“Okay. I’ll text you the place. She’s picking.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Bye.”
I slipped the phone into my pocket. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited you to dinner with Grady and Lauren. I figured Grady deserves to know about us. Even though he’s probably guessed by now.”
“He’s smart.”
“He is.” I pulled him close again. “So are you.”
“Mmm, tell me more.” Bailey’s mouth brushed mine.
“Smart, sexy, hot as fuck. With a mouth that won’t quit,” I teased.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He stroked my cheek, then rubbed it with his own.
“You should. It’s a very talented mouth.”
“Keston?”
“Hmm?” I nuzzled his neck, the pulse beneath my lips jumping, his breath hitching.
“I love you.”
My lashes fluttered, and I jerked away to gaze at his face. “What? How can you?”
Eyes soft, he traced the outline of my lips. “How can I not? I know who you are—strong and so hurt by your past. Filled with so much anger at a system that failed you, but also with tremendous love for your brother and friends. You need to accept that love can heal you.”
I caught him by the wrist. “What about you? You don’t think you’re part of that healing process?” Bailey might be great at pumping up others, but he was terrible at recognizing he was special.
Breaking eye contact, he lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. I helped, but—”
“But what?” I silenced him with a rough kiss. “You were the driving force.”
“Come on.” Bailey pulled away from me. “You don’t have to say that to make me feel better because you don’t feel the same way.”
“Says who?” Seeing the protest rising in his eyes, I put two fingers over his lips and took his hand. “Let’s sit.” I led him to the couch, where of course, he dominated the conversation.
“I’m not the driving force. You have Grady. He’s the one, and I don’t blame you because he’s your brother. Of course you trust him most of all. And—”
“Dammit, will you shut up for a minute and let me talk for once?” At his outraged face, I pressed my lips together to hide the laughter that threatened.
“Listen. I love Grady. One of the best days of my life was when he showed up and I found out he was my brother. But he’s so afraid to say the hard stuff to me, and I always feel like he’s waiting for me to…I don’t know. Lose my shit, fall apart. I want him to see that I’m not that angry kid he met. I’m capable. I can handle whatever comes my way.”
“You don’t think he knows that?”
Damn, expressing emotion was fucking hard. But I looked at Bailey, and knowing the life he’d hidden because of his pain, he was the one person I could expose myself to without judgment.
“I don’t know. I’m always afraid if I show the real me, he’ll walk away because it can get ugly sometimes.” I paused. “Maybe you will too.”
“Never,” he whispered. “I think I fell in love with you the first time we met, and I’ve been falling ever since.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “You tell terrible jokes, and never stop talking, but you’re the sexiest bastard I’ve ever seen. You’re kind, caring, and go the extra mile for the people you care about. I might not have gone to college, but I know when I’ve met the perfect man.”
Bailey’s eyes glowed, and he put a hand to his ear. “And? Keep talking.”
“And I love you too, you annoying little shit.”
