Fighting Silence (On the Ropes #1)(50)

Eliza. Oh, God.

Every nightmare I’d ever had was playing out in front of me.

“Stop.” I choked out around the lump in my throat.

“I’m sorry.”

“Is this because of Derrick? Nothing happened, Till,” I rushed out.

“No. It’s not that. I should have done this a long time ago.”

“Why are you doing this?” I cried, barely holding myself together.

Then it happened.

The most unlikely one-sided smile grew on his mouth, breathing new life into his empty expression.

“Because I’m ready for a new reality . . . with you.”

With one sentence and two steps, forever began. Till Page walked through my door for the very first time.

My mouth gaped open as I blinked rapidly, expecting the visual in front of me to vanish. I should have been elated, but I was so f*cking confused.

“I don’t know how to react right now. Are you coming or going?”

“Both.” He folded me into his chest.

I went willingly, needing the comfort and strength I knew his arms could provide.

“I’ve been fighting for years to keep us inside the safety of my comfort zone, but during that time, everything changed. You changed, the world changed, our situations changed, our desires changed. But I wasn’t willing to change with them. I’m sorry. I’m an idiot.”

“You really are.” I sucked in a shaky breath.

“So I’m giving up on that part of us. I quit. I want to start over with a new relationship, preferably one where I get to touch you. Naked. A lot.”

I laughed through the tears.

“I love you, Eliza Reynolds, and if I had my way, I’d lock you up in a room and keep you all for myself. But if you insist on doing that whole ‘living a real life’ thing, I want to go with you.”

“Kidnapping and imprisonment. So romantic.” I sniffled, and it was Till’s turn to laugh. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the promises that infused his words. Then I leaned away and looked into his eyes. “Are you really serious about this?”

“Absolutely.”

“Are you freaking out about this?”

“Absolutely,” he exhaled, causing us both to laugh.

“What if I said I don’t want you anymore?”

His smile fell and his eyes narrowed causing my eyes to narrow in return. A classic stare-off ensued.

Unblinking, he slid a hand down and squeezed my ass. “Then you’d be lying to us both.”

I held his hazel eyes, unwilling to look away, but I was scared that, one day, I wouldn’t have a choice. His grand entry through the door had been amazing, but it hadn’t cured my anxiety.

“I need you to swear to me that this isn’t one of your impulsive, half-assed decisions, because I can’t handle that, Till. I need this to be real.”

Leaning forward, he lost the staring match as he captured my mouth. It was a really good kiss, but it wasn’t an answer. I tried to move out of his grasp, but his arms tightened around me.

“She was terrible,” he whispered.

“Who?”

“My wife.”

My head snapped back. “Excuse me?”

“Her name was Natasha. She talked all the time and was addicted to shoes. Flint and Quarry hated her, but that was okay because she hated them more. She bit her nails, so it didn’t feel very good when she scratched my head. Her boobs were a decent size, but there wasn’t a single freckle on them.” He sucked in a dramatic breath before playfully choking out, “She didn’t even know how to make those cheesy potatoes. It was torture.” He smiled then grazed his teeth across my neck.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I snapped, not even remotely amused by his little story.

“I spent the last hour envisioning the nightmare I would eventually find myself in if I didn’t get my shit together and actually wake up. It was easily the worst hour of my entire life. It’s just . . . I’ve been trying to keep this overwhelming need to have you separate from our friendship for so long, Eliza. But the lines are all blurred, because our friendship is why I fell for you so hard in the first place. See, I love these.” He brushed the back of his hand over my peaked nipples.

I gasped.

“And this.” He slid his hand down to my ass. “And I especially love this.” He slipped a hand into my pajama pants and lazily glided a finger through my folds.

I sucked in a breath, and he groaned as he dropped his forehead to mine.

“But even if all of that was suddenly gone, I would still be madly in love with you. I wanted to spend forever with you at thirteen. Nothing has or ever will change that. Eliza, I love you. And I am unquestionably serious about spending the rest of my life with you.”

They were really good words.

But Till Page was saying them . . . to me.

They were perfect words.



It was the truth.

All of it.

“I love you too,” she said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

I wanted to wipe them away . . . but . . . my hand was still moving in her pants. It was a serious conundrum.

I pressed a soothing kiss to her mouth and whispered against her lips, “You have to stop crying. I can’t put the moves on you if you’re bawling.”