“Of course you didn’t believe any of that bullshit.”
She didn’t know what to say because there was a ring of truth in what Clint said. The last thing she wanted to do was discover that all the times she’d foolishly hoped Tate would love her back only made her a fool.
Tate cupped her cheek in one hand. “The best couples I know—Drake and Adria, my mom and dad—have one thing that helps keep them together. At the heart of their relationships, yes, they have a deep love, but it’s more than that. They’re best friends. They trust each other. They know how to talk to each other with respect and consideration. We have that already.”
“That’s not the same,” she couldn’t help pointing out. Their friendship didn’t mean they’d have a long and lasting romantic relationship.
“I admit that up until now, I purposefully didn’t allow myself to think that you and I could be more. I didn’t want to lose what we had. Truthfully, I thought you deserved better.”
She squeezed his hand, stunned by that admission. “Tate. No. The truth for me is that no one else ever measured up to you. I tried to do the same as you, protect our friendship and find someone else so I didn’t screw us up.”
“I’d see you happy with someone and think that proved my point.”
“You’d go from one woman to another and I’d think, ‘Why can’t he see that I’d make him happy?’”
“I never meant to hurt you or make you think that—”
She touched her fingers to his lips to stop him from explaining. “I know, Tate.”
“I wasn’t ready to make some big commitment. I never thought about being someone’s long-term anything. Boyfriend. Husband. That just wasn’t in my head. I don’t know if this will work. I’m scared as hell I’ll fuck it up and lose you. But I’d rather let the feelings I’ve buried all these years out and see if we could be more than lose you to some other guy and wonder why the hell I never even tried to make you mine.” He leaned in closer. “It’s not that I never felt something for you, it’s just that with you it felt too . . . important. I knew it would change everything between us, and I didn’t know what that really meant. Now I do.”
He knew it meant a life together. Marriage. Children. Forever. Everything she wanted only with him.
Tate squeezed her hand. “I’m ready to try because it’s what I want. You’re what I want.” He tugged her out of her chair and right into his lap. They shared another searing kiss that left her breathless. Just like Tate intended, it knocked out all her worries and made her focus on him and the way he made her feel.
She forgot all about Clint.
Her fears dissipated.
And she stopped second-guessing Tate’s feelings and motives.
After the day she’d had, she just wanted to wallow in this amazing moment.
Tate kissed her one last time and hugged her. She pressed her cheek to his head and held him close with her arms around his neck. She breathed in the shampoo and sunshine scent in his hair and the solid feel of his body pressed to hers.
“Get used to it, Liz. We’ve always been close.” He squeezed her to him. “We’re going to get closer.”
She sat back so she could look him in the eye. “It’s just so much all at once.” She broke up with the wrong man and got the one she wanted all in one day.
“Then let’s take a little time and settle into it. If you don’t want to go out, we’ll stay in. I’ll order pizza. You find a movie.” Tate stood with her, which made their bodies brush together. Every nerve ending attuned to him.
She caught her breath and looked up at him.
He slipped his hand underneath her hair at the back of her neck and stared down at her. “I love it when you look at me that way, but I’m trying to take this slow because it’s important and there’s a lot at stake. I don’t want to rush. Well . . . I do, but I think it’s important to not skip the getting to know you stuff.”
She understood all too well. “We’ve been friends a long time, but that’s not the same as dating and being together.”
“Trust me, now that I’ve opened the door to us being together, I can’t stop thinking about it and wanting you. I just feel like if we jump too soon, we’ll miss something important and it’ll get messed up.” He raked his fingers through his hair.
She placed her hand on his chest, liking that she could reach out and touch him without it being weird or seeming to cross a line. “I understand, Tate. The last thing I want to do is force this or think that because we’re such good friends that the rest will be easy.”
“I know you in one way better than I know most people, but as a girlfriend . . . that’s different.”
To lighten the mood, she teased, “Are you my supercute boyfriend now?”
He hooked his arm around her waist and drew her close. “You think I’m supercute?”
“You’re gorgeous, and you know it.”
“I didn’t know you thought that.”
“Oh come on, everyone knows it.”
“You want to hear a confession?”
“I’m pretty sure I know all your deep dark secrets.”
“Did you know that I hate it when guys look at you like they want to f—kiss you.”
She knew that’s not what he meant, but the ego boost made her smile, even if it wasn’t wholly true. “They do not.”
“Ah, yeah, they do.”
“But I don’t notice because I’m always looking at you.” She traced her finger along his rough jaw, flirting and enjoying this new closeness with him.
“I tried not to notice it. Or at least not let you know I noticed.”
“But you liked it.”
“Deep down, yeah. It made me wonder, What if?”
She could think of lots of those, but the one that worried him most also stood out for her, too. “What if this doesn’t work out?”
“What if it does?” Optimism filled his deep voice.
She buried her face in his neck and hugged him. He really had opened himself up to the possibility of them being more than friends. It boggled the mind, but also made her heart soar.
He squeezed her closer. “Feel that, Liz?”
Her whole body was aware of him. Mind, body, soul—everything inside her wanted, craved, needed him. “I feel it.”
She’d never felt this way about anyone but him. Those early ripples of awareness, anticipation, and attraction she felt with other men, with Clint, fizzled out because none of them were Tate. None of them ever turned her attention away from him. Not for long. Because her heart had always belonged to him.
It probably always would.
Tate’s hands came up to cup her face. He stared down at her, his eyes intent. “This is serious, Liz. It’s real. Believe in that and let the rest happen.”
This time, she initiated the kiss. Soft. Sweet. She lingered with the press of her lips to his. She took in the way his mouth fit hers and how her body nestled against his like it was made to fit.
She pulled back and stared into his eyes, the blue depths serene and welcoming. “A movie.”
“Pizza.”
“You and me.”