She groaned and stretched before rolling over to face me. “Good morning.”
Her smile was genuine and beautiful. I missed this. Having her wake up next to me, illuminated by the sunlight streaming in through the windows highlighting her freckles was something I’d yearned for and regretted losing.
“Good morning,” I replied and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “There are three people in this house who would be pissed if they knew I stayed over.” Aiden and her parents couldn’t know that I slept here last night. I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but it felt so good having her back in my arms again and I was so tired. I was exhausted from trying to fight both my feelings for her, and Gianna’s persistent advances.
Gianna.
I would have to face her. A confrontation was inevitable. And it needed to happen today.
I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It was almost eight, and I knew Mrs. Wesley would be up soon to start the coffee and then breakfast. “I better sneak out before everyone else in the house gets up.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
Even though Aiden gave me the go ahead to come here and try to win his sister back, I was positive he wouldn’t appreciate me spending the night in her bed. I reluctantly got out of bed and put the same clothes on that I’d worn last night. She rolled over onto her stomach, propping herself onto her elbows to watch me dress. I was half tempted to rejoin her, but I needed to get out of there.
I kissed her one last time and crept silently to the door and out into the hall. The stairs were just within reach when I heard a door creak open. Assuming it was Taylor wanting another kiss goodbye, I turned, a smile breaking out over my lips. It fell when I saw who was standing just outside his doorway.
“I see you two made up,” Aiden deadpanned.
Shit. Why was he up so early on a Sunday?
“Yeah,” was all I could offer. I hung my head. This might be worse than being caught by her father. Aiden knew everything. He knew the details of what went down between Taylor and me and I didn’t know if he’d ever forgive me for it.
“I was serious about what I said last night. Don’t hurt her again.”
“I won’t. She’s it for me.”
His body visibly relaxed. “It’s about fucking time,” he declared. “I’ve been watching you two dance around each other for years.”
What the hell?
“You’re the one who forbid me from dating her.”
“Yeah, when we were like, seventeen.”
I was incredulous. “Dude, all this time, I thought she was off limits. You never said the ban was lifted!”
“She’s a fucking adult, numb-nuts. I have no say over who she dates. I just didn’t want your horny teenage ass getting a hold of her back then. I would’ve been an uncle before I even went off to college if I hadn’t warned you off her.”
“Shit.” I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated that I’d spent all this time thinking it would jeopardize our friendship if I pursued his sister.
“I guess I could’ve told you all this sooner,” he conceded. “I just assumed you were over her when you popped the question to Gianna. It never occurred to me that you two were still so hung up on each other.”
“So you always knew and said nothing?” He just shrugged. I’d never wanted to punch my best friend in the face more than I did in that moment. “Asshole.”
“I’m sorry, man. If I’d known she’d end up dating a whole string of losers, I would’ve pushed you two together a long time ago. As far as any man possibly being good enough for her, you come the closest.”
“You mean I’m the only one, right?”
“Nah, man. Not even you are good enough for her. No one is.”
I guessed I could understand that. I didn’t have any siblings—at least none that I knew of— but I imagined I’d be just as protective over them if I did.
We said our goodbyes and I left there with the peace of mind that our friendship would survive this. It would take a little while to get back to normal, but it would happen eventually. The best part was that I no longer had to hide my attraction to Taylor. We were free to pursue a relationship without interference or sneaking around behind her brother’s back.
The final obstacle was situated in a luxury condo across town, plotting to keep an unborn child from its father for her own benefit. I should give her a chance to come clean. Sit her down and ask for the truth. It would be hard to remain civil in light of her deception. What she was doing went far beyond anything a decent, reasonable human being would do. It made me wonder, not for the first time, how I could’ve loved her the way I had. She still had a lot of growing up to do, but immaturity was no excuse for the hell she’d put me through over the last couple months. And it certainly wasn’t enough of a reason to deceive not one, but two men regarding the paternity of a child. She went too far this time, and there was no forgiving this indiscretion.
I sent her a quick text before pulling onto the street to head home, asking her to come over around noon. It was best to get this over with as soon as possible. I considered having her meet somewhere in public like she’d done when she ended our engagement, but I feared that would backfire on me. Instead of keeping her composure because there were people around like I had, I worried she’d do the opposite. This was going to be ugly, so we would have to do this in private.
She answered me back immediately, saying she would be there. I asked Aiden to send me the recording in case she tried to deny everything. The file came through just as I pulled into my driveway.
Even though I wanted to keep Taylor’s scent with me all day, I needed a shower. I closed my eyes as the warm spray pelted my back and shoulders. Memories of my time spent with Taylor came flooding back. Her in the shower with me, us on the beach pretending we didn’t want to rip each other’s clothes off, that first night in the tub when I thought I’d combust if I didn’t make love to her. She was everything I’d never let myself dream of before. I shut the water off and toweled myself dry before I let those thoughts go any farther.
As I poured a cup of coffee, I contemplated my approach with Gianna. If I came at her with guns blazing, she would freak out and shut down. She needed to stay calm and accept that I would no longer be a part of her life. I considered calling her parents so they could intervene if she got too out of control, but I wanted to give her a chance to do the right thing and come clean to them as well.
My front door opened at eleven thirty and I cringed. I would have to get that house key back from her somehow, or else get my locks changed. This was going to suck.
“Hey, D. I brought lunch,” she called from the foyer. I met her in the kitchen as she sat the bag of takeout on the counter. I winced, realizing she thought this was some kind of date or happy get together. She would be sorely disappointed once she gleaned the true purpose of our meeting. She reached out to embrace me and plant her signature I’m-pretending-to-just-be-friendly kiss on my cheek. I grabbed her upper arms and held her at bay.
“We need to talk.” Her smile fell and for the first time in weeks, she looked nervous. Even when we’d had our talk earlier and I told her we weren’t going to be a couple again, she remained confident, but now she could sense something major was about to go down and her bravado slipped. I guided her to the living room and instructed her to sit on the couch while I took the chair adjacent to her.