from the start, but rather one in which friendship was evolving into new territory. Problem was that I was way ahead of the game, considering how I’d felt about him for the majority of my life. Given that fact, there was no way I’d be the first one to admit anything. “Maybe the question isn’t about love, but rather about being in love. Guess I never understood the distinction until now.”
“That makes sense. Can I use a Get Out of Jail Free card?”
I snuggled back down onto his chest. “Only this once. We’ll blame it on the incredible sex scrambling your brain or something.”
His arms banded around me, holding me tight. “The thing is it didn’t freak me out to hear that you might, you know, love me more than a club sandwich.”
I smiled in the dark. “It didn’t freak me out, either, to think, you know, you might have sent red roses on purpose.”
* * *
Although there wasno further talk surrounding the L-word, Colby made love to me the morning after the premiere as if every touch, every kiss, and every breath was proof that things had shifted between us into a more serious place.
The next evening we settled in early for dinner and a movie in his theatre room. He was such a fan of the classics, and it was fun to have a huge library to choose from. Tonight’s feature was Goodfellas.
The sound of my phone had me jumping up since I knew that my brother had proposed to Sasha earlier tonight back in New York. “Hey, Brian,” I answered and noticed the immediate withdrawal of Colby. It was as if he felt guilty about touching me while I was talking to my brother.
“Hi, there. Thought you might want to know, she said yes.”
My smile couldn’t have been any bigger. “Congratulations. I’m really happy for the two of you.”
“Thank you. I’ll give you a call later this week. Love you.”
“Sounds good. I love you too.” I hung up the phone grinning.
“I take it she said yes?” Colby asked.
“Yeah. He seemed anxious all week which was weird for him to be that way. Did your brother get nervous when he proposed to Haylee?” I realized my mistake in asking the minute his eyes met mine.
“He didn’t tell me until after the fact, but I’m sure Brian and Mark knew. I’m grabbing another beer. You want one?”
“Sure.” I watched as he walked out, wishing Josh knew what it made his brother feel like when he excluded him.
By the time Colby returned, he was his normal self, but when his phone vibrated a few minutes later, he tensed. “Hey, Josh.” He almost looked apprehensive about why his brother might be calling tonight.
Affording him a few minutes of privacy, I took our empty plates to the kitchen to clean up. As soon as he came in after to find me, I asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Josh has some sort of client meeting in Vegas next Friday and invited me to make it a guys’ weekend for Brian. I’m sure he’ll invite Mark as well.”
“That kind of sounds like a bachelor party.” Before he could comment, my phone buzzed with an incoming text from Haylee. “On second thought, we may need to call it an engagement party. Can you keep a secret from my brother and yours?”
He appeared intrigued when I handed him my phone, which had Haylee’s invitation:
“How do you feel about crashing the boy’s weekend in Vegas to make it more of an engagement celebration? It would be a surprise.”
“Guess you’d better cancel the strippers,” I quipped.
He sighed in annoyance. “Why do you think my brother was calling me just now? He wanted to confirm I wouldn’t make it into a bachelor party by planning some wild weekend to include exactly that.”
“Party pooper. Doesn’t he realize it might be kind of fun to go to the strip club? I bet Sasha and Haylee would enjoy it as much as I did.”
He instantly smiled, pulling me in for a kiss. “Is it any wonder I’m crazy about you?”
