Page 125 of Nothing to You
Nothing she could do would ever prompt him to turn his back.What did that mean?They went out a side door and down a path toward a row of cars parked by a curb.
What did it mean?It meant more than default, friendship, or soulmates.He’d come all this way for her, for her mother.That was how much she meant to him.They were family.Forever family.And he’d given up sex with a supermodel knowing it would upset her.
Shit.
Her eyes widened as it hit her, though she still traipsed along behind him.Would a friend drop everything and run to the mother of another friend?
He’d dropped everything this Labor Day and—Labor Day.
She yanked his hand to stop him.“It’s Labor Day.”
“So?The car’s just over here.”
But when he tried to move again, she held him back.“Labor Day when you have a dinner in Washington D.C.You told me that at the conference, way back when, you asked if I wanted to go.”
“We’re on the wrong side of the country.I think we’ll miss dinner now,” he said.“I’m sure the President will have a space in his schedule next month if you want to throw on a fancy frock.”
Another tug on her arm and they went down the sidewalk.
The President?As inthePresident?Shit.He’d given up dinner at the White House to come babysit her ailing mother.She almost laughed because it was just so… wow.
Lights on a car flashed and he reached to open her door.“Wait,” she said, stepping between him and the door before he could open it.“You should say it.”
“I should say what?”
Was he really going to stand there and deny it?She almost felt sorry for him.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.I should’ve been stricter with you.I was too kind.Too soft.It was inevitable, I suppose.Just get it off your chest.”
“Get what off my chest?”
Inhaling, the breath came out in a brief sigh.“You’re in love with me.”
“What?Yeah, I love you—”
“No, you fell in love with me.The soppy, sappy way.You’re in love with me.”
Though he was frowning, he didn’t linger.“So what if I am?You’re in love with me too.”
And as much as she wanted to object, as her parting lips attested, there was nothing to say except, “Huh.”
Damn him for being right.They could deny it, but they weren’t the denying types.They were who they were and felt what they felt.Neither required an apology.
“What do we do about it?”
“I don’t know,” she said.“Why would I know?”
“The sappy stuff’s a woman’s thing.What do we do?”
Being in charge didn’t daunt her.She could tease him about being afraid, but this seemed like a logic problem that they had to solve fast.
She opened her hands then brought them together.“We get married.Here, today, do whatever we need to do to make it legal.”
“Right.That’s what people in love do.The legit thing… Is there like a waiting period?”
She groaned.“Then we stay a day, whatever, we get it done.No muss, no fuss.We do it fast, no party or foo-foo dress, just ink on a page.We’re not doing rings or formal announcements; we’re just completing the paperwork.”
“Cool.”Reaching around her, he eased her aside to open her door then started around the car.Dead center at the hood, he stopped.“There’s sex though, right?With the marriage thing.”
