“Not at all. I’m on my way to a business dinner, just dropped by to see my girl for a little bit beforehand.” Scott picked up Brianna’s hand and brought it to his lips. I didn’t miss the side glance he gave me as he did it. It’d been a long time since the overwhelming urge to punch someone boiled in my gut. I hated the familiarity in the way he touched her. That should’ve been me she giggled at with a blush in her cheeks. She wasmygirl long before she was anyone else’s.Too bad I never told her.
“Did I hear you call her Cupcake?” Scott tilted his head as he narrowed his eyes at us.
Brianna smiled as she found my gaze. “Josh has called me that since kindergarten.” She tore her eyes away and brought them back to Scott. “When I was little, I loved cupcakes.”
“Doesn’t every kid?” Scott squinted at her, still holding her hand. Not that it bothered me or anything.
“In kindergarten, that’s all she would eat. Those little chocolate cakes with the white squiggles on the top. She gave me her real lunch and only ate the cupcake. It was our little secret, so I started calling her Cupcake, and it stuck.” She took care of me from the beginning, when I didn’t have a mother to pack me a real lunch for school. I probably loved her even then; I just didn’t know what the hell it was. Brianna was my center. But all these years later, I didn’t expect the pull toward her to be this powerful.
“Well, I better go. You guys probably want to catch up.” Scott kissed Brianna’s lips before heading out the door, igniting a burn of jealousy. Coming back into Brianna’s life as a caveman wasn’t my intention. I had no right, not after all these years, and definitely not after I withheld how I felt. Keeping it from her was the right thing to do, though, no matter how much it made me feel like shit right now.
After Scott left, I followed Brianna as she crossed the living room. I dropped my gaze to her left hand and breathed a sigh of relief at the absence of a ring.
“So . . .” She took in a deep breath and folded her hands under her chin, then turned to me once we were in her kitchen. “There’s so much I want to say . . . so much I want to tell you. I just . . . I feel like I’m dreaming.”
A jolt ran through me as I squeezed her hand. I let my thumb drift back and forth over her wrist as the air stilled between us. A dichotomy of emotions flooded through me. I was so happy to see her, yet furious that I was too late. But, either way, I was in her life to stay. I intended to reclaim my best friend, even if she couldn’t be mine.
“We have all night.” I pulled a seat out from her table and motioned for her to sit. “Or until you throw me out.” We both settled at the table and met each other’s gaze for a long minute.
“No way. I can’t believe you’re back. And running your own business!”
“Wait,” I raised my hands and shook my head. “It’s Uncle Billy’s business. I’m just the manager.”
Brianna sucked her teeth as she frowned at me. “You always loved cars and bikes. I remember that afternoon at your house when you took apart an engine just to see if you could put it back together.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Almost had it, too. I got shit from the old man when his car wouldn’t start the next day, though. Always the bad seed.”
“No.” Brianna’s face hardened as she glared at me. “You weren’t. In fact, don’t panic, but I think you’re a success story now.” Her mouth twisted in a smirk.
I gasped an exaggerated breath and clutched my chest. “Bite your tongue. God forbid! Who am I, if I’m not the local troublemaker?” I laughed, but she frowned in response.
Brianna leaned back in her chair and sighed. “You never were. Not to me. You had it rough and, yeah, got into some trouble.”
“Some? Like the ocean has ‘some’ water in it?” I shook my head as I broke my gaze from hers. Even after all I put her through, she only saw the best in me. I couldn’t accept it back then, and I sure as shit didn’t deserve it now.
She leaned over and rested her palm on my chest, over my heart. “This was always good. You could pretend with everyone else, but not with me. I’m proud of you.”
I reached up and rested my hand on hers as a lump formed in my throat. When I left, that was all I wanted. When I saw her again, I wanted her to see a man with his shit together, who’d be worthy of her. Those four words falling from her lips were like hitting a jackpot to me.
Unfortunately, now she was someone else’s fortune.
“Enough about me.” I pulled my hand away and rested my elbows on the table. “I want to hear about you. You’re a writer now, right?”
“Copywriter.” Brianna corrected me with a bit of an eye roll. “Fairly big agency. I get to work on some cool stuff. The billboard on Jersey Turnpike, just before Route Seventeen, I wrote that headline. I take a picture every time we drive by.”
“That’s pretty cool. You’re famous.” I nudged her shoulder and she rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, okay. Welcome to my mansion. Ugh!” She slapped her forehead with her palm. “I am the worst hostess ever. I should make you something to eat. Or drink. You walked in and I . . .”
“You forgot everything else?” I gave her a playful wink and loved the giggle I got in return. “Pizza would be good for me. We have a lot of time to catch up on. You can make special mac and cheese for me another night.” I snickered and let my gaze fall to the table.
“It was your idea to mix Ritz crackers with blue box mac and cheese, and you loved it.” Brianna stood from the table, her eyes narrowing into slits. Her chestnut hair was almost blonde now and cascaded off her shoulders in waves. The curves that nearly forced me to carry my book bag in front to hide the bulge in my pants were still spectacular, only now they were lean and toned. Same tiny waist, same perfect breasts, same cherry red lips turned down in a scowl when I teased her. It all drove me even crazier. Every inch of her was so damn beautiful. Keeping it in the best friend zone would be a shitload tougher than I imagined. I shifted in my seat, hoping she wouldn’t notice me adjusting myself under the table.
“Sicilian still good?” Brianna smiled as she picked up the phone. “I have Coronas in the fridge, and a couple of limes, too.”
I let out a sad chuckle and nodded, remembering our days at my house, watching sweet Brianna’s face crinkle in disgust when she took her first sip of beer. Coronas became her beer of underage choice at the time. At least that was one of her firsts that was all mine. Things happened the way they had to, but with her, I always wished they were different . . . better.
“They said a half hour.” Brianna slid a bottle of beer in front of me, alongside three lime wedges on a tiny white plate.
