Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59445 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59445 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Now I knew what I wanted, what I needed more than anything on this planet.
“Brynn,” I whispered as we sat back down, Savannah and Hendrix turning to face each other. “I need you to know—”
“Shh,” she whispered again. “Reception. Okay? This is their moment.”
I swallowed hard, relief pulsing through me at her declaration.
“Reception,” I agreed, relishing the way her arm brushed mine as we watched our friends get married. Hendrix was getting the happily ever after he deserved, and I could only hope after tonight, I’d be given the chance to fight for mine too.
The reception was well underway by the time Brynn was finally alone, sitting at a round table near the dance floor. Hendrix and Savannah were on their who-knows-how-many dance, laughing and talking and kissing like the newlyweds they were.
There were other couples on the dance floor around them, all of them soaking up the time to spend with friends and family to celebrate the happy union.
I should be out there too, but the only person I wanted to dance with was Brynn, and we had some talking to do before I could ask such a ridiculous question.
“Is this seat taken?” I asked as I approached the table.
“Nope,” Brynn said, her tone light and easy, not showing a hint of strain. It’d been that way all last week too, and we’d even laughed together when I mentioned what Ethan had said to Doyle at the game she’d missed.
Things felt almost normal between us, and while I appreciated that there was less tension, I was still hanging on by a thread.
I sat down, immediately scooting my chair to be closer to hers. My knee brushed hers under the table, and she gasped slightly at the accidental touch.
“We need to talk,” I said, and she nodded. “But first, I want you to listen.”
She raised her brows, but made no move to speak, so I pushed on.
“I’ve missed you,” I admitted. “I respect your need for space and will continue to give it to you if that’s what you need, but I miss my friend. I miss laughing with you and watching reality TV with you. I miss taking care of you when you’re sick or watching the pure joy on your face when we go on an adventure. I miss you calling me on my bullshit and making sure I don’t fall into the stereotypical asshole rich-guy status. I miss the way you sneak romance novels onto my shelves of non-fiction and I miss the way you’d sometimes add extra sweetener to my coffee just to see if I’d notice.”
She laughed at that, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
“I miss everything about you, Brynn,” I continued. “And yeah, I do miss you as my assistant, because let’s be honest, no one could ever replace you, but I miss you more. I know when I asked for your help those years ago I put you in a tough position, folding you into a life you never asked for. I was a prick for never realizing how much I’d entangled you in all things me, but it always felt so natural with you there, I never thought things should be different. And mostly, I should’ve told you every single day about how much you saved me.”
She visibly swallowed, and I dared to reach across the table and take her hand.
“You saved me then, and you’ve saved me every day since.” My voice was rough, but every word I spoke was truth. “You saved me with the way you never left my side, the way you supported me with your brilliant mind and your incredibly kind heart. You saved me by loving me for who I was, not what I owned or ran or could give you. You saved me by showing me that partnerships can work and be healthy and meaningful, unlike what my father always showed me. Meeting you all those years ago was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m sorry I was a coward for never telling you before. I’m sorry that I got comfortable having your life tied to mine and never took a second to think about the need for you to have one outside of me.” I shook my head. “I’m a selfish bastard when it comes to you, and I know that’s one place I went wrong. I never wanted to keep you from your dreams, and I’m sorry I never told you that you were my biggest one.”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and I swiped it away.
“Have you checked your email?”
“What?” she asked, whiplash jolting her features.
“Have you checked your email today?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Why—”
“Do it,” I said. “Please.”
She took her hand from mine, then pulled her phone out of her purse, scrolling on the screen. Her eyes widened as she found the email, then looked to me and the screen and back again.