And Then There Were Two
“Ishould be flattered I made it to the top two. Me and the coffee guy?” Decker asks.
I nod and sink onto the couch. He shifts from the arm to the cushion. “Yeah.”
His phone buzzes on the floor, but he doesn’t glance at it. All Decker focuses on is me, and I can’t help but think about my Playboy date and his fake popularity.
“Do you need to get that?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Nothing is more important right now than talking with you. I have to ask you, though, if you’ve talked to your brother recently.”
Grimacing, I shake my head. “No, I’ve kind of been avoiding him.”
“He’s bringing his girl home. I’m moving into a one-bedroom apartment.”
“Where?” I ask quickly.
I’m already picturing awkward joint custody of Rhys. He may have bought the puppy for me, but Rhys is just as much Decker’s as he is mine.
“Here. Same building. But he wants more space for his girlfriend.”
“I guess I have to look for a new place, too.”
This wasn’t what I expected us to talk about, and now I’m in a flurry of panic. What if I can’t find a place that allows dogs that I can afford? And is in a decent location?
“Holly?”
I snap up and look at him. “Yeah?”
“You made a decision?”
“Oh, yeah,” I say.
For the first time in my life, Decker Thomas looks nervous. His Adam’s apple bobs as he locks eyes with me. “And?”
“What do you see when you think about your future?”
His tongue slides over his lip, the piercing catching my attention and yanking me back to the memories of how great it felt on various parts of my body. Skills I’m aching to revisit.
“In a perfect world, I see you. And Rhys. We’re living together. Maybe a little house. Talking about a family—kids or animals, whatever we want.”
“Really?”
He shakes his head. “That’s what I’d like. But the truth is, when I think about the future, the only thing I know for sure is that two people will always be in it. You and your brother. I just hope you’re there as my girl, not my best friend’s little sister.”
“How does it work? I don’t know Decker Thomas as a boyfriend.”
Taking my hand, he toys with my knuckles. “I don’t really know how to be a boyfriend. Besides the sex part—I’m solid there.”
That cocky grin is back. I can’t refute his claim.
“I see myself spending my free time with the woman I’m madly in love with. The woman I’ve probably always been in love with, if I’m honest. The only one who has ever challenged me before.”
“What did you just say?”
Interlocking our fingers, he brings my hand to his mouth and kisses it before gazing into my eyes. “I’m in love with you, Holly Jordan. I know I have to figure out the one-woman thing, but I know I can do it—with you. Only with you.”
My heart pounds. “Why only with me?”
“Because we were friends first. Unless you picked the coffee guy. Then we’re still just friends.”
He loves me. Decker Thomas loves me, and I’m lightheaded. It’s like I can’t get enough oxygen to my lungs. I have to be dreaming. Right? There’s no way.
But I focus on our hands joined together, and I’m suddenly grounded. Brought back and in reality. It’s true.
I let out a shaky breath. “I couldn’t get you off my mind. No matter what, you were always there. I just didn’t know how this would work knowing your history—”
“It’s different with you. It will be different.”
“How?”
“Because the last person in the world I ever want to hurt is you. Everything I do now, I think about you. What would Holly think? What would Holly want me to do? Would Holly be upset if I did this? I’ve never thought about one person this much in my life.”
This makes me smile. “Really?”
“Really. It scares me, but I’ve never been one to run away scared. You’re the reason I’ve been taking time to think. Why does this scare me?”
“And what did you come up with?”
“Because nothing has ever felt so important before. You make me think. And feel. I’ve spent my life living for the next woman to take home for an hour or two, and then I went about my life. You’ve made me realize how empty that is.”
Pointing at my chest, I lift my eyebrows. “Me?”
“I have never wanted to just be around someone before. Watching TV. Cooking dinner. Talking about our days. No one has ever done that to me before.”
The look in his eyes takes my breath away. He means every word he says. “Not the sex?”
“Baby, I’ve never wanted to have sex with anyone like I do with you. But it’s not just the sex.”
“So, when you imagine cooking dinner with me in the kitchen, we’re fully clothed?”
“Sometimes.” He smirks and looks down at our hands. “Holly, put me out of my misery, here. Am I making a fool out of myself by admitting all of this to you?”
“What?”
Sniffling, Decker shifts to gaze into my eyes. “I want this, Holly. I want this more than I’ve wanted anything in my life, but I don’t know for sure whether you chose me or the coffee guy. Did I just admit everything for nothing? Or maybe you don’t believe me enough to trust me.”
No, I believe him. “I wasn’t sure if you were serious. That you’d still want me when there wasn’t any competition,” I admit, my voice quiet.
“And now? Do you believe I’m serious?”
“There may be moments where I doubt it, but that’ll just take time.”
A smile starts to spread across his face, but it stops. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up too high. “Does that mean you choose me?”
“I choose you, Decker,” I whisper. “It was always you.”
“Thank God.” He releases my hand to cup my face and kisses me. “You have no idea how hard it’s been keeping my hands off of you.”
“Trust me, I know.”
“I’m also really tired of fucking my own hand.”
Climbing onto his lap, I kiss his neck. “It’s been torture for me, too.”
“I fucking need you, Holly.”