Page 73 of Can’t Say No

“I think this is possibly the worst I’ve ever looked,” Delaney groans beside me.

“I disagree. Remember when we went hiking at the falls and you fractured your ankle and you couldn’t shower for over a week?”

Delaney playfully swats my arm. “Oh my gosh, please erase the image of my greasy hair from your mind. That was awful.”

I put my car in park outside my dad’s townhouse, letting the memory of our adolescent escapades wash over me. God, we had fun.

“No can do, Lanie Lou. All childhood memories have a permanent spot in my heart. Locked in, baby.” I clutch my chest dramatically, garnering an eye roll and a laugh.

She’s still laughing when I open the passenger door, still laughing when she takes my hand, still laughing when I pull her close.

The laughter stops when I pin her against my car. She lets out a surprised gasp as I grip the back of her head, angling her face towards mine.

I lean in close to whisper in her ear. “You know what else is locked in? All those sweet sounds you made last night.”

Her eyes go wide as a breathy gasp escapes her lips, and I think shocking her with my words might just be my new favorite hobby.

“Think you can make them again for me tonight?”

I hear the front door open behind me, but Delany’s expression is too good to look away from. Desire swims in her eyes as my grip on her hip tightens just a little.

“About damn time!” my brother, Jaylen, hollers from the doorway, effectively throwing cold water on the moment.

Delaney weasels her way out from under me to embrace my older brother like the long-lost friend he is. Jaylen smirks at me from over her shoulder as I try to subtly readjust myself before turning his attention to Delaney.

“Been a while, Lanie. Catch me up on everything.”

The pair head into my dad’s, arm in arm, leaving me to grab the food. Delaney glances over her shoulder and hits me with the biggest smile.

This, Delaney happy, with my family, back in our hometown, this is the best she’s ever looked.

“And then I slide tackled the guy and almost got ejected from the game, but mom yelled at the ref and I got to keep playing!”

Chase, my very energetic ten-year-old nephew is giving us a play-by-play of rec league soccer, the details of which are making my sister Ruthie look a little less than stellar.

“Ruth! You cannot interfere like that,” my dad admonishes, but the sly look in his eyes gives him away. “You gotta be more covert than that.”

Ruthie and my dad spent many hours of our childhood out on the soccer fields, and she was thrilled when her oldest son took to the sport just like she did.

Delaney watches the back-and-forth with rapt attention. And I watch her out of the corner of my eye with equal devotion. Hearing her say those words last night shifted the final piece of the puzzle between us into place. In the middle of this loud, chaotic meal, it’s somehow just me and her, with this invisible string that’s always tethered us together pulling tighter and tighter.

As far as everyone at the table knows, we’ve been together for weeks now. My siblings gave me the appropriate ribbing in our group chat when Delaney “hard launched” our relationship online, both of them teasing that it was a long time coming. My dad seemed a little suspicious, but, true to his stoic character, hasn’t said a word.

As far as everyone knows, nothing between us is different.

But, Delaney James loves me, and that changes everything.

It’s like the whole world tilted on its axis last night, like the very core of the earth shifted under the weight of her admission, and I’ve been left standing on shaky legs ever since. I’ve loved Delaney in secret for years, and I finally get to start loving her out loud.

And now that her feelings for me are out in the open, I’m less inclined to hide under the guise of a PR stunt.

I reach over and give her thigh a squeeze under the table, just because I can. She laces her fingers through mine, stroking the back of my hand with her thumb, just because she can.

And it feels just like I always imagined it would, comforting, easy, right.

My dad clears his throat. “How’s the planning coming for the fall festival, Connor?”

The mood in the room shifts instantly.