She didn’t get time to answer. Brent’s arm shot past her shoulder and his hand wrapped in the front of Wade’s shirt in a fist. “I should punch you for that, Johnson.”
“Fine. Okay. That was uncalled for.” Wade tried to remove Brent’s hand. “But I’ve watched you moon over her for years, Brent, and I’ve watched Vee fight with you every chance she got.”
“There’s a fine line between love and hate, Wade,” she said. “Brent isn’t the only one who’s been mooning. Obviously I’m better at keeping it hidden than he is.”
“You should show a little more confidence in your sister. You know as well as I do Valentine does nothing she doesn’t want to.” Brent removed his hand from Wade’s shirt.
“So what you’re trying to tell me is I should leave you alone and go back to my wife and son.”
“Yes.” Brent moved beside her and slung an arm over her shoulders. “We’ll come down to say hello later.”
Wade spun on his heel. “Damn. Now I’m gonna be wondering what the hell you two are doing,” he muttered as he left the room.
She let out a breath. “Well. That went brilliantly.”
“Yeah, I was kinda hoping we’d have us sorted out before your brother came home and threw a spanner in the works.” He turned her into his chest and tucked her head beneath his chin. “At least the first awkward moment is over with.”
“Awkward is a good word for it. Do you think it’ll get any easier?”
“He’ll get over it once the shock wears off.” He rubbed his hands up and down her back. “Don’t forget he didn’t just find you in my apartment, he found you wearing nothing but a wet towel.”
“True. Plus it’s quite obvious what we were doing before he arrived.”
“Look, as much as I want to make sure Wade isn’t going to freak out over this, I’d prefer if we got dressed and talked about us and where we go from here.” He tipped her chin up until their eyes met. “Let’s get dressed and go clean up our lunch. We can figure things out while we work.”
“What is there to work out?”
“Our next date.”
“Date?”
“Be my Valentine.” He smiled.
“Are you trying to confuse me?”
He reached for her hand and cradled it in both of his. “This has to be the least romantic setting in the world, but I want you to know how I feel. I love you. Have loved you for as long as I can remember and I don’t want to spend another day of my life without you in it.”
Her hand shook as he brought it to his lips for a soft kiss. She threw herself into his arms and they tumbled to the floor. Her mouth found his and she poured everything she felt into their kiss.
He might not think his declaration worthy, but it was the most romantic thing she’d ever experienced because it came from his heart.
It came withhisheart.
She eased her mouth from his and stared at his smiling face.
“I love you, Brent.”
“I love you too.”
He rolled them over and pinned her beneath him for another long kiss.
As always with him, a kiss turned to more and it was a few hours before they made it downstairs to clean up.
Epilogue
The sun streamed in through the open French doors. The first thirteen days of February had been unseasonably wet and cold, but not today.
Today the clouds had floated away and the sun shone on the yard below. Vee didn’t look down. She didn’t want to spoil the wonder of walking out of the house later, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the view of the harbor.
