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“Will you stop interrupting me? I’m not convinced you’re not going to wake up tomorrow and realize you were mixed-up.” She moved closer and touched his arm. “We’re good friends who care about each other. Maybe we should leave it at that.”
“Stopping telling me I’m confused or mixed-up. Why can’t you believe what I’m telling you?”
“Would you believe me if I showed up at your place and suddenly announced I loved you? You’d think I’d lost my mind. You’d be saying the same things to me.”
All he could do was clench his teeth, because she had a point.
“It’s not like you’ve ever hinted at it before.”
“Let me prove it to you then.” She might doubt him, but he recognized what he felt as the real deal.
“Excuse me?”
“You gave Trevor a chance? Do the same for me. Let me prove to you how I feel.” He’d dumped his heart at her feet, but she’d said little about her true feelings. “Or look me in the eye right now and tell me I’m merely a friend. Tell me you don’t feel anything toward me. If you do, I’ll walk out and never mention this again.”
She dropped her gaze toward the floor.
He had her. Her expression told him everything. “You can’t do it.”
She shook her head. “Part of me wishes I could. It’d make life a lot easier.”
“Then you’ll let me prove it to you?” He almost had her agreement.
“What about my dad? I gave him my word.”
Hell, not that again. “Fine. Keep your promise to him. We both know things between you and Trevor won’t go anywhere.” He ran his fingers across her cheek and cupped the back of her head. “Please,” Derek whispered before he brushed his lips across hers. “Let me show you how much I love you. Prove to you we belong together.”
She touched her mouth to his again, all the answer he needed for now.
Chapter 8
When he’d asked her to spend the day with him, the heat from his mouth remained on her lips, and she’d been incapable of saying no. A full day later, she found herself reconsidering her decision even as she drove over the Newport Bridge. Spending the day out on the Affinity was nothing new. During the summer, they regularly took it out and spent hours together enjoying the ocean air and the cool water. His little announcement yesterday changed everything.
He loved her. Well, he claimed to love her. She wanted to believe him. A part of her had always loved him as more than a friend. Rather than risk the relationship they did have, she’d chosen to keep those feeling hidden deep down in a place she never even went. At times it wasn’t easy, but she’d known it was the right thing to do. Their talk in her kitchen had her second-guessing everything.
If Derek said he loved her, then he believed it. Or at least believed it for the moment. At some point though, he might realize he’d confused his current emotions toward her for love. Then what? Could they fall back into their old friendship as if nothing ever happened? He might be able to, but she didn’t think she could. Once she unburied her true feelings for him, she suspected hiding them again would be impossible.
Derek changing his mind was only one of the issues making her wonder if agreeing to give him a chance was a bad idea. Her dad hated him. He’d outright told her Derek would never be welcomed into the family. At the time, she’d dismissed it as irrelevant, but if their relationship went anywhere, it’d be a major obstacle. One she doubted they’d get over.
Of course, last but not least on her list of problems was Trevor. She’d never promised her dad wedding bells, but he expected them. He saw a marriage as the ideal way to solidify his relationship with Trevor’s grandfather and join the two companies. She kept her nose out of her father’s business, but even she recognized such a merger would be beneficial for both parties.
Pulling into Derek’s driveway, she put the car in park and turned off the engine as she stared out the windshield. Nope, not today, she thought with a shake of her head. She needed a little more time. A few more days to think things through without Derek standing in front of her and the taste of his toothpaste still lingering on her tongue.
Yep, once she got everything straight in her head, she’d either tell him she’d changed her mind or move forward. Until then, she’d keep as much distance between her and Derek as possible, considering they worked down the hall from each other.
Brooklyn started the car again. Once she got over the bridge, she’d call and tell him something came up. She moved her hand from the ignition to the gearshift, but didn’t get the car in reverse before Derek’s front door opened. With a wave in her direction, he bounded down the stairs, her chance at escape thwarted. Darn it. She’d waited too long.
She watched him walk toward her and killed the engine. Face your fears. Don’t fret over them, she reminded herself of her grandmother’s favorite saying. She’d never considered the statement truer than at this very moment.
Derek pulled the car door open and extended his hand in her direction. She hesitated then slipped her hand into his, the truth hitting her head-on. No matter what decision she made today, their relationship was about to change.
“You were thinking about leaving.” He held her hand tight, making her wonder if he feared she’d bolt.
“No, I… okay fine, I was. But I didn’t. See, I’m right here.” She kept a gap between them, but even so, her whole body tingled as she remembered what he’d felt like when he held her close the previous day.
“Only because I came out before you backed out of the driveway.” Derek reached for her other hand. “But it doesn’t matter. You came and you’re here with me.” He raised her hands to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Unless you’d rather go out on the Affinity first, I thought we’d spend time on the beach, go for a swim, and then head out on the water. How does that sound?”
With all her brain functions busy processing the gentle way he’d kissed her hands, she couldn’t form a proper answer, so she nodded.
