Page 21 of Code Violation

Her brows pull together, shoulders relaxing as she steps toward me. Perhaps she’s wondering why I don’t ask my mom or maybe even a sister.

I would if I had either.

“You’d be surprised how many people confide in me. No one ever warned me that when you become a wedding planner, you also double as a secret keeper for strangers. Only the other day, I had a groom admit to being gay even though he was due to marry his future wife in two weeks.”

My jaw hangs open. “Wow. People really do trust you with the most intimate details in their lives.”

She just shrugs like it’s all part of the job. “So, tell me, how can I help?”

I close my eyes, still able to smell Vesper’s oud perfume as it wrapped around me the other night. When I asked her to sit with me on the couch, I figured that we’d talk some more and she’d spend all night coloring and eating snacks. It was no more than thirty minutes before she passed out on my shoulder, a coloring book in her lap and a green pencil still gripped between her fingers.

I sat like that for way too long, absorbing the slow movements of her chest and the gentle breaths she released into the room. I wondered what she was dreaming about and felt honored that Vesper felt safe enough with me to let down her guard and allow exhaustion to take hold. I’m sure she views yesterday as nothing more than a regular night in with a movie, snacks, and her favorite pastime. To me, it was so much more. It was a window into her world. A world I want to be a part of.

“I’ve been in love with her for years, but she considers me a friend, at best. My brother is an abusive asshole, and I know he’s the reason why she would never entertain us as more, even if she’s thought about how fucking good together we’d be. Maybe even how happy I could make her.” I drop my head between my shoulders. “You think I’m fucking crazy, don’t you?”

Chloe doesn’t say anything for a beat, and I lift my head to look at her.

“I think that’s one of the most romantic things I’ve ever heard.”

I slide my hands into the pockets of my black jeans. “Trust me to fall in love with the most unattainable girl in the world. Tonight, I’ll be eating pizza on her couch while pretending like I’m not a pining mess over her.” Throwing my head toward the ceiling, I groan, loving how damn cathartic it is to say all of this out loud after so fucking long of keeping it to myself. “Jesus, she’s beautiful. Sleek black hair, piercing blue eyes that don’t sparkle nearly enough for my liking.” I grit my teeth. “And that’s down to my brother and the way he treated her. When I first met her, she was bursting with fire for life.”

Chloe’s face is full of empathy, but unfortunately for me, not a lot of answers.

“I think you have to let fate take its course. I’ve always believed that if a love is meant to be, then it will find its way to you, no matter what.”

I push back the sleeve on my gray henley, revealing the tattoo on the inside of my left arm.

“Interesting you should say that. I had fate, written in Greek, inked into my skin the same week I realized that Vesper was the only woman I’d ever love.”

Chloe’s eyes grow wide as she takes in my black tattoo; it’s simple, and it spans the space from my elbow to my inner wrist.

“Have you thought about just coming out and saying it? Most women appreciate transparency from a guy even if they don’t feel the same way.”

I scoff at the idea. “Yeah, I’ll just go for it tonight. As she puts a slice of pizza in her mouth, I’ll pour my heart out.”

She raises a brow at me. “Fear of being hurt is what holds most of us back in the end.”

I shake my head, chewing on the inside of my cheek. “Nah, it’s not that I’m fearful of rejection so much as I’m scared that I’ll lose her altogether. I want Vesper as a friend first, someone she can trust after the fucked-up way she was treated by my brother. Sure, it’ll hurt if her feelings aren’t reciprocated, but I’ll never recover if she stopped speaking to me.”

I can tell Chloe gets where I’m coming from, and that only serves to make me feel worse. Almost like she’s validating my concerns.

“All you can do is go at her own pace and hope that she doesn’t start dating someone else while you’re firmly in the friend zone.”

“Buddy, you have to come check this place out!” Will declares, bursting into the room. He takes in the space with more excitement in his dark eyes. “Yeah, this is the venue all right. Drew is going to freaking love it.”

Chloe gives me one last glance and then spins around to face Will.

And just like that, I’m back to internally torturing myself over a girl I’ll never call mine, only made worse by this fucking fancy tree house and how badly I’d love to spend the night with her in here.

7

. . .

Vesper

“How much do I owe?” I tease, going to take the pizza box from Silas when I open my front door.

He lifts the box above my head and deadpans, “The price is one night in my company.”