Nobody Does It Better(23)

Smiling, I feel a little giddy at the memory. Crazy for you isn’t love, but surely it’s a start. It’s something to build on. “I’m willing to take a chance.”

“But what if it doesn’t work out? What happens to us?” she asks, and that’s when I understand Perri’s biggest concern. Us. Somehow, this crazy loon thinks a man could ruin our friendship.

I scoff and laugh at the same time. “Do you really think we’re not going to be friends if it doesn’t work out?”

“Yes. He’s my brother. I can’t change that fact. And what if it doesn’t work out and you’re done with me by extension?”

Cracking up, I rap my knuckles on her temple. “You’re insane. You’re not getting rid of me so easily. No matter what, we’re still friends, and that’s not going to change.”

She exhales deeply, and her remaining hard edges seem to soften. “I don’t want him to hurt you. If he does, I will have his you-know-what in a sling.”

“I don’t want him to hurt me either, but I also don’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering what might’ve happened with him. I don’t want to compare other men to him. I want to know if we can be what I want us to be. And I want your blessing.”

A tear rolls down her cheek. “All I want is for you to be happy. If that big idiot makes you happy, go for it.”

I couldn’t be happier right now. I love my friend so damn much. I throw my arms around her and pull her in for a hug. We both cry. They’re not tears of sadness. They’re tears of letting go of the one thing that stood between us.

The floorboards creak.

We separate, and I turn to see Shaw and Derek entering the living room. Shaw’s dressed now, wearing jeans and his sweater from yesterday. Looks like he’s dragged his fingers through his hair to comb it.

He clears his throat. “So, there’s something I want to tell you, Vanessa.” His eyes swim with hope and vulnerability.

But I speak first, saying out loud words I’ve held inside me for so long. “I’m in love with you.”





14





Shaw





Derek glares. “Just tell her, man.”

“Vanessa?” I raise an eyebrow as I tug on my sweater.

He leans against the door of the bedroom. “Yes. But in this case, I mean my bride. Tell Perri you’re going to do right by her friend. That’s all she needs to know. I assure you.”

“You assure me?”

“Trust me. No one knows her better than I do. Now, get out there, get your woman, and sort it out with your sister.”

My woman.

That’s the answer I’ve been searching for.

When it comes to Vanessa, I don’t want what I can’t have. I don’t want a one-night fling. I don’t want a friendship.

I want all of her for all of me.

It’s now. I’m telling her.

I leave the bedroom, run my fingers through my hair, and head down the hall. I’m going for it completely. Nothing is going to stop me.

Not even her when she spots me.

“I’m in love with you.”

Nope. Nothing is stopping me. Not even the best words anyone has ever said to me. Words that touch down in my heart and burrow inside it, making me so damn happy. I’m a man on a mission.

I stride across the living room, reach for Vanessa’s hand, pull her up from the couch, and wrap my arms around her. “I’m in love with you too.”

She melts against me, warm and snuggly and wonderful. I press a kiss to her hair. “I think I have been for a long, long time.”

Somewhere behind me I swear I hear Derek murmur, “I fucking knew it.”

I ignore him because Vanessa looks up at me with a huge goofy grin on her face. “Same here,” she says. “It’s been since high school for me.”

I feel like I’m made of gold. “Is that so?”

She loops her arms around my neck. “What can I say? I had a crush, and it never stopped.”

Perri clears her throat, and I let go of Vanessa but take her hand in mine as I turn to my not-a-banshee-anymore sibling. “Perri, I love you like a sister.”

She rolls her eyes.

“And I never went for it with Vanessa because I respected your wishes. But here’s the thing.” I look her straight in the eyes. “You might think I’m not serious, but that’s because I save it for work. I save it for my job. I save it for when I have to save lives—just like you do.”

Perri sighs but then nods, and I know she understands me deeply. On this, we’ve always connected. She’s a cop, I’m a fireman—and we both do what we do to help others.

“I need a little levity outside of work. That’s why I make jokes, keep it light. You get me?”

“I do,” she says softly.

“So you might not see that side of me, but I have it. I have it when I walk into burning buildings. When I answer heart attack calls in the middle of the night. When we rush to an accident on the highway. Same as you.”

“I understand.”

“And the other thing I don’t joke about is this woman.” I squeeze Vanessa’s hand harder and turn to face her. “I fucking love you so much. So much that you simply can’t go to the wedding with Jamie. You’re going with me.”