“I got you to stop pacing, didn’t I?” She waggles her brows. “I’m counting that as a win.” She loops her arm in mine and drags me over to my desk, pushing me down in my chair. Sarah rounds the desk and glides elegantly into the chair across from me. “Here. Drink this,” she says, pouring a generous measure of whisky into the glass and handing it to me.
I knock it back in one go, and the familiar burning sensation in my throat is oddly soothing. Sarah refills my glass before pouring herself a small measure. She leans back and surveys me. “You look like shit. Are you sleeping?”
“Fitfully,” I admit, sipping my drink at a more leisurely pace this time. I swivel on my chair, glancing out of the high-rise at the bustling street below.
“Nightmares or?” She lets it hang in the air.
“You know why.”
She wets her lips. “Law called me. He feels terrible.”
“As he should.” I take a healthy mouthful of whisky. “He’d make a worse therapist than you.”
“He didn’t go into detail, but I know it’s about Stevie, so talk to me. Maybe you just need a female perspective.”
“I don’t know what to do, Sarah.” I haven’t said anything to either of my sisters about this. “I love her as more than a friend.”
“You say that as if we don’t know.” Her features soften. “The only person who doesn’t know you love Stevie is Stevie.”
“Well, shit.” I scrub my hands down my face. “So much for hiding my feelings.”
“I’m not sure it’s possible when you’re madly in love with someone like you are with her.”
“It hurts so much,” I quietly admit. “The thought she might never be mine.” Frustration pervades every cell in my body. “It’s been eight months since she entered my life, yet it feels like forever. I think I fell in love with her that very first night, and not getting to be with her the way I want is soul-crushing. It is literally killing me inside.”
“That might be a slight exaggeration.” Sarah tries to lighten the mood. “It’s the writer in you.”
“It’s themanin me,” I protest, sighing as I lift the glass to my lips. I take a drink and swirl the whisky around my mouth before swallowing. “Why put the perfect woman in my path and make it so I can’t have her?”
“Who says you can’t?” She arches a brow before sipping her drink.
“You know why. She’s in love with Garrick, and only a prick would try to steal his girl.”
“You’re the last person to steal anything from anyone, and I might have called you a prick when I was a rebellious teen, because you were always trying to clip my wings, but it’s the furthest from the truth.” She reaches across the table and takes my hand. I’m startled to see tears glistening in her eyes. “You’re the best man I know, Beck. The absolute best, and I want this for you so badly. I want you to be happy, and she’s your happy place.”
“So, what do I do?”
“Youwait.” She squeezes my hand. “You continue doing what you have been doing. Quietly loving her from the sidelines, and you wait for her to realize she’s in love with you too.”
ChapterSixty-Two
Stevie
“You’re amazing.” Beck pulls me into his arms, hugging me tight. “When you said you wanted to throw a release party to celebrate my new book, I thought you meant a small get-together with close family and friends, not all this.” Breaking our embrace, he throws his arms out as his gaze skims the large room. Nana has been instrumental in ensuring the success of tonight, not least because she gave me the use of the store to host it. We’ve been advertising it online and locally for weeks. The place is jam-packed with well-wishers and loyal readers, and we’ve already sold out of every signed copy.
“You deserve it all. You are so talented and so hardworking, and I want you to acknowledge your achievements. To celebrate each book because each one deserves all the accolades and applause.”
“You might be biased.” He shoots me a lopsided grin.
“I totally am.” I twirl around, purposely skimming the room. “But so is everyone else here tonight because we all think you’re wonderful.” I’m glad he patched things up with Law. I don’t know what their argument was about, but they didn’t speak for a couple of weeks until Jenny organized a dinner and forced them to kiss and makeup.
“I think you’re the wonderful one, and I don’t know how I can ever repay you for organizing this. It means so much, Stevie.” He threads his fingers in mine. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Heat blooms in my cheeks when I see the way he’s looking at me. “I wanted to do something nice for you to demonstrate how grateful I am for everything you do for me.”
“You thank me just by breathing, Stevie.”
A frisson of electricity crackles in the air, like often nowadays. Something altered in our relationship during our vacation in France. Things haven’t been the same since we returned, and we’re both pussyfooting around the elephant in the room.
