That Secret Crush (Getting Lucky #3)(98)

I swipe at my face and push my shoulders back, trying to put on a strong front. But he sees right through it and kneels down in front of me, swiveling my chair to face him. All the nerves from the restaurant, all the feelings I have for this man, come crashing together at the same time, and before I can stop myself, tears stream down my face.

“Eve, talk to me,” Reid says, placing both hands on my thighs and moving them up and down. The comforting gesture feels like an electric shock, lighting me up inside and confusing my emotions even more. “Did my dad say anything to upset you?”

“No.” I shake my head with a quiet sob and take a deep breath before wiping my eyes again. “I’m sorry. I’m stronger than this.” With another deep breath, I lean back and reach for a tissue on my desk. I quickly blow my nose and toss the tissue in the trash. “Okay.” I shake my shoulders. “Sorry about that. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Yeah, you can tell me why you’re crying.”

“I’m not crying anymore, so no need to talk about it.” Another tear falls, and I quickly wipe it away and plaster on a fake smile. “See, all good.”

“Not buying it.” He takes my hands, his thumbs circling over my knuckles. Everything about him is warm and comforting. “Talk to me, Eve.”

Damn it. More tears start to fall. Isn’t that always the case when you’re trying to hold back the tears? You can keep them at bay until someone asks you what’s wrong.

Knowing he won’t let up on his questions, I look down at our connected hands and say, “Just nervous about the soft opening. This is big, and I don’t want to screw anything up.”

“Is that all?” He tilts my chin again to get a good look at my face.

I nibble on my bottom lip as I contemplate confessing to him. My conversation with Harper and Rogan has been festering in my head, building and building, driving me nuts, and creating almost a false sense of courage within me.

Even if he’s not perfect, he’s perfect for you.

That one sentence. It’s been on constant replay in my head, becoming more and more true with each breath I take.

Can I take another chance on him? Throw my heart on the table one more time and risk him breaking it all over again?

I stare into his blue eyes, and I realize that, of all the risks that come in life, there’s only one I’m not willing to take, and that’s not giving us one more chance.

I look off to the side, my voice drifting off into a hushed whisper as I say, “You.”

“Me, what?”

“Having you here, holding me. Your kind gestures, your surprises, your pursuit. It’s all too much for me, Reid. I want to hate you, but . . .”

“But what?” he asks, leaning closer, anticipation brimming in his eyes.

“But I can’t seem”—I pause and steady my shaking hands—“I can’t seem to stop my heart from wanting you.”

An irresistible grin passes over his lips. “You want me.” The words are filled with his usual cocky attitude. My tears quickly dry up as I palm his face and push him away from me.

“Forget I even said anything.”

“No way in hell.” He stands and pulls me up with him as his arms loop around my waist. Seeming not to care about whoever sees us, he presses his forehead against mine. “Come over tonight. Let me make you dinner. We won’t have time to fish and have the perfect date, but we can at least share the night before opening.”

“I don’t know,” I answer, my protest sounding pathetic even to me.

“Please, Eve. Let me apologize to you properly; let me make this up to you. When I said I wanted to make things right, I meant it.”

I said I’d listen with an open heart when he came to me, but it’s a little harder than I thought to put aside how much it hurt when he broke up with me. The look in his eyes, that desperate plea to try one more time—this is why I’m bending, why I can’t seem to turn this man away. No matter how cautious my brain is, my heart wins every single time.

“Tonight?” I ask. “I have plans.” I smile.

“What are you doing? Washing your hair?”

“Close, shaving my legs.”

He chuckles. “Come over, please. I promise it will be worth taking time away from shaving your legs.”

“I don’t know . . . I really treasure that time.”

He pulls me into a hug and presses his lips to the side of my head. The rippling muscles beneath his thin shirt press against me and quicken my pulse. “It will be worth it. We’re worth it.”

And with that final dagger to the heart, I nod and agree to meet him for dinner.

Who was I kidding? My need for this man was going to win one way or another. I’m just surprised I was able to put up this much of a fight.





CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE





EVE


The door flies open, and Reid heaves a sigh of relief. “Ten minutes late—way to make a guy sweat.”

Laughing, I step into his houseboat and take my shoes off right before he pulls me into his arms. “Sorry, Eric wanted to go over a few things before I took off.”

“I thought you weren’t going to show. I was about to drown my sorrows in some lobster bisque.”