Page 231 of Holding On To Good

He stared down at her foot for a moment, then raised his head to meet her eyes. “Trust me?”

She blinked. Remembered what he’d said to her last week right before he told her goodbye.

You don’t trust me. You never have.

She hadn’t told him he was wrong. She’d just walked away.

Because he’d been right. She hadn’t trusted him. Not the way Rose was talking about.

Not the way Urban deserved.

He was her best friend. Her business partner. The man she’d loved for most of her life.

And she hadn’t trusted him. Not his words. Not his feelings.

She hadn’t trusted him because she’d been too afraid to.

It was past time to change that. To put her faith in him.

And have some in herself.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I trust you.”

She trusted him, but she still squeaked a little in surprise when he bent his knees and swept her into his arms, carrying her like he had to his truck the night she’d gotten drunk.

Linking her arms around his neck, she rested her head on his shoulder. He bypassed his truck, his long strides taking them farther and farther from the lights and sounds of the restaurant. Neither spoke as he carried her across the parking lot and onto the gravel walkway leading to the gazebo where Lily and Patton had exchanged their vows, the structure strung with hundreds of white fairy lights.

He climbed the four stairs onto the gazebo and walked to the center before setting her down slowly, her body sliding along his. Their eyes met and held and they stayed that way for several long moments, surrounded by the stillness of the night, the gentle lapping of the lake.

He’d trimmed his beard since she last saw him, but his hair was a mess, the strands going this way and that, as if he’d stabbed his hands through it repeatedly. He looked tired, as if he’d lost as much sleep as she had this past week.

He broke the spell first, taking a small step back and shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Why didn’t you come into the reception?” she asked.

Even in the dim light, she could see him blush and it was so disarming, so appealing, she wished she, too, had pockets, a safe place to put her hands so she didn’t reach for him.

Clutch him to her and just hang on for the rest of her life.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t want to hear me out. And I didn’t want to make a scene. Or do anything to upset you on Lily’s wedding day.”

“What did you want to say?” she asked on a whisper.

His exhale was long and unsteady, his words another quiet confession between them. “You were right. I did put my life on hold when Mom and Dad died. And now everything is changing again and I’m not sure how to handle it. I think about Verity going to college, about her not sitting across from me at dinner every night. Not making a mess in the kitchen and leaving it to me to clean up. About the house being empty and her just not being there anymore…” He shook his head. “It kills me.”

She did reach for him, then. How could she not?

“You’ve done a great job with her,” she told him, cupping his handsome face in her hands. “Verity is an amazing young woman and that is in no small part due to you.”

With a sigh, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I feel so fucking guilty,” he admitted softly. “That I got to raise her. That I’m so grateful I did.”

“Your love doesn’t take anything away from your parents or how much they loved her.” She leaned back so she could look into his eyes. “They would be so proud of you, Urban.”

His eyes welled with tears and he covered her hands with his. “Thank you.”

She gave him a wobbly smile. “What are friends for?”

“I always want you to be my friend. I was wrong, so wrong to demand you choose between being in a relationship with me and our company. Between being my lover or my friend. I was selfish and stupid. If all we can be is friends and business partners, I understand. I just… I can’t lose you, Willow. I’ll take you however I can get you.”

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