“Big deal. You call that a grand gesture?”
“Your balcony’s pretty high…”
“You said it was easy.”
He gives me an exasperated look as I take a step backwards.
“Why are you really here?” I ask. “I thought we were just ‘buddies’? I mean, we slept together once and then you never called me after. Until an hour ago you were still dancing with Sofie. Until last week, you were still scheming to get my best friend back.”
“She’s your best friend now?”
“She’s always been. It’s complicated. Well?”
“I thought I knew what I wanted. I was so focused on my goal, I ignored everything else. I mean, for over a year, I thought I wanted Isabella back. But when you told me I’d done it—I’d broken her and Byron up—I felt nothing but guilt for hurting my brother. I’ve spent the week making up with Byron and trying to figure myself out.”
“You totally ghosted me after Mt Coot-tha. I didn’t see or hear from you for days.”
“I kinda got, um, freaked out.”
“Because of my messed up family?”
“What? God, no. I don’t care about that. I think you’re amazing for being a survivor.”
Hi eyes search mine till I meet and hold his gaze, and I can see he means it.
“So, why did you ghost me?”
“The wedding was coming soon, and I…I thought what we did meant more to me than it did to you.”
The tightness in his mouth surprises me. Could it be that he’s unsure about how I feel about him? Warm coils of hope wind inside me but I need to clarify just a few more things first.
“What about Sofie?”
“I needed to talk to her and end things definitively tonight. The last time I saw her was Melbourne Cup Day. I told her I’d call. I never did. I just couldn’t . She’s not the one I’ve been finding myself thinking about first thing when I wake up every morning, and the last thing before I go to sleep every night.”
I stop breathing. Does he mean me?
Keats reaches for my hand, pausing as if unsure if I’d welcome the gesture. That familiar stubborn streak flashes across his face, his eyebrows knotting before he goes ahead and grabs my hand anyway.
“I’ve had a lot of women in my life, Haugen.”
“Not really winning me over with that…” I say.
“Let me finish. But I’d never had anyone like Isabella before.”
Ouch. I look down where his hand is still holding mine. “You’ve told me that already, and again not really winning me over with it.”
“Wait.” He tips up my chin till our eyes meet. “Look, I thought I wouldn’t find anyone else like her. That I wouldn’t have that kind of connection with a woman beyond the physical again. But I was wrong. Sofie was a lot like her—the full package—”
“Thanks for the reminder.”
“Just hear me out, Haugen. I swear, there’s a point to this. So, on the surface, things were great with Sofie. I could see my future with her. But it was boring. So I started thinking, maybe I was more in love with Isabella than I thought. And I refocused on getting her back.
“But when you came to the house and told me the engagement was off, it totally threw me. Then everything happened kinda quickly after that.” He looks searchingly into my eyes. “For the past week, I’ve been trying to figure out what the hell happened to my plans. And I realised tonight when I couldn’t find you at the reception that you happened. I’ve found something more than I ever had with Isabella. I found a friend.”
Tears sting my eyes. Great. The F-word.
“Not winning me—”
His hand on my cheek makes the words die in my throat. The gauze brushes against my skin as I notice the tiny flecks of brown around the edges of his light blue eyes for the first time. His mouth meets mine just as I take in a deep breath, his scent filling my senses—a heady sensation as he presses his lips more firmly against my own.
I pull away. “I can’t do this halfway with you. I don’t want you as one of my booty call guys.”
“Darlin’, if we do this, I’ll be your only booty call guy. I’ll be your only guy. And you’ll be my only girl. There’s nothing halfway about this, Jess. I love you.”
My heart begins to soar, but I catch myself. How could he love me? His eyes tell me he’s telling the truth, but even my own parents didn’t care enough about me to be there. I look down, shaking my head.
“Jess, I love you,” Keats repeats. He tilts my chin up, so I am facing him again. His gentle smile melts my heart as his arms circle me. “I love all of you. I love how you make me laugh; how you drive me nuts; how you’re kind of bossy during sex.” He gives me a pointed look after that one, with a grin that has me flustered. “I love that despite what you went through in your childhood, you still turned out okay. And I love you for helping Mom find her smile again.”
I instantly tear up.
“But most of all, I love you for being better than any woman I ever thought I ever wanted. You’re the one for me, Jess Haugen, so you better believe I love you.” He punctuates this with an endearingly shy smile, like he’s suddenly self-conscious after baring his heart to me.
“Keats…” I’m too choked up to continue. I’ve never said those three little words before, and now they’re stuck in my mouth from trying to get out at the same time.
He wipes away a tear from the corner of my eye. “I know, darling. You can tell me how much you love me later.”
He reverently cups my face, then takes my mouth with an intensity that shoots heat all the way down the sides of my legs to my toes. We stumble to the bedroom, Keats grabbing my butt with both hands like he
