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“That’s not one of the things I’m going to apologize for.”
I made a face and sighed. “Last night when I left O’Malley’s, he came out there to take me home. He told me to think about everything over the weekend, and when I was ready, to go talk to him. He looked crushed because he’d already seen me cry over you too many times, and I think he knew that I wouldn’t choose him.” Looking into Eli’s eyes, I moved closer and he pulled me onto his lap, but his expression was subdued as he waited for me to continue. “I wanted to choose him, Eli. I wanted to, and I told him that . . . I freaked when he told me to think about things, because I knew what that implied. And you know what he said?”
Eli raised one eyebrow, but didn’t speak. I think he was forcing himself not to, judging by the way his fingers were curling around me like he wasn’t about to let me go for anything.
“He said, ‘You loved him first,’ like that should have answered everything. He didn’t want to compete with you even though I was with him. He didn’t want to compete with a guy who knew me better than I knew myself.” Swallowing past the tightness in my throat, I tried to stop the way my body wanted to curl in on itself. “I was on my way to tell him I’d chosen him this afternoon when you stopped me, but after I left you, I went to the beach instead and sat there for hours. When I finally got up to drive to his place, I still didn’t know who I would choose, and I didn’t know until he opened his door.”
Eli’s eyes hardened. “What did he do?”
I ran my fingers through his hair to calm him and shook my head subtly. “Nothing. And everything. He made it easier to breathe. He made the ache of talking to you go away. I knew when I looked at him that I’d somehow fallen in love with him, and I knew loving him could be easy. But the way he made me feel didn’t compare to the way I’d instantly felt whole as soon as you were near me. Or how I’d felt like I was dying while I walked away from you because I’d known you wouldn’t be a part of my life. He knew the second I realized who my choice was, and I know I broke his heart. He held me for a long time, and he asked what made me decide.”
“Did you tell him?”
I nodded and placed a hand over his chest. “I said, ‘I can see a future with you . . . but I can’t see one without him.’ And he and I both knew that if he was in my future, you wouldn’t be.”
“I’m sorry you’re hurting, and I’m sorry I put you in this position, Paisley.”
I cracked a tiny smile and forced a laugh. “It would’ve been a lot easier if you’d figured out you loved me a long time ago.”
Eli didn’t find that amusing.
“I told you before, you own my soul. No one can touch a love like that.”
He brushed back hair that had fallen in my face, and his blue eyes followed the movement before meeting mine again. “I don’t know what I did to deserve your love, Paisley, but I’m thankful for it.” Pressing his lips to mine gently, he only pulled back enough to say, “I’m sorry for not knowing. I’m sorry for using you as a shield from exes, and using you to get other girls when I should have known that you were the only girl who mattered.”
“Eli—”
“I’m sorry for making you watch me with anyone else when it always should have been you. I’m sorry for hurting you over and over again.”
“Stop!” I pled. “Stop, Eli, I know you are. But we need to move past that or you’re going to keep tearing yourself up over what’s in the past. And I want to start a future with you.”
“You don’t understand how much I hate—”
“Then let me apologize for taking so long to tell you,” I begged, cutting him off.
His head jerked back. “What? No.”
“Yes,” I argued. “None of this would’ve happened if I’d just told you a long time ago.”
“But you don’t know if that would have changed things then. You don’t know if our friendship would’ve been different. We might not have ended up like we are now.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way, and based on the look Eli was giving me, my expression was saying just that.
“So as long as you don’t try to take blame, I’ll . . . try to stop apologizing,” he promised, and I narrowed my eyes at him. He shook his head slowly when he knew I was getting ready to argue that too. “That’s the best you’re getting, Paisley. I’ve had to watch you cry numerous times because of me. I’ve beat guys up over you for a lot less than that.”
“Guys as in plural?”
“Yeah.” He breathed the word like that shouldn’t be news. It was.
“Do I want to—”
“No.”
I bit back a smile and rolled my eyes. “Got it.”
Pushing me off his lap, he kissed me forcefully as he climbed off the bed. “I’m gonna lock up, and I’m not letting you leave. So change, because I’m exhausted and I want you in my arms.”
My heart took off and his face lit up in reaction to the cheesiest smile that was covering my own. I’d slept in a bed with him hundreds of times, but everything was different now, and he’d just told me he wanted me in his arms. And he’d been kissing me. Not fake brushes of his lips against the side of my neck for girls to see, but actual kisses that I’d only dreamt of. That’s it. I had to be dreaming.
