Page 175 of Wait for Him

He dips his head, trying to catch my eyes again. "You've been in love with Rose since the day you met her, haven't you?"

I don't answer. What the fuck would be the point?

Yes, Bennet. Loved your sister for ten years. Still love her. Probably going to love her while standing at an altar with somebody else if I can't get my shit together before then.

I'd rather swallow the beer bottle.

"I'll take that as a yes." His voice drops, and he glances toward the sofa before looking back at me. "So what the fuck are you doing, man?"

My jaw tightens.

"She's gone, Ben. She told me not to wait and Rian is here. Right fucking here, and she wants to be with me.”

He nods slowly. "I know. And as much of a keeper as she seems to be, you don't look at her the way you looked at Rose."

"I won’t ever look at anyone like I looked at her. But I have to try to move on."

He doesn’t say anything after that.

Because that's the part nobody seems to understand. I'm not waiting around for lightning to hit twice. Maybe what I had with Rose isn't the standard. Maybe it was the exception, ten years of wanting and history and bad timing packed into one woman until nothing else could possibly compete with it. Rian is here. She wants me. I care about her. I'm trying to build something real with her instead of spending another year doing yoga with a fucking ghost.

Bennet studies me for a long moment. "Do you love her?"

Fuck him.

I look back toward the sofa. Rian is smiling at Blaire, relaxed in a way I don't get to see often, and I want the answer to come easily.

It doesn't.

"I'm trying to. Begging myself to, if I’m being honest."

His face falls.

"Don't fucking look at me like that."

"I'm not looking at you any kind of way."

"You're looking at me like a goddamn ASPCA commercial."

That almost gets him. His mouth twitches before he catches it.

Then he steps closer and lowers his voice again. "I'm not telling you what to do. I'm definitely not telling you to wait for my sister. That's between you and her, and I've learned enough to stay the fuck out of that part."

"Good."

"But I know you." He grips the back of my neck. "And if you're going to marry Rian, just be sure. Be certain. Think about everything before you go through with it, and I mean everything, Jackson. That's all I'm asking."

Then he pulls me into a hug and pounds my back hard enough to double as CPR. I hug him back because I know what he's actually saying. Don't fuck up another life trying to fix your own.

When he releases me, the conversation goes with it. He raises his beer, rearranges his face for company and heads toward the kitchen.

Asshole.

I stand there another second before looking back at Rian.

She's my girl.

I said it.