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“I think I’ve made it quite obvious, but I like you as more than a friend.”
She dragged her gaze upward, meeting his eyes with a sliver of shyness softening her face. The drink in her hand wobbled, and TJ knew it was more than the cold making her body shake.
“I want tobemore than friends with you.”
When she said nothing, only watching him, waiting for him, he went on. “I know every surface thing there is to know about you. Your favorite color is red. Your favorite food is medium-rare steak with a side of mashed potatoes. You’d eat chocolate for breakfast every day if you could get away with it.”
She let out a quiet giggle.
“You binge on the most ridiculous cooking shows, and you love to experiment in the kitchen. These are the things I know, but they aren’t the things that made you who you are. I want to knowthosethings, Mel. The deep things, the scary things, the painful things. The things you’ve always kept from me before. Will you let me in enough to share those things?”
She was blinking a lot, which meant she was trying not to cry. TJ set his drink on the pier railing and did the same with hers, then gathered her in his arms. It felt so right. Since the moment he set his hands on her hips on stage, everything in his world had felt right.
“I know you’re scared.”
She took a shaky breath, bobbing her head, but she didn’t fight his hold. “You’re my best friend. I don’t want to ruin what we have.”
“But what if we could have something better?”
He watched her face, begging her to trust him. Her mouth opened and closed, her chest heaved up and down against him. She was fighting her demons before his eyes, and he had no idea which side would win.
God, please let her see her worth. She needs to feel her worth in order to trust me.
Her eyes turned glossy, and he felt her rejection before she could speak it. But this time he wouldn’t give up. He wouldn’t run in fear.
“Don’t say anything. Give it some time and thought. Okay?”
She didn’t agree or dissent, staring at his face with confusion and worry rippling across her brow.
“Smile,” TJ murmured. “I love your smile.”
It was weak at first, barely a flutter across her lips, so he wiggled his fingers along the outer edge of her ribcage. Her tickle spot. Her wonderful laugh exploded against her will, and with it her dimple. TJ dusted his gloved finger over the cute indentation on her cheek.
“Can I—” His voice dropped to a husky low note. “Can I kiss you again?”
This time she spoke, and one word was all he needed. “Yes.”
He dropped a kiss on her dimple first. “I love your dimple.” Then he moved up, kissing the creases on either side of her eyes, which watched him in fascination. “I love your eyes.” His gaze dipped to her lips. “I think it goes without speaking…but I love your lips.” Those tempting lips turned up into another tantalizing smile, and TJ let out a low growl of satisfaction and so much more.
He released her a fraction to slip his gloves off and stuff them in his pocket. Then, drinking in her smell and her softness and all the sweet things that made her Melody, he cupped her face with both hands, just as he had in high school, sliding his hands along her jaw until his fingers burrowed into the silken hair at the nape of her neck. As his lips pressed against hers, claiming her, naming her the one his heart longed for, her hands rose to grasp his wrists, hanging on like he was her lifeline. Again, as on stage, she kissed him as deeply as he kissed her, matching his every move.
Desire for the woman wrapped in his arms burned hot and low in TJ’s body, but he pushed the raw, visceral need away to focus on the moment. Right here. Now. With Melody.
She might not be ready to say so with words. But she liked him as more than a friend, too.
A wave of joy washed over him, and he dropped his hands to her back, holding her securely in his arms. He lifted her feet off the ground, twirling her in a circle, kissing her all the while. When her feet regained ground, she pulled back, gasping for breath.
She stood, staring at him. Wonder glistened in her eyes as she gulped air, same as him. Then she moved her head in the tiniest shake. “TJ… How can you want me after—?”
“Don’t, Mel. I already told you there’s nothing about you that can change what I feel for you.” He gazed into her face intently. “I mean that.”
“I want to believe you.”
“Then do.”
When he stopped in front of her house a while later, he put a hand on her arm as she pulled the passenger doorknob.
“Take an Advil or something before you go to bed.”
