Chapter Twenty-Four
Y ou love me?” A soft smile lit Em’s eyes.
“More than anything in the world. Deep down, I guess I’ve always known that. But I was afraid of ruining what we had. Worried that our friendship wouldn’t necessarily translate into a romantic relationship. Afraid to risk it because you’re not just a friend. You’re family, Em. I have always loved you, and I always will.”
“I’ve waited so long to hear those words from you.” Em’s dark brown eyes welled with tears. “But my expectations for a relationship haven’t changed. I’m not looking for a friends-with-benefits arrangement. So if you’re not interested in anything serious, Nick, I’ll understand. Just please be honest with me and with yourself about it. Because that’s the level of commitment I need at this stage in my life.”
Nick was so damn proud of Em for standing up for herself and demanding what she needed. For prompting him to set aside his fears and go for the one thing he really wanted.
“All I want is you. Just you, Em. Now and always. I was just so afraid I’d lose you.”
Em’s expression softened. She slid her arms around his neck. “Why would you think you’d lose me?”
Nick laughed bitterly. “Have you ever known me to have a successful long-term relationship?”
“Yes. With me.” She tightened her grip around his neck. “Been your ride or die since day one, and you’ve been mine.”
“True.” Nick stroked her cheek. “But it’s not exactly the same thing, Em.”
“Maybe not. But we are the same people. We’ve loved and gone to battle for each other most of our lives. Why would this be any different?”
“The stakes are so much higher when hearts are on the line. I kept thinking, what if I screw this up the way I’ve blown every other relationship? I couldn’t bear the thought of my life without you in it, Em. These past few weeks… they’ve been hell for me.”
“Me, too. I think my family was five seconds away from disowning my temperamental ass,” she joked.
“They would never do that,” Nick said. “But losing my relationship with your family and our friends was a genuine concern for me. They were amazing and supportive the night of your dance exhibition, and I appreciate that. But if they were ever forced to choose a side… it would shatter my relationship with each of them.”
“I hadn’t considered why the stakes felt so much higher for you. That you had so much more to lose. I wished you’d told me sooner,” Em said.
“The night we made love, I was literally in the bathroom mirror practicing how I was going to tell you that I loved you. When I came out, you were pissed, and you wanted me to leave. Didn’t seem like the right time.”
“You were going to tell me that night?” Em’s eyes widened with shock. “Babe, I’m so sorry. I freaked when I saw those messages about you hooking up with someone else.”
“Listen to me, Em. I did not have plans with anyone else that night. I swear.” Nick stroked her cheek, his eyes locked with hers. “I’ve been so damn preoccupied with this Soulmate Project of yours—worrying that you’d find someone else—I honestly can’t recall the last time I’ve been out on a date. So I promise you, there was only one thing on my mind then and now. That’s being with you.”
“I believe you, Nick. But I was on this incredible high, and then I saw those messages. It was so devastating.”
“Why? I was there with you . Because it’s you I want. Not anyone else.”
She furrowed her brows. “I guess I was feeling a little self-conscious. Seeing the glamorous, voluptuous women who are clearly your type… I couldn’t imagine that you’d pick me over one of them.”
Nick shifted Em onto his lap, his gaze locked with hers. He needed her to know that he meant every word he was about to say.
“ You are the most beautiful woman in the world to me, Emerie. And it didn’t take a new hairdo or expensive new clothes to convince me of that.” He brushed her soft, sweet lips with his own before planting a slow, lingering kiss on the lips whose taste he craved. “Don’t ever compare yourself to anyone else. There is no one in the world like you.”
“Is that a compliment?” Em asked in a playful, singsong voice. “’Cause I’ve heard it used both ways.”
Nick chuckled, thinking of all the times they’d teased each other about being extra .
“Definitely a compliment.” He grinned. “You’re the only person in the world I could imagine building a life with.”
“You want to build a life with me?” Em’s expressive brown eyes welled with tears. “As in—”
“As in I don’t just want to be your best friend anymore, Emerie Roberts.” Nick’s heart beat faster, and his pulse raced as he finally made his own Brown Sugar declaration. “I want to be your best friend and your man. The one who will gladly worship every inch of that banging body. The man who would do anything to protect your heart. The one who will always be there for you… no matter what. For forever and a day and then for a week after that.”
Em grinned, her eyes filled with happy tears, and her face practically glowing.
“I don’t know, Nick. That’s an awfully long time,” she teased. “You sure you can deal with me that long?”
For two decades, Emerie’s bright smile and perpetual optimism had lit up his life and warmed his heart like the midday sun. He trusted her more than anyone in the world. Because she was both his best friend and the love of his life. Something his heart had realized long before his brain had gotten on board. Em was the reason he hadn’t been able to give his heart to anyone else. Deep down, a part of him had always known that it belonged to her.
“I love you, Em. And there is nothing in this world that would make me happier than spending the rest of my life with you.” Nick kissed Em, tasting her salty tears. “You have always been my soulmate. I was just too oblivious to realize it.”
Nick’s eyes stung, and all the other words he wanted to say caught in his throat. But he could show Em how he felt, how much she meant to him.
“That night at your place, when you asked me to leave, I went back to my car and saw those text messages. That’s when I realized I had to do something to show you that I’m serious about not wanting anyone but you. So I got this…” Nick reached for a small bag on his nightstand and handed it to her.
“What is it?” Em tucked her hair behind her ear and peeked inside. She pulled out the box for the latest phone. Her brows furrowed with confusion. “This is really sweet, Nick. But I already have this phone. I upgraded a few months ago, remember?”
“It isn’t for you. It’s for me.” He took the phone out of the box, pulled up her contact, and dialed.
“That isn’t your number.” Em looked up from her watch.
“It is now.” Nick slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
“But you loved your old number,” she said. “You’ve had it since before college.”
“True. But I love you too much to let my past or nostalgia over an old phone number ruin our future.” Nick brushed Em’s hair from her face and tucked a few strands behind her ear. “So I’ve changed my number and wiped all of my contacts except for family, friends, local businesses, and work contacts. I don’t ever want you to feel the way you did that night.”
It had been gut-wrenching for Nick to see how hurt Em had been after she’d seen those text messages. He understood her pain. It had been torturous watching Em go out with other guys in hopes of finding the one with whom she could build a life.
“You can’t protect me from every one of your exes.” Em’s eyes glistened, a soft smile lighting them, despite the tears that threatened to fall. “We’re bound to run into one or two of them on the island.”
“I’m not the only one with exes,” Nick reminded her with a raised brow. “But this isn’t about them. It’s about us. I don’t want anyone but you. No one from my past matters, Em, because you are my future.”
“I believe you, and I trust you.” Em pressed a kiss to his lips, followed by another and another. “And I’ve always known you loved me. I just needed you to figure that out, too.”
Em slipped Nick’s black T-shirt over her head and tossed it onto the floor, exposing her bare breasts. The firm, brown nipples were begging for his attention, and he fully intended to oblige. When he met her gaze again, the sexy, confident smile that greeted him made him hard and eager to pick up where they’d left off.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I might’ve been a little slow on the uptake, but I’m pretty fucking clear about it now.” Nick flipped Em onto her back, and she squealed with surprise, then laughed.
Nick hovered above her, taking in her gorgeous features: her playful, expressive eyes and contagious smile. Em was his best friend. His confidant. The woman he’d go to hell and back for. And the one person he couldn’t imagine not having in his life. He was grateful they’d finally arrived at this place. That they were ready to dive into the deep end together.
“I love you, Em,” Nick whispered.
Her warm smile filled his heart, making it expand until it felt as if his chest could barely contain it.
“I love you, too, Nick.” Her soft palms glided up his low back, sending waves of need down his spine. He’d never wanted anyone the way he wanted and needed Em now.
Their lips and tongues met in a clash of hunger and craving. Every kiss, every stroke of his skin sent him higher and stoked a desperate sense of need for the woman lying beneath him.
This was what he’d been missing. What he needed. What they had was so much more than sex. Em was his best friend. She was the one person in the world who understood him better than he knew himself. Even in the moments when they were at odds, he never, ever doubted that she loved him and wanted what was best for him. He felt the same about her.
Em truly got him. She knew how to make him laugh. She didn’t pull punches when he needed to hear the truth. And she drove him wild, setting his heart and his body afire.
Emerie Roberts was his soulmate. And he was incredibly grateful to have her in his life.