I did talk. Hell, it probably sounded like bragging. I didn’t think Echo noticed. Or cared.
No, you didn’t think at all, dumb ass.
“I kept everything to myself because I didn’t want to be one of those clingy girls you shed. I couldn’t stand the thought of not being around you. And I couldn’t stop hoping you’d finally see me. But you didn’t.” Her voice tells me it was crushing. “College was pretty much a rinse and repeat.”
I had no clue. All those years…
“Is that why you chose Xavian to take you to bed? To see if it would hurt me? So I could know how you felt?”
“No. It was my last-ditch effort to see if who I did mattered to you. If you’d be…jealous. X kept insisting you would.”
“He was right. I was jealous as hell.”
“Because I tricked you into it. Otherwise, you would have never thought about me as more than a friend. I wanted you to see me so badly for once…” Pain twists her face. “So when I begged Xavian to help, he agreed.”
My eyes narrow. “Help you how?”
“He started by picking out my clothes for two weeks.”
“All those dresses and bikinis?” The ones that had me salivating, like the short, sunny yellow breast-hugging shift she’s wearing right now? “They were his idea?”
She nods miserably. “We went shopping. He chose everything, down to the lingerie.”
I should have guessed, and the fact he’s probably seen her in everything designed to tempt me shreds my guts. “What about the white nightie I could see through once your hair dampened it?”
“That, too. All of it.”
“Fuck.” I’m going to threaten Xavian if he even thinks about Echo as a woman again.
“I asked him how to drive you crazy, and he coached me on what to do and what to say. I thought I was ready for whatever happened.” She winces. “The night we arrived in Hawaii, I had to act upset, but I was thrilled to hear you’d intentionally prevented him from spending the night with me when I’d supposedly planned to give him my virginity.”
Supposedly? “You weren’t going to?”
“Of course not. I never had any intention of letting him touch me. I only wanted to know if the possibility he might would matter. Instead, I got impatient and I kissed you. I was horrified that I’d thrown myself at you, and I ran. And like the amazing friend you are, you found me, calmed me, took me back to our room, and forgave me. I should have stopped hoping then…but I felt a spark during that kiss.”
“Oh, it was more than a spark, shortcake.”
“You felt it, too?” She’s shocked.
“Yeah. It blindsided me.”
A soft flush steals up her cheeks. “After that kiss, I couldn’t stop aching.”
And like a flaming idiot, instead of wrapping her in my arms and taking her to bed, I tried to figure it out. Dissect it. I kept her waiting and wanting. Worrying and wondering. No, I didn’t know she had some ploy up her sleeve, but since I know Echo I should have guessed. Her behavior didn’t add up. My only excuse? I hadn’t thought of her in that way before, so I was slow to catch on. But I’m all in now. Echo is someone I can see myself loving, not just for tonight or this week—but for years.
For forever.
I hope I haven’t killed what’s between us. She’s being honest about her feelings now—and I’m glad—but her face is closing up. How do I prove that my blindness had nothing to do with her, just my idiocy? How can I make her happy?
“But it was a stupid idea to think that friendship could translate into more simply because I ran around in a bikini or two.” Her voice warbles. “I’m sorry I tried to manipulate you. I hope our friendship will recover someday. I’ll get my stuff and move down the hall to Xavian’s room. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.”
She lowers her head and makes a beeline for her suitcase, but not before more tears fall down her cheeks. Then her words register. She’s leaving?
Hell no.
I hustle behind her and grab her arm, wrapping my own around her waist and bringing her against me, then settle my lips on her ear. “It wasn’t a stupid idea, and I don’t want you to go.”
Echo sends a cautious glance over her shoulder. Our faces are inches apart. The hope in her wide eyes nearly kills me. “What are you saying?”
“Stay, shortcake. I want you. I need to show you how much.”
Slowly, Echo turns in my arms. My sense of relief is dizzying when she lets me bring her closer. But before I can kiss her, she stops me. “Are you saying you’re willing to sleep with me?”
“Willing to? Try dying to. I woke up this morning and realized I’m crazy about you—and not merely as a friend. I’ve probably felt this way for a long time, and I was too blind to see it. I—”