“I wanted to put it behind us. Jeff influences people to do things they normally wouldn’t.”
“You give Lydia too much credit.” Elsie sighed. “And yourself not enough.”
He shook his head. “I was an idiot when I first met you. I’ve been trying to make up for it ever since.”
“Will, if we turn this into an apology contest, I’m pretty sure I’d win.” They were almost to her house, and she tugged him toward her lawn. “I have chairs in the back. Let’s go sit on my porch.”
The butterflies gathering in her stomach went into a full-on flurry when they reached the dark backyard. Will stopped and pulled her closer. The smell of his cologne filled her senses, and he leaned down, his lips inches from hers.
“So, what is this, Elsie? Friendship?”
She shook her head. “I want more. I want to be wherever you are. I hate the phone.”
His careful gaze broken into a hopeful smile. “You can’t kiss a phone.”
She closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his. He took over, kissing her in a way that told her exactly how much he’d missed her. Their declaration of feelings went on for several minutes, though it felt like it had only been seconds when he pulled away.
She gripped his shirt and reached up on her tiptoes, demanding an encore.
“Elsie,” he whispered against her lips. “I love you. I know it’s too soon to say it.”
“Not too soon,” she murmured. He kissed her jawline, and she sighed. “I love you, too. I think it happened when you took me on in basketball. I was so mad at Caroline for showing up.”
His laughter tickled her neck. “You didn’t show it when we said goodnight. That’s why I’ve been so careful on the phone.”
She pulled back to get a good look at his face, trying to understand what he meant. “Careful, as in, super platonic?”
“It wasn’t just me, you know, Miss I-have-work-to-do-Bye.”
She bit her lip. “Yeah, well, I saw what happened to Jane. I didn’t want my heart stomped on like that.”
“Charlie is a lucky dog. She should have never taken him back.”
“But you encouraged him to try, didn’t you?”
He looked like he wanted to deny it, but he finally nodded. “Yeah.”
Together they walked to the plastic chairs on the back porch and the motion lights kicked on. Elsie dusted hers off, feeling slightly embarrassed. Their backyard was nothing to get excited about. The lawn was covered in weeds she’d been too busy to pull out or spray. “Your aunt thinks I’m not good enough for you.”
“Oh, is that what she’s been trying to pester me about? I stopped taking her calls a long time ago. She kept telling Gianna if she only worked harder, she’d get out of that wheelchair.” He scooted his plastic chair closer and took her hand, keeping her palm open and running his fingers along it. “Don’t worry about my aunt. Though it’s good to know she still cares so much about my love life.”
“Seriously, Will. I know you hate this town. I’ll always have to be somewhat close to my parents, cleaning up after Lydia’s messes and making sure my dad’s okay.”
“You take care of so many people, Elsie. Who takes care of you?” He slowly kissed the inside of her palm and every nerve in her body stood at attention. How had she gotten so lucky?
“Will Darcy, you are … you are a perfect man.”
He laughed. “Far from it. But you should say it again. Come over here.” He patted his lap, and she changed seats, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I bought that ugly house,” he whispered.
“What house?”
“The rental. That way Charlie and I can come and go as we please.”
She stared into his face to make sure he was serious. “But you didn’t know how I felt about you.”
He kissed her softly. “I’m a hopeful guy.”
And then the stupid plastic chair collapsed. Elsie screamed as they went down together, hitting the cement.
