That Secret Crush (Getting Lucky #3)(96)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT





EVE


Knock, knock, knock, knock.

Pause.

Knock. Knock. Knock. KNOCK!

I’m ready to really start pounding on the door just as it flies open, and I find a bleary-eyed Harper staring back at me, wrapped in a robe, her hair completely disheveled.

“Eve, what—”

“Sure, I would love to come in, thanks.” I push past her and fling myself onto the couch just as Rogan appears from the bedroom, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants.

Damn. The Knightly boys really are the most handsome specimens I’ve ever seen.

He limps into the living room, a sigh of relief escaping him as he takes a seat, and I feel a twinge of guilt for pulling him out of bed. “Glad to see the incessant pounding isn’t from an ax murderer,” he says. “Just an inconsiderate friend who doesn’t care how late it is.”

“Hey.” I point at him. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your brother.”

“Tea, anyone?” Harper asks. Rogan and I both raise our hands. “I’ll put some water on.”

“What did the idiot do this time?” Rogan asks, dragging his hand over his jaw.

“Oh, you know, just confessed to harboring intense feelings for me ever since we were young.”

“You didn’t know?” Rogan asks, looking surprised.

Harper joins us, taking a seat on Rogan’s lap. He wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her close.

“No, I did not know that. I had no idea he even looked in my direction back then.”

Harper rubs her eyes with the palm of her hand. “You know I love you, Eve, but I need to ask, Why does it matter if he liked you back then?”

“Because!” I shout, throwing out my arms. “It lowers my defenses; it makes me want to give in to his pursuit. It weakens my stance on not wanting to be with him and forces me to consider giving him a second chance.”

“Isn’t that what you want? To be with him?” Harper asks.

“No. I mean, maybe. I don’t know.” I stare Rogan down. “I blame you.”

“Me?” He points to his chest. “Why me?”

I shrug. “You’re the only Knightly in the room, and Reid’s your brother. Therefore you get the blame.” The kettle starts to whistle, and Harper hops up to grab it.

“Let me get this straight. You’re mad at Reid because he had a crush on you when you were kids?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“But why?”

“Didn’t you just hear what I said?” I ask, as if it’s not late and I didn’t just wake him up. “He’s weakening me.”

“But don’t you want to be with him?”

Harper takes that moment to pass us mugs of tea before sitting down next to me. From the scowl on Rogan’s face, I can tell he’s not happy about her choice in seating.

“Yes, but that’s beside the point.”

“Actually”—Rogan blows on his tea—“it seems like exactly the point.”

Scowling, I turn to Harper. “This guy is making me mad.”

“Well, you did barge into his house at eleven at night.”

“Oh, excuse me, I wasn’t aware you two are old farts and go to bed so early.”

“We go to bed at a normal adult time,” Rogan says. “That is, after we fuck all over this house.”

Harper rolls her eyes. “Can you not say fuck? We don’t fuck; we make love.”

“Babe.” Rogan looks her square in the eye. “What we did against the wall earlier today was not making love—that was straight-up fucking.”

“Ughh,” I growl. “Can you not shove your perfect relationship in my face? I’m dealing with an ill-tempered, terribly mannered asshole who can’t seem to decide what he wants in his life, and for some godforsaken reason, I’m in love with him. I need some advice.”

“What do you want us to say?” Rogan asks, looking confused.

“I don’t know, honestly. I really have no idea.” I take a sip of tea, feeling deflated. “We could have had so much more, and I think that’s what I keep coming back to. If we’d gotten together back when we were in high school, we could have been—”

“It never would have lasted,” Rogan cuts in, shaking his head.

“Hey.” Harper sits up, scowling. “Why would you say that?”

“Because I know my brother, and he wouldn’t have been able to do long distance, not at eighteen. He would have driven her away when he went to culinary school. And even if he didn’t, he would have for sure driven her away after the restaurant closed. He would have broken Eve’s heart.”

“Well, I have a broken heart now,” I shoot back.

“But it’s mendable,” Rogan says. “You and I both know that. I see the way you look at him, the longing in your eyes. It’s not over, Eve. But the question you have to ask yourself is, How long are you going to hold out until you finally give in to what you truly want?”

“I hate how intelligent you’re being.”

He chuckles. “Sorry, Eve, I wish I could get on the screw Reid bandwagon—even though it’s very appealing—but we all know what this really comes down to. It’s not about his hidden feelings or about how insufferable he can be—it’s about the fact that you truly love him for who he is. And he may not be perfect, but we all know that he’s perfect for you.”