Quinn’s whole body springs up, those beautiful brown eyes rimmed in red. She looks around, confusion furrowing her brow. “How are you here, Colton?”
“I’m coming home with you, and I’m not discussing it again. We have a lot of shit to talk about on this flight, but whether or not I’m going to stand by you next week isn’t one of them.”
“Colt—”
“No, it’s my decision, and I’m 100 percent certain of it. So stop trying to talk me out of it.”
Her mouth curves up, hope shining in her eyes. “For the record, I think this is a terrible idea.”
“For the record,” I echo. “I don’t give a fuck.”
She bites her lip, turning toward the window to hide her smile for a second before facing me again. “So if we’re not talking about you torpedoing your career for me, what’s the ‘lot of shit’ you’re referring to?”
I tilt my head, making sure I have her full attention. “We’ve both lied to each other, and we need to hash this out.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “I’ve never lied to you. Literally not once in our entire friendship.”
“I’ve never lied to you, either. At least, not outright,” I say, because that’s the truth. “But we’ve both watched the other fill in the blanks with things weknowaren’t true, and neither of us spoke up.”
She looks genuinely confused, and it’s so cute and endearing I nearly drop the whole thing in favor of pulling her into my arms. But I almost lost her, and I need to make sure we’re on the same page if we’re going to jump back into this thing.
“Tell me about the Harrow Fellowship,” I say.
Her face twists, panic in those deep brown eyes. This is a conversation—a secret—ten years in the making, and I know she’s terrified of the fallout. She turns, facing forward in her seat instead of looking at me.
“Dr. Cassia told me at dinner. She didn’t realize I didn’t know, and it sent me into a tailspin. One achievement shouldn’t carry so much weight, but the truth is I never believed in myself before that moment. It was the foundation all my confidence was built on, and in an instant, it turned from solid rock to a muddy marsh and everything was collapsing around me. I was too lost in my anger and fear to handle our conversation when I got home.”
“I didn’t want to hurt you,” she says, so softly I almost don’t hear her.
And I know that’s the case. She was trying to protect me, just like I’ve spent the past year trying to protect her on campus.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she says, meeting my gaze with tears in her eyes. “I didn’t want you dismissing the quality of your work because of a broken system. Me getting it was pure nepotism. Your work was so much better than mine.Youwere the one who deserved it, and I didn’t even want it. Please, Colton. Please forgive me.”
“I know,” I say softly. “I’m okay. But please don’t keep secrets from me anymore, even if you think you’re protecting me.”
She nods, tears streaming down her face, and I lean forward to kiss them away. The temptation to turn my head a fraction of an inch, to capture her lips with mine, is nearly overwhelming. But if I’ve forced her to admit her own half-truth, I owe her the same.
I pull back. “I guess it’s my turn.”
Her eyes blink open, still slightly hazy. “What?”
I suck in a breath. It’s not that I think she’ll be upset by what I have to say, but it’s vulnerable, laying it all out there.
“You said during our fight that this summer has been intense because of all these new feelings. And I get that’s how you’ve experienced it, but none of this has been new for me.”
She pulls her lips between her teeth, clearly confused by what I’m saying. I’m totally fucking this up.
“Fourteen years ago, I was a mess. Terrified and defensive and so fucking lonely, and then this beautiful, chaotic girl dropped down beside me and completely rewrote who I thought I was. Within an hour, you were my new favorite person. Within a week, I’d have sold my kidney for a kiss. Within a month, I knew I was going to love you for as long as I drew breath. And I’ve never faltered. Not for a single day. I loved you in college when I got to see you every day and while we were an ocean apart and when it was supposed to be ‘just sex.’ So thisbig shiftyou’re stressing over? It’s nothing for me. Just a regular Friday, honestly.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asks, her voice cracking on the words.
I look up at the ceiling of the plane, focusing on the line of lights dotting the aisle. “Because you really are my favorite person. You never showed any signs of romantic interest in me, and the thought of losing you was debilitating. I was happy just being your friend—I’dstillbe happy just being your friend—because you’re the sun. All I’ve wanted for the past decade and ahalf has been to enjoy your warmth in whatever way you’ll allow me.”
“Colt—”
“So you have to understand that I could never regret choosing you. I’d give up my career, never step foot in Rome again, if it meant keeping you in my life. I’ve chosen you every day for fourteen years, and I’ll keep choosing you as long as you let me.”
“What about your mom?”
