Page 122 of Pick Me This Time

58

DAPHNE

Ihad never been more surprised than I was when I came out of the kitchen to find Sterling and Eric actually talking. Neither of them looked angry or even annoyed, and if I hadn’t known any better, I’d have thought they’d buried the hatchet.

I doubted that was the case, though. While seeing them locked in conversation gave me hope for their friendship, I knew they’d have a way to go before things would be back to normal. I smiled as I watched them from the door.

“What?” Eric asked, suddenly looking at me like he’d known I was there all along. “What are you smiling about?”

“You two,” I said. “Food’s ready and you’re both still alive, so I’m assuming it’s okay if we all break bread together.”

Eric glanced back at Sterling, then nodded as he stood up. “Yeah, it’s okay. Let’s go, man. My mom was right. I’m starving all of a sudden.”

Sterling chuckled, coming over to take my hand again as we made our way to the dining room. I let Eric go ahead of us, glancing up at his friend and my what? Boyfriend? Is that possible?

“How did it go?” I asked instead of trying to figure out what the heck we were to one another.

He glanced at my family as they took their places around the table. Then he brought his free hand to my face and stroked his thumb across my cheek. “I think he finally got the message. He’s not happy about it, but he’ll live.”

“I’m glad.” I leaned into his touch for a moment, sending up a silent prayer of thanks that they were both okay and that the events of the afternoon seemed to have knocked some sense into my brother to boot.

Sterling brought his forehead to mine like he’d done the other night, smiling and closing his eyes for a beat. Then he finally inclined his head toward the dining room. “We should get in there.”

“We should,” I agreed, suddenly aware when we walked in that my whole family had been able to see the tender exchange between us.

Eric’s gaze lingered on the longest though, and what I saw in his eyes surprised me. It wasn’t quite acceptance, but it might’ve been resignation. I’ll take it.

He didn’t say anything about it as we took our seats side by side, and weirdly, dinner went off without a hitch. Eric even shook Sterling’s hand when he left after, the plea in his voice genuine as they said goodbye. “Keep in touch this time, asshole. Hopefully, it won’t be another five years before we see your ugly face around here again.”

“Nah, four and a half at most. I promise,” Sterling joked, pulling Eric in for one of those back-thumping bro hugs before they parted.

When Eric was gone, I glanced at his friend, drawing patterns of the inside of his forearm where my hand was hooked around it. “Stay with me tonight?”

“Gladly,” he replied, following me to the guest house after we waved goodnight to my parents. He grimaced as we crossed the backyard. “Is it weird that your entire family knows I’m here with you tonight?”

“Nope,” I replied immediately. “Even if it is, I don’t care. This is the last night I’m going to be able to sleep next to you for a while. I’m not letting the opportunity pass me by.”

“We’re definitely on the same page about that.”

Once we were in my house, I led him straight to my bathroom, where I leaned over the tub, opened the faucets, and added some bubble bath to the water. “Join me? I think we could both use it after the day we had.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” he joked, sliding out of his jacket and hanging it on the hook behind the door. “That is the best idea I’ve heard. Ever.”

He started unbuttoning his shirt. My mouth dried up. My gaze dropped to his fingers and followed each one as he deftly slid the plastic nubs through the holes. A dreamy sigh fell out of me when that ladder of abs came into view.

“I’ll never get tired of seeing that,” I murmured, kicking off my boots and peeling my jeans off my hips.

He smirked as he watched me. “Likewise.”

The air between us charged as we undressed. Our eyes ran all over one another with electric intensity burning between us. I didn’t stop looking when he was finally naked, starting at his toes and working my gaze all the way back up to his.

Those powerful thighs and the trim hips. His long, thick shaft that curved just a little bit and always seemed hard and ready when he was around me. The broad chest with just a smattering of dark hair at the center and his strong shoulders.

God, I’m going to miss every inch of this man.Simultaneously, I still couldn’t quite believe that I’d seen Sterling North naked so often recently. I reached for him then, pulling him to me and kissing him deeply until I had to shut off the water.

We climbed into the tub together, with him sitting down first and pulling me down to sit between his legs. I wrapped my fingers around his thighs, closing my eyes as I rested my head against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart under my ear.

“What are we going to do?” I murmured, almost too afraid of hearing the answer but knowing that we couldn’t put this off any longer.