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“Right. So when it was just us in the kitchen, and he looked at me with those fucking Bambi eyes, I just…I thought ‘fuck it’ and I kissed him.”
He buried his head in his hands. “And now it’s all ruined.”
“I don’t think so,” Liza said, and he looked up. “I don’t think it’s ruined at all. But if you don’t do something, it will be.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re in love with him.”
“Yeah.”
“And he’s in love with you.”
“That’s what Tuck said, but—”
She held up a hand. “No second guessing, we’re going to take Tuck’s word on this. He’s in love with you.”
Evan nodded.
“So the only thing keeping you from being together is what, Evan?”
“I’m scared,” Evan admitted.
“Of what?”
“Of losing him.”
“You’ve been friends for fifteen years, Ev.” Eyes soft with understanding, she nudged his leg with her foot. “I don’t think you can lose him unless you let him go. Which means you’re going to have to talk to him.”
“I don’t know what to say to him.”
“How about, ‘Hey, Colin, I’ve been in love with you for a decade-plus, just thought you should know’?”
“Very funny.”
“I’m serious. What have you got to lose?”
“Uh, everything?”
“You’ll only lose everything if you do nothing.” She set the beer bottle aside with a thump and, pulling her feet off his lap, rose to lay a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t you think fifteen years is long enough to pine for someone?”
“I’m not pining,” he muttered.
She patted his shoulder. “Honey, you are the mayor of Pineville. The president of Pining Incorporated. The Prince of Pineland—.”
“Oh, shut up.” He sighed, and giving in, laid his head against her side. “I’m so fucking scared. I know it’s cowardly—”
“It’s not.” Her hand tightened on his shoulder in mute apology. “I shouldn’t have called you that.”
“Thanks.” He paused a moment, trying to unscramble his tangled thoughts and put them into a coherent sentence. “It’s just…I’m not afraid of anything, you know? So why am I afraid of this?”
“You’re not afraid of physical stuff,” she corrected gently. “This is different.”
“That’s the fucking truth. I swear, I’d rather do a black diamond run naked in the dark than tell Colin I’m in love with him.”
“That’s because the first only risks your body. The second risks everything else.”
He tilted his head back to smile up at her. “When did you get so smart?”
