She’s officially selling her jams online.
“I was in love with Bill within a week of knowing him,” she sighs wistfully. “It took him longer, but not by much. You and Benson…you two have been falling in love for years. You just didn’t know it, because you never crossed that physical boundary until two weeks ago,” she says, moving over to put some of her jams on the new shelves my uncle built her.
“We were friends. Not in love,” I argue.
“How many days did you spend apart?” she muses.
I shrug, bristling a little.
“Not many.”
“You two couldn’t stop touching. Always leaning on each other, always laughing at your own inside jokes. And always, always seeking each other out first, no matter where you were.”
I swallow the knot in my throat as I dare to peek up at her. Her eyes water when she sees the unshed tears in my eyes.
“I realize you’ve always been the rock. Your brothers always leaned on you. You saw how much it hurt them when you left them so you could go get some schooling for this career you chose. But you’ve let that hold you back from ever considering settling down, because you thought that meant you’d have to leave them, even though you don’t. However, all along, Benson has been slowly taking over your heart. You just finally noticed it, kiddo. You’ve been in love for who knows how long. Having sex is just one small part of the relationship equation, and it has no effect on whether or not you’re in love.”
I try to shake my head again, but when that forces a tear to slip free, I freeze, worried I’ll sling more loose.
As I wipe it away, she sits down in front of me. “You haven’t been intimate with anyone in three years,” she says quietly.
“Not a whole lot of options,” I remind her.
She rolls her eyes. “I brought you all kinds of options from the lodge—very handsome men who were very interested. You never paid them any attention. Three years ago, something happened. You know what that is.”
I do, but saying it aloud is almost like confirming what she’s saying is true.
And if I’m in love with Benson, then my life is going to suck even more. Because it hurts to love someone you want to shoot a little.
And it’s not like he’s tried to get me back, other than sending his brother to me. Totally lame, by the way. And insulting. I’m a Vincent, and you send your brother to speak on your behalf?
“Say it,” she tells me, peering at me expectantly.
I groan. “Benson and I became real friends three years ago.”
Her smile spreads, even though it’s watery. “And what cemented that friendship?”
“I couldn’t get my boat to start, and he came over, tore it apart, spent the day working on it, even though it was cold. He finally just reassembled a new motor for me. After he was done, he went and threatened my brothers, told them to buy their own boat and never touch mine again, or they’d have to deal with him.”
She rolls her eyes. “Only a Vincent would find that a bonding experience,” she sighs. “And those wild brothers of yours respected him enough not to retaliate.”
I can’t help but smile, even as another tear trickles down my face.
“It was the first time someone else handled them, instead of cowering. I felt like I had some help to keep them in line. Also, I felt like I was no longer one-third. Killian and Hale have always been two-thirds together. Always together. Sometimes I think they share a brain.”
To this, my aunt laughs loudly, nodding like she agrees.
“And sometimes I feel like I’m right there with them. But most of the time, I felt like I was the odd man out, always cleaning up after them, and constantly left out because I didn’t always think like them. Then Benson…it’s like we shared something. He was on my level, or at least cool with my level. And he had my back even when it came to my brothers.”
I sigh, and she brushes a piece of hair behind my ear.
“That, my darling niece, is real love. It’s not always going to slap you in the face, though that kind is amazing too. I would know. But sometimes, it burns you so subtly, that you don’t realize you’re boiling until it’s too late. The water just took a while to heat up with you, kiddo.”
She takes a breath like she’s readying me for the grand finale.
“You’ve spent almost every day with him for three years. You’ve touched each other affectionately for three years. You’ve subconsciously sought each other out for three years. You’ve been in a steady burn for three long years. Now…the pot is boiling because you’re finally ready.”
“Except I’m not. He’s over there with his ex-fiancée, the girl he planned a future with nine years ago, and I’m—”