The Crush (28)

“I’m always nice.”

Tim chuckled, and briefly, I wondered if I should have been worried.

The two men left through the front door, and in the vacuum of silence, I let out a deep breath.

“You’re here for her,” Greer said. Her face was calm, her tone even. But her eyes were sharp and clear with interest.

Parker gave me a look. There was a warning there, probably meant to keep Greer out of whatever I was trying to do.

“I am.”

She folded her hands in her lap. “And how do you think it’s going for you so far?”

My answering grin was wry. “Not quite as smoothly as I’d hoped.”

“I warned him about surprising her,” Parker said. “It’s annoying how stubborn he is when he knows what he wants.”

“Then they’re well-matched,” Greer said. That pulled the smallest of smiles on my face. But it faded when she spoke up again. “Or they’re doomed. I haven’t decided.”

“Is it up to you to decide?” I asked.

Her lips quirked. “Of course not. It’s up to you and Adaline. But I tell you what, quarterback. She knows her own mind.”

“It’s one of the things I like most about her. Adaline has always been completely comfortable in who she is.”

Greer liked that answer. “Very true. All the Wilders are. For good or for bad.”

For a moment, I considered that distinction. Looked at Adaline through that lens. “How is that bad?” Greer paused, so I amended my question. “I’m not looking for a bullet point list of how to win your sister over. I’m well aware of all her reservations. I’m just … looking for some insight, I guess.”

“Because your romantic plan is…” Parker paused, mimicking an explosion with a dramatic sound effect.

“Helpful. Thank you.”

Greer laughed. “You know our oldest brother, Erik, right?”

I nodded. “Sure. I remember when he played for Washington, but I didn’t know him too well until he married Lydia Pierson. Our moms have been best friends my whole life.”

“Erik has classic oldest child perfectionist issues. He wanted exactly what our parents created and when he couldn’t do that with his first wife, he shut down to everything. His intentions were good, he had excellent reasons for being that way. But until he met the right person—Lydia—he would’ve stayed right where he was, firm and sure in who he was.”

“Adaline isn’t like Erik, though. She wants romance. She wants love in her life.”

“She does,” Greer said gently. “But she just came out of a relationship with someone who couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t put him before everything else.”

“I’m not him.”

“I don’t think you are. The way you look at her? That’s how someone should look at Adaline. Like they’d do anything for her.”

I clenched my jaw. The fact that her sister could see it so clearly should’ve worried me. But I couldn’t dredge up the energy to hide it when I was around her. It would be too hard to pretend.

Parker was unusually quiet in his seat, watching my exchange with his stepsister.

“You still think I’m crazy?” I asked him.

After a sigh, he shook his head. “No, man. I don’t. The two of you…” He paused, another one of those unspoken looks with his sister. “You work. You fit. I never saw it with Nick, but I can see it with you.”

All the things I was trying to keep contained thrashed and trembled, looking for an outlet. She was up in her room, hiding from the building intensity between us. Maybe if we’d seen each other before this, it would’ve unfolded in the same way.

Maybe it would’ve changed the trajectory of her relationship with Nick, because I wasn’t sure we were capable of being in each other’s orbit without feeling it.

When she came to me all those years ago, a moment of vulnerability I wasn’t prepared for or emotionally ready for, it was a beginning. At the time, it felt like an ending. But it didn’t anymore.

I couldn’t help but think of a leaking pipe, and how long something could drip, drip, drip quietly beneath the surface. That’s what the last five years were for me. Only the slightest awareness that something was there. Enough to pretend it wasn’t vital.

As time passed, the pressure built and built, pushing on the seams of the place where it was hidden. There was no way to ignore it anymore. I didn’t want to. I didn’t think she did either.

I leaned forward, resting my head in my hands and fought the urge to go up the stairs and knock on her door.

Even though I wasn’t worried, I still wanted her. I wanted to make the most of this time.

More than anything, I wanted to slide my hands into her hair and see what sound she’d make when I kissed her. I wanted to know what the soft skin of her neck tasted like. I wanted to feel her tremble and shake around me because she would.

The sexual tension between us was unreal, something ripe and full that had my blood racing.

And if I went to her now, I could probably do all the things I wanted. Could discover the answers to all my questions. With very little effort, I’d be able to add them to my list of things I knew about Adaline now.

I raised my head, locking my gaze on her sister. “I’m assuming you know what she said on the swings.”