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“Nah, don’t worry about it. My sister would have—” He stops, looking surprised. “Wow. Um, that’s the first time I’ve said that since…she left us.”
“I’m so sorry, Scott,” I begin, making my way to him. He cuts me off before I can continue.
“No. No. It’s a good thing. I’m happy that I can talk about her again. Mention how she’d find a way to playfully tease me about something. Especially if it was about a girl I liked.”
Closing the distance between us, Scott walks into the room and takes my hand. He leads me back to the couch and gently pushes me down onto the soft cushions. I can’t seem to tear my eyes off of him. So much has been revealed in the last minute that I’m struggling to catch up.
Grief, happiness and astonishment all whirl together in my chest, causing a heavy sensation of mixed emotions.
“I only met your sister a handful of times when she was dropping you off at our house, but I do remember she always had a smile on her face.”
“She was the comedian in the family.” Directing his gaze to our still-joined hands, Scott rearranges our hold so that our fingers interlock. Giving them a squeeze, he smiles back up at me. “She would have liked you.”
That was the highest compliment I could ever receive. The weight of his words sank into my skin and made their way to my heart.
I’d thought my feelings for Scott were deep, but that was nothing to the wave of adoration that pulled me under now. I’d had a toe in the water. Now I was fully submerged. My crush was gone, in its place the first heartbeats of budding love.
I was truly and utterly screwed.
“But I came here for another reason. I recently joined the SAR as a pilot and have been popping by all our community emergency service stations to introduce myself. I just came from speaking to your chief and learned you were on call today.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you’d joined SAR. That’s amazing, Scott. Have you caught up with Davis yet?”
“Yes, I stopped by the police station before I came here. It’s weird seeing him happily coupled. He actually speaks with more words now than grunts.”
Laughing at how accurate his words are, I agree.
“I also asked him about you.”
That has my laughter dying off.
“Me?”
“And to tell him that I intended to ask you out.”
My spine straightens, eyes locked on his lips so I’m not mishearing his words.
“Wh-what?”
“I told him that I had a crush on you when we were younger but never acted on it because of our age difference but also because of the bro-code. We’re men now, older and maybe a bit wiser in a couple of areas, and I wanted him to know that since seeing you again, I couldn’t get you out of my thoughts. I’d like to take you on a date.”
“A date?” I parrot back.
“Yes, Elyssa. I’d like to take you on a date. How does Thursday sound?”
“Good. It sounds good.” Then, finally pulling myself out of the trance of disbelief, I give a huff of a laugh.
A musical jingle rings out in the room, breaking the goofy grins off both our faces. Scott digs into his back pocket, looks at his phone and curses.
“Shit. I lost track of time. I need to pick the kids up from day care.” He looks torn, taking a step in the direction of the door but glancing back at me. Fully accepting that Logan and Bridget are the first priority, I stand and give him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Go. But text me later.”
“I’m going to need your number for that,” he teases.
Shaking my head, I dictate my number to him, feeling giddy.
“I’ll call.” He nods, giving me one last devastating smile, full of promise and mischief before he strides out the door.
