Page 39 of Finally Home

Tilting her gaze up to meet mine, she smiles. “I love you too, Rhodes.”

I shake my head and gently remove myself from the hug. “No, Starling. I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you since we were eighteen years old, and I saw you for the first time in that cute yellow shirt and those shorts that showed off your stunningly perfect legs.”

Her jaw hangs open and she tries to speak, but I interrupt. I’m in too deep to stop now—not until she knows the full truth.

“I fell in love with you because of every drunken ride in Archie’s truck. Every time I held your hair back while you puked. Every time one of us was sick and we took turns taking care of each other—even when we’d pass it back and forth for months because we couldn’t stay apart long enough to get better. I fell in love with you while I watched you fall in love with Derrick. I fell in love with you when you held my hand through the draft. For Christ’s sake, I fell in love with you while I watched you marry another man, and I’ve loved you from afar every single day since then.”

My chest heaves as I struggle to breathe, but I need her to know.

“I felt like the world’s worst friend and biggest asshole because when you showed up on my parent’s doorstep three weeks ago, I was ecstatic. I knew you being here would give me every chance to convince you to stay in Charleston forever. I’d finally have a chance to make you fall in love with me. Because that’s the truth of it, Starling—you never belonged with him. You were always meant to be mine.”

She’s silent for several long minutes and when she starts to cry, my heart plummets into the pits of hell.

Am I about to lose my best friend?

CHAPTER 22

WREN

Am I dreaming right now?

Tears streams down my face and all coherent thoughts have left the building while I process Rhodes’s confession. So many conflicting words fight for dominance in my brain, so I go with the loudest ones.

“I love you too,” I whisper.

He’s still rambling but at my words his jaw gapes open. “I’m sorry,” he chokes out. “You what?”

“You heard me,” I say with a smile. “For every reason you listed, I have all the same ones and a thousand more. I wanted you that very first day, but after seeing how excited you were to be friends, I didn’t want to risk your presence in my life by asking for more.” I sigh and take his hand in mine. “I don’t know where we go from here, Rho. My job is in Seattle, and yours is here. I’m plum petrified of things changing between us and losing you. But I do know that I love you. If what you and I could have is half of what your parents have, I think it might be worth the risk.”

I wait for him to say something, but he sighs and his whole body seems to sag. “Thank fuck. If Finny didn’t make you fall in love with me, I wasn’t sure what else to try.”

I can’t help my obnoxiously loud cackle, and I hold up my finger before letting Finn in from the backyard. On my way back, something occurs to me, and I start to giggle again. “You’re really tellin’ me you got Finn just in the hopes that he would convince me to love you? Is this the real reason you said I was your girlfriend that first day at the stadium?”

His cheeks turn pink, and he shrugs bashfully. “I did really want a dog, but Walter seemed to think it might help. As for the girlfriend thing, I panicked! It was the first thing that came to mind. Also, Whitney creeps me out.”

That sets off another round of giggles because I can absolutely see Walt saying something like that to Rhodes and him taking it literally, not to mention the absolute absurdity of us dancing around our feelings for so long. “So,” I ask quietly once my laughter fades. “What do we do now?”

His answering grin is the biggest I’ve ever seen on his handsome face. He’s practically glowing with happiness. “Now, Starling? We start the rest of our lives together.”

A knock on the door startles me awake. Lifting my head up off of a very sexy chest, my mouth lifts in an amused smile when I see Rhodes still knocked out, cute little snores puff from his parted lips. The knock sounds again, louder this time, and I straighten my clothes and make my way to the front door.

A tiny blond head is visible just above the glass panes that start halfway up the double doors. I barely have the door unlocked when a tiny body tackles me to the ground.

“Auntie Wren, you’re here!” Crew’s sweet voice is threaded with giggles and almost covers Aidan’s exasperated sigh. He lifts Crew off me and sends me an apologetic grimace.

“Sorry, Wren.” He rubs his son’s head affectionately. “I think it’s safe to say he probably won’t follow in our baseball footsteps with a tackle like that.”

Laughing, I nod at his words and stand up so I can move to tickle Crew. “What do you think, buddy?” I ask him between rounds of giggles. “Are you gonna be a big, tough, football player?”

“Crew would never play lame old football, right? Baseball is in his blood.” Rhodes’s warm breath ghosts over my ear, and it sends a shiver down my spine.

“Right Uncle Rho! I’m gonna be a pitcher just like Uncle Cope... after I play football.” Aidan and Rhodes gasp, clutching their hearts like they rehearsed it, and Crew and I break out into loud laughter again.

The guys exchange smirks and Rhodes wraps his arms around me, dropping a kiss on my cheek. “Not that I’m not happy to see you guys, but what are you doing here?”

Aidan raises an eyebrow and coughs lightly. “Uh, dude? It’s our monthly guys’ night? Copeland is on his way.”

My eyebrows rise. “I had no idea, or I would’ve been gone already. I can go hang with Mama Gray or my dad. I’ve barely seen them since I’ve been here. I’ll grab my stuff and get out of y’all’s hair and come back later!” I take off up the stairs and stop in my room to change my clothes, double checking that I have everything I need.

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