Chapter 42
DANNY
Shit.
I take in the glare that Cruz is pinning me with. Actually, glare isn’t the right word—it’s way, way too nice.
Right now my best friend is looking at me like he wants to murder me. Like he wants to rip me to shreds.
My heart rattles in my chest. Yeah, I’m scared shitless, but I also deserve this. He just saw me making out with his little sister and pawing at her body…
He takes a step toward me, fists clenched at his sides, nostrils flaring.
I don’t move. I don’t run away. I don’t say a word to try and get him to stop or reconsider.
I deserve this.
I went behind his back and dated his little sister. I more than deserve the ass-kicking he’s about to unleash on me.
I stand up straight, steeling myself. Every muscle in my body tenses.
I’m ready.
Before he makes it two steps, Eden steps between us.
“Cruz, don’t you dare,” she barks at him.
“Not right now, Eden,” Cruz says through gritted teeth.
I catch the flash in her eyes. Now she’s the one aiming a murderous glare.
She moves forward and plants her hand on Cruz’s chest, stilling him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Cruz scoffs. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going to kick the shit out of Danny.”
She shoves him again. This time he stumbles back. His expression shifts to confused for a split second before he shakes his head and resumes glaring at me.
“No, you’re not,” Eden says.
“Like hell I’m not.”
“Oh really? What gives you the right to physically assault your best friend?”
“Because he had his hands all over you, Eden.”
“And?”
Cruz stammers. “What do you mean?—”
“I wanted his hands all over me, Cruz.”
His jaw unhinges. Then he makes a face like he’s just tasted something gross.
“I don’t want to hear about that,” her brother groans.
“Too bad. If you couldn’t tell, I was into the way Danny was kissing me, the way he was touching me.”
Cruz stumbles back, the look of disgust etching deeper into his face. “Good god, please stop.”
“Listen to me, Cruz. Danny and I have been seeing each other.”
She quickly and calmly explains how she created Dream Guy and has been secretly working on building her business while calling it a freelance coding job to him and their parents. She tells him that she recruited me to work for her app and how after spending so much time working together, we started to develop feelings.
I almost speak up to support her, but I stop myself. I take in how tall she stands, how confident her tone is, how she’s looking her brother straight in the eye as she says all of this. Zero hesitation. One hundred percent strength.
She doesn’t need me to interrupt and offer my two cents. She’s handling this perfectly on her own.
That’s exactly how she’s used to being treated by her family—as the baby, as the one to always protect and look after and speak over and make decisions for.
Not anymore though. She’s taking charge. She’s speaking her mind—speaking for herself right here, right now, when it counts the most.
“Danny and I are in a relationship whether you like it or not,” she says in that firm, calm tone that conveys that she means business and isn’t taking any shit. “This caveman, protective big brother crap you’re trying to pull isn’t going to fly with me anymore.”
I stand back, watching in awe as Eden takes her older brother to task.
“I get that you and Danny and the rest of your friends have some long-standing, ridiculous unspoken agreement not to date each other’s siblings. And that was all well and good when we were kids. But we’re adults now. If you haven’t noticed, I am an adult. I can make my own decisions about who I choose to date. You said so yourself just a few minutes ago in front of Mom and Dad.”
Eden jabs her index finger at the ground with each sentence she speaks, like she’s punctuating all of the points she’s making.
“I appreciate that you’ve always cared about me and been protective of me. You’re the best big brother in the world. But I’m not going to tolerate you treating me like I’m some helpless baby who forever needs your protection. I’m capable and independent. I’ve always lived my life how I want. I don’t need you policing my love life.”
Eden steps back to stand next to me. I scoop her hand in mine. She glances up at me, that fiery look still in her eyes. But her smile is soft and gentle. It makes my heart race for a totally different reason.
She squeezes my hand; I squeeze it back. My chest swells. I can’t believe this woman—this fierce and bold and brilliant woman—is mine. And I just watched as she defended me and our relationship.
God, I love her.
My heart skids as I take in what I just quietly admitted to myself.
Cruz exhales sharply, pulling me back to the present. Oh, right. I’m about to get my ass kicked.
He looks dazed, but then a moment later that angry frown is back. His pissed-off gaze bounces between me and Eden.
“The idea of you two together makes me uncomfortable,” he says in a quiet voice. The anger is still simmering underneath though. I can hear it in the curtness of his tone, how his hands are still in fists at his sides.
“That’s fine. You can feel however you want about us,” Eden says. “That doesn’t change how we feel about each other. And your feelings have no bearing on our relationship.”
“I get it, Cruz,” I say after a moment.
He looks like he’s going to tear my head from my torso, but I press on.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about us sooner,” I say. “I almost did, the other night at your condo, but I chickened out…” I tug a hand through my hair. “That’s not the point. Eden is right. You’re my best friend. You’re like a brother to me—you always have been. But you don’t have the right to dictate who she dates.”
She squeezes my hand. From the corner of my eye, I see her smiling up at me.
“I know you think I’m not good enough for her,” I say to Cruz. “And you’d be right. I’m not. She’s amazing. Beyond amazing actually. I’m lucky she even gives me the time of day. And I know you don’t give a shit about this right now, but I’m going to try my hardest to be the kind of man she deserves.”
He scoffs. “That’s rich,” he mutters.
“Cruz, stop it.”
He ignores his sister’s scolding, keeping his irate gaze focused on me.
“You’re fresh out of a broken engagement, Danny. And now you’re using my little sister as a rebound? Real classy.”
His words hit like a punch to my gut. I’d expect strangers, even other friends of mine to assume that my relationship with Eden is a rebound, but not Cruz. He’s been my closest friend for the longest time. He’s seen me at my best and my worst. How could he ever think I’d use his sister like that?
I catch Eden’s worried expression as she looks at me. As much as what Cruz said stings, that look on Eden’s face feels worse. She doesn’t think I’d ever do that to her, does she?
I swallow back the bitter taste in my mouth, clear my throat, and gear to up to say something in return to Cruz, but Eden beats me to it.
“Wow, Cruz. That’s a shitty thing to say.”
He shrugs, that steely look still on his face. “It’s the truth.”
Her expression is a mix of pained and pissed. She shakes her head before leading me by the hand to walk past him.
“Screw you, Cruz.”
We walk off, not stopping until we’re out of the hotel and standing at my car. Eden releases my hand before slumping against the passenger side, hugging her arms around herself.
“Hey.” I wrap my arms around her and hug her tight. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not though.” Her voice is muffled against my chest. “I can’t believe he said that about you.”
“He’s angry. And shocked. People say messed up things when they’re caught off guard.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
I kiss the top of her head. “I know. He just needs some time to process the thought of us together.”
She leans back to look at me. “I don’t care what he needs. He has no right to act like such an asshole.”
I nod and tuck a chunk of her wavy black hair behind her ear. I take a breath and cup a hand over her cheek. “I hope this goes without saying, but in case it doesn’t, you’re not a rebound, Eden. Not even close.”
A soft smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. “I know.”
The relief I feel when she says that melts away the stress knot in my chest. I kiss her forehead, relishing the soft hum she makes.
“Cruz is right to say that I’m just months out of my breakup because that’s the truth. But I swear, that has nothing to do with my relationship with you, Eden. Things with my ex were never going to last. We weren’t right for each other, I see that now. Yeah, maybe it’s weird that we started up the way that we did, but my feelings for you are true. They’re real. They’re the realest fucking thing I’ve ever felt.”
My heart pounds as I say this to her. Even in the damp chill of the evening, I’m burning hot. I feel it all over my body. Underneath my suit, my skin burns. It feels like my blood is on fire. I gaze down at Eden, taking in the brightness in her eyes, how her gaze reads intense and soft all at once.
I’m hot for her, but it’s so much more than that. My feelings for this woman surpass anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. I want to make her happy. I want to make her laugh. I want to take her to bed and make her scream my name. I want to hold her. I want to take care of her. I want her. Only her.
“I know this is fast,” I say, when I catch my breath. “I know we’ve only been together for a few months. But I’m absolutely out of my mind over you, Eden.”
The most beautiful smile graces her gorgeous face.
“I know this probably isn’t the greatest timing, giving it’s been such an emotionally charged night with your parents and your brother, but?—”
With her hands on my face, she yanks me down to her mouth. The kiss she gives me leaves me so dizzy, I trip over my own feet. When we break apart, I grip my hands on her waist to steady myself.
“I feel the exact same way about you, Danny.” Her chest heaves with her admission. “I’m wild about you too.”
I kiss her until I lose track of the seconds, of where I’m standing, of what day it is, of what planet we’re on. She pulls away, gasping, leaning her forehead on mine.
“Let’s get out of here,” she rasps.
“Where do you want to go?”
She blesses me with my favorite smile—the one that’s somehow mischievous and angelic all at once. The one that leaves me weak in the knees, aching for more.
“Anywhere as long as it’s with you.”