“Emmi. Wake up.”
I smushed my face into the pillow and grumbled. “Go away. It’s still dark outside.”
“Well duh, it’s two in the morning, of course it’s dark. Just open the window so lover boy can get himself some. I’m trying to sleep,” Freddie complained.
I shot up in bed, staring at the window. Sure enough, Rhett was standing there, waving at me with a boyish grin on his face that was so unlike him I was too stunned to move.
“Are you going to open the window or try your Jedi mind powers on it instead? Because if you are, I can just go and sleep on the couch until you’re done being weird,” Freddie said.
If I knew anything about him, he’d stand out there all night if necessary. Better to nip this in the bud before he woke everyone up, which meant I had to heave myself out of my nice, comfortable bed. I pushed the window open and leaned out so he wouldn’t get any ideas of coming inside. What I didn’t count on was that this would also make it a lot easier for him to lift me up. And that’s exactly what he did. I found myself standing outside, face-to-face with Rhett.
“Good move, Casanova. Some of us have to get up tomorrow and need to sleep,” Freddie said and closed the window. Closed. The. Window. Abandoning her sister outside to face who knows what fate. Rhett looked at my flimsy pajamas and took off his suit jacket.
“It’s freezing out here,” he said and draped his jacket across my shoulders. It was still warm, and I liked his gesture entirely too much. Because we were over. Done. No coming back from this one. So I couldn’t like anything that he did. Or said. Or tried to do. This included jacket sharing.
He took my hand and led me around the house to his car that was parked on the curb. “Come on. Let’s get you out of the cold.”
I stopped and tried to step back. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He cocked his head and studied me. “Why not?”
“Because we’re over.” This I stated with more or less conviction. I didn’t want it to be over. Just because he was a cheating son of a bitch didn’t mean I suddenly stopped loving him. The only thing I could think of was to get some distance. From him, from Malibu Barbie and really just from life. It wasn’t fair. What did I do in a previous life to deserve this shit?
“No, we’re not.” He, on the other hand, stated this with absolute conviction. There was no hesitation, no wavering. He was sure about us.
“I’m not going to be your dirty little secret.”
He turned to face me and tugged on my hand to bring me closer. “What made you think that I would want that? When I hired a lawyer to help you? Or when I told you that I wanted to be with you? Or when I was so sick with worry of what Anna would do to you that I hired a security firm to watch out for you? Which of these things gave you the impression that I wasn’t serious about this? About us? The only one who seems to want to keep this a secret is you.”
Well if he put it that way. “You came to Cassie’s party with Malibu Barbie.” There was that.
“And?”
“You slept with me. As in your parts joined my parts and did a happy dance together. Not the other sleeping were we close our eyes and nothing happens. Because things definitely happened. Important things. Great things. Things that you obviously forgot about as soon as they were over.” My voice was rising and I tried to get it back under control. The neighborhood patrol was only a scream away. No need for them to get all up in my business.
How did he not get that he couldn’t just go out with both of us? What world did he live in?
He studied me and took my hand. “I did. And it was the best night of my life.”
I deflated and looked at the ground. “Then why did you go out with someone else?”
“Emmi. Look at me.” I did. He released my hand and cradled my face instead. There was regret in his eyes, and I think he finally understood. “I made plans to take Violet weeks ago. I couldn’t just back out. I’m doing a lot of business with her father. If I’d stood her up that would mean I’d lose out on a lot of big deals. She doesn’t mean anything to me, never has, not even when we were dating. Taking her to the party was just out of obligation. I don’t know if you noticed, but the only one I have eyes for is you.”
Which also meant that at some stage they were together. I knew this already from my stalking days but to have it confirmed made my heart clench.
“You do?” Hope crept up like a pesky weed that couldn’t be stopped.
“You are the only one I want. How do you not know this already?”
I bit my lip and shook my head.
“Emmi.”
“It’s not that simple. You ignored me for years. Not only do I have trust issues, you’ve also abandoned me before. It was a minor explosion when I just had a little crush on you. Now it’s going to be a full-blown nuclear bomb if you drop me. You need to decide what you want. Don’t use me.”
He crushed me to him, his whole body trembling. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner? I thought we were okay after the other night. There is nobody else for me. You’re it.”
Holy swoon, he couldn’t have said that any better. “You’re it for me too,” I said and tightened my arms around him.
