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“That’s it. Do you remember the first date he took you on?”
Lizzie laughs and gives me a look. “You want to rehash my previous dates? Because if so, we might be here for a while.”
“No, just bear with me.”
“Sorry, go ahead.”
“I’d never been so jealous in my life.”
“What?”
I nod. “I couldn’t believe it myself. You and I were best friends, we’d watched each other date various people, and it was never an issue until I saw him pull you into his arms. You tilted your head back and laughed at something he said, and all I can remember thinking is, that’s my laugh. That’s the laugh you give me when I say something funny. I wanted to rip him away from you and kiss you until you couldn’t remember your own name. I didn’t want his hands on you, and I sure as hell didn’t want him making you laugh.”
“Aiden—”
“Let me finish.” She gives me a slight nod, and I continue. “I blew it off, convinced myself that I was having a bad day because you and I were never supposed to be anything but friends. I wasn’t supposed to want more from you. Time passed, and I ignored the pangs of jealousy I got every time I saw you with someone else. When Emily—or you—showed up at my apartment, I didn’t know what to think. And then she”—I shake my head—“you, kissed me, and all I remember thinking is that I was kissing the wrong sister. She looked like you and smelled like you, but she wasn’t you. She would never be you. I pushed her away, and I wanted to talk to you about it. I didn’t want you to think that I had a thing for her, but you wouldn’t talk to me, and I was confused. I thought she’d already told you. I didn’t know if you were mad or simply didn’t care.”
“Okay, but if it was me you liked, why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Because I wasn’t good enough for you.”
She frowns. “Aiden.”
“It’s true. We both know it. I liked you, but I wasn’t ready for a girlfriend, let alone a relationship. You were looking for Mr. Right, and I was Mr. Right Now. Plus, I didn’t want to lose my best friend.”
“And now?”
“Now, I know that our friendship is the perfect foundation and will only strengthen whatever else we build.”
“I was talking about the Mr. Right and Mr. Right Now part. Which are you now?”
I smile, push my fingers into her hair, and cup the back of her head. “Definitely, Mr. Right.”
Lifting onto her knees, Lizzie slings a leg over my hip so that she’s straddling me. She presses her forehead to mine, her hair falling around us like our own private curtain.
I trace a finger along her cheek. “You’re so beautiful.”
Her eyelids flutter closed, her heart pounding in her chest against mine. She melts against me. “Is this real?”
I nod, tracing the lines of her face, committing every detail to memory.
“So, what do we do now?”
Unable to resist, I kiss her. “Now, I take you on a proper date.”
11
Lizzie
“How about we take this to the bedroom?” I whispered to my snacks. –Liz
“Where are you taking me?”
Aiden reaches across the center console of his car and takes my hand. “Have you always been this impatient?”
“Just give me a hint.”
He kisses my knuckles. “No.”
