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I scowl, and his grin widens as if he’s just proved his point perfectly.
‘I was terrified to talk to you, and every time I tried, I managed to mess it up. And then Archer set his sights on you, and I wanted to grab you and run off with you to a place he’d never find you.’
He tried to warn me from Archer so many times. Was that his jealousy talking, or genuine concern?
‘At Archer’s party,’ I whisper, sorting through the carnage in my head. ‘You told me you... That you just wanted to...’
His expression turns pained. ‘I know,’ he says through clenched teeth. ‘Iknow. I was afraid I could never live up to your expectations, that I’d hurt you in some way, but I wanted you. Whether it was just sex, I’d take it. I’d take any piece of you I could get.’
His words sting.
‘But I was with Archer then,’ I say. ‘You’d really do that to your best friend?’
‘I never said it wasn’t the most selfish thing I’ve ever done in my life.’
Hell, who am I to talk about loyalty when I’ve been pining for Chase every day I was with Archer?
‘I’ve loved you for a very long time, Frankie.’ We’re shoe to shoe now. He reaches out and traces his fingers down my cheek. ‘Watching you with another man killed me, because that should have been me touching you, kissing you, lying with you. That should have beenme.’
‘You could have told me.’ The revelation cuts deep, slicing through the happy dance my heart is doing. If he’d told me back then, I would’ve had him in a heartbeat. I would never have gotten with Archer.
As if he reads my thoughts, his other hand comes up so he’s cupping my cheeks. His chest is feverishly hot. ‘Frankie,’ he whispers. ‘I was leaving. Moving away. I knew you had a thing for me, and I couldn’t do that to you. I couldn’t hurt you like that.’
‘That wasn’t your choice to make.’ I’m trembling now. ‘I settled for Archer, and do you know why? Because I loved you. And I felt stupid for it, because I thought someone like you could never love me back.’
‘Why on earth would you think such a thing?’
‘Look at me.’ I gesture to myself, to my different sized boobs, my untoned body, the burdens I carry like a weight on my back.
But his gaze does not waver from mine as he says, 'I never stopped.'
Without warning he lifts me onto the counter, positioning himself between my knees. From this height, his eyes are level with mine. His hands on my thighs burn me like a brand.
‘I’m tired of waiting,’ he says. ‘I’m tired of being afraid. Every time I was with you, I wanted to tell you, because you gave me the courage to do what scares the shit out of me. But it wasn’t the right time. You wouldn’t have liked me back then.’ His finger comes beneath my chin, tilting my face up. ‘I know I’m leaving tomorrow, and I’m sorry I waited so long to say this. But I didn’t want to put you in an awkward predicament with…him.’ He bites out the word. ‘I want you, Frankie, and I really hope you still want me, too—‘
‘I do,’ I say without hesitation, with absolute clarity.
He holds his breath, as if even after he knew I wanted him years ago, he still doesn’t believe it.
Chase swallows. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him nervous before. His eyes fall to my mouth before flitting back up, and I am nothing. Absolutely nothing. ‘I’m going to kiss you,’ he tells me. ‘And you’re going to stop me.’
‘Yes.’ I won’t.
‘Aren’t you, Frankie?’ His hands tighten on my thighs.
‘Absolutely.’ Absolutely not.
He leans forward, dipping his head, and he pauses when our lips are a hairsbreadth apart, our breath mingling.
And then his mouth brushes over mine.
Gentle, no more than a press of lips, but I’m rigid, holding myself back because all I want to do right now is drown in him. He pulls back slightly to look at me, his breathing heavy, and I can tell he wants to drown in me, too.
We reach for each other.
Our mouths clash, my arms coming around his shoulders, drawing him against me with so much force he flattens his hand on the counter beside me, sending the glass smashing into the sink. He smiles against my mouth, his hands clamping down firmly on my backside and yanking me against him—
He presses against my thigh so beautifully I gasp, and I hook my legs around him, pushing him into me further. The hard length of him pulses, straining against his pants.
