London Falling (Falling #2)(63)
God, that pet name annoyed me. Her name is f*cking London I wanted to scream, but held back.
“Continue,” I answered calmly and took a sip of the cocktail. The bubbles from the tonic water soothed my scratchy throat and the booze helped ease my frustration.
“Bridge is the most important woman to me. Hell, she’s the most important person in the world to me. She’s the only family I have. When I called two weeks ago, I really didn’t intend to break up your night. I was completely hammered and about to make the worst decision of my life. Not only was I planning on having sex with two women who would have probably given me an STD, they were pushing me to get high with them--high as in snort and smoke crack cocaine. I’m an addict, Collier. I’d been clean for over four years now. But in that instant, I wanted it so badly. Partly, because of you.”
“Me! Bollocks!” How dare he blame me for his relapse? His shenanigans?
Before I could call him on his shite he continued. “Yes, you! I knew the night before Bridge met up with you that I’d lost a piece of her. It was only ever me and James who had any real effect on her. But somehow, I knew you had changed everything. When she talked about you, she had a light in her eyes. That sparkle was so bright it burned me to look at her. Her smile was so big she couldn’t contain it. You did that for her.” He propped his elbows on his knees and pushed his hands into his hair. “You gave her something I could never give her. You made her whole.”
“So you decided because she didn’t want you the way you wanted her, you’d go off half-cocked and call on her to save you?”
“In a way. Maybe subconsciously. I don’t know. All I know is that I’m not in love with Bridge the way you think. I love her more than anyone and I would never deny her the happiness you clearly can give her.”
“Damn right, I’ll make her happy. I plan on fixing that dark place in her, filling it with love, not with meaningless sex. I’m in love with her, Tripp. Do you understand that?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“And I think maybe if she wasn’t so worried about you and your shite, she could love me too!”
“I understand.” His voice cracked and he swallowed.
“Do you? Do you really? You’re going to have to take a bit of a step back and let her go. Are you prepared to do that? For her? For her happiness?” My voice was so tight and restrained, it took extreme effort not to growl in anger. I wanted to tell him how incredibly selfish he’d been, how he was done using my girl as his own personal safe house.
“I’m prepared to do anything to make her happy. You’re what makes her happy. But I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to lose her in my life.”
My eyes narrowed as the reality of what he said sunk in. He wasn’t giving up on their friendship and wouldn’t walk away. Any man would be a sodden fool if they walked away from my Beauty, even as a best mate.
“You’ll agree to give her some space? Allow her to find herself and what this thing between us could be?”
Tripp nodded solemnly. “It will be hard, but I can do anything for her. And though you think I’m a needy bastard, I plan on sticking around. That means you and I need to find a way to get past our issues. Got me?”
“Message received. But not now. Right now I need time to cool down. I have a woman to woo, one in which I haven’t seen in a fortnight.”
“I get it. Go get her. She’s been waiting.”
“And I for her. Thank you, Tripp. I don’t know if we’ve worked through everything, but I think we’ve come to a solid understanding about the lovely woman in our lives. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Neither am I,” he challenged.
I smiled. “Touché. Come on, mate. I need another drink. Liquid courage and all that.”
Chapter - 16
He appeared in front of me as if in a dream, standing at the end of the hall leaning his toned form against a sideboard. He looked calm and collected. His arms and legs were crossed casually. Layers of wheat colored hair fell enticingly over his brow. Those perfect lips quirked up into a slow grin as he looked me up and down. The dark gray suit he wore perfectly set off his skin tone. He was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. There he was. The man I’d wanted to see for an eternity was there, in the flesh, waiting for me. Everything around me ceased to exist.
We spent long moments just staring at one another from down the hall, assessing the other. I felt nothing but love and acceptance spiral and plow into me like a breeze of fresh air from a window just opened. I lifted the length of the silver gown I wore. When I looked up, my target set on a sexy Englishman, his long arms opened wide, welcoming me from a distance. Bats straight from hell wouldn’t keep me from my man. At a dead run, I plowed into his embrace, so hard I feared we might break the mirror on the wall behind him. I needn’t have worried. Collier was strong enough to catch me.
Before anything was said, I covered his lips with mine. Holding his head captive, my hands caressed his cheeks and chin. I poured everything into the kiss: the hurt, the anger, the remorse, the lost time. All of it. He took it in, gobbled it up and gave me back acceptance, gratitude and desire. Every speck of my body that could touch him was pressed deeply against his. I slid my tongue into his mouth, over and over until I couldn’t catch my breath. Winded, I pulled away and searched his golden brown eyes.