Page 38 of Finally Home

Coughing, I clear my throat. “And I love having you as a friend. I couldn’t imagine my life without you, Starling.” I boop her on the nose for good measure and slowly back out of the kitchen before I do something even more stupid like give her finger guns. “If you need anything while I’m out today, just call or text me, okay? I might not be able to answer right away if we’re on the course, but I promise I’ll check my phone as often as I can.”

She’s laughing and practically shoves me out the door. “Rho, I have meetings all day, and I’ll have Jeremy for virtual company. I promise I’ll be fine, okay? Go and have fun! Tell Dad and Daddy Gray I say hi.”

“So let me get this straight,” Archie says between loud guffaws. “You’re not only in love with my daughter, but you actually told her today. And instead of going with it like a normal human being would, you threw her a changeup and said you love ‘having her as a friend?’”

Archie and my dad have taken every opportunity the last hour to razz me about my colossal fuck-up this morning, and I’m about ready to ditch the gossipy old assholes and head back home to my girl and our puppy.

I scowl at him and cross my arms like a petulant child. “Well, what would you suggest I do then, Arch? She’s been through so much in the last month, and I don’t want to push her before she’s ready. I don’t even know if she has feelings for me beyond friendship and physical attraction.”

Okay, yeah. So I sort of accidentally let our little arrangement slip when I spilled my guts earlier, and I’m damned lucky Archie loves me. Otherwise I think I’d already be buried six feet under the green right now. I overshare when I’m nervous, a trait I have in common with Wren—or maybe one I picked up from her since I was never like this before college.

Archie and my dad exchange a long look before they break out into raucous laughter. I put my club away and wave at them. “Alright, it was nice to see y’all. I’m gonna go waste my life away, never knowing what true love feels like.”

That just makes them laugh harder.

We’re getting dirty looks from a few of the old timers on the course so I wave at them with a polite smile, not even the slightest bit embarrassed about their behavior. After so many years, you get used to it.

“Rhodes, I love you like my own son, but you’re an idiot.” Archie finally gets out when his laughter fades.

My mouth drops open. “Well, that’s a little harsh. I would think you would be grateful that I want to protect your daughter’s feelings and not just dive into something she might not be ready for because I’m selfish and impatient.”

He and my dad just shake their heads at me, and Dad gives me a look that says “really?”

I give them a pointed look at and hold my hands out, palms up. “What am I missing? Because I’m just trying to do right by the love of my life so our relationship doesn’t start with her having regrets.”

That finally pulls a smile out of Arch. He throws an arm over my shoulders, which is a little awkward since I’m a good four inches taller than him, but it’s comforting nonetheless.

“Do you really not know how much she loves you? Or are you just letting your fear get in the way?”

I roll my eyes slightly. “Of course she loves me, Arch. We’ve been friends for nearly a decade.”

He gently smacks the back of my head and chuckles softly. “Rhodes, that girl has been in love with you since she was eighteen years old.”

It takes a solid minute for my brain to process what he said, and then I’m the one who’s laughing. “Right, good one. The girl of my dreams has been in love with me for years, and I had no idea. In fact, she loves me so much, she decided to go off and marry another guy! One of my fucking teammates. My roommate, no less!”

He shakes his head and places his warm hands on my shoulders, looking me directly in the eyes. “The first day she met you, she came to my office and told me every single detail of your meeting. The look in her eyes was like nothing I had ever seen before. And when her face fell when she said you wanted to be friends, I suspected it might be just puppy love that would pass. But then y’all got closer, and she brought you to meet me, always insisting you were just friends. So I never pushed. But then she came home in tears from a party one night. She drank herself sick because she saw you kiss another girl, and she said it hurt to know she would never be able to have the one person she wanted. Y’all were nineteen, and I assumed that was the push she needed to move on.”

He grimaces. “And she did, with your awful ex-roommate. I thought for sure that was the end of her being hung up on you, but I saw you two on her wedding day. I saw the way you comforted her, the way you offered to drive the getaway car. And most importantly, I saw you break down after all was said and done.”

My eyes widen and my breaths come faster. Before the anxiety attack can fully take hold, Archie wraps me in a tight hug. I haven’t had one in over a year, but knowing he saw me that night, at my absolute worst, has me ready to crawl out of my skin.

“I saw the way you cried when you thought everyone was gone for the reception, son. I saw the panic, and I watched your heart break, unable to do or say anything to make it better. I knew then that she married the wrong man, but as long as she was happy, I couldn’t say anything. I’ve always said I love you like you’re my own, Rhodes. I meant it then, and I mean it now. So if you want my advice? Go get your girl and put you both out of your misery.”

He’s not even finished with his speech before I run for my SUV to the tune of their catcalls and shouts of good luck. I’m pretty sure I break at least four laws on the way back to the house, and when I get there I push past the crushing fear that threatens to swallow me whole.

“Rho is that you?” Wren’s melodic voice greets me as I walk in the door, shutting it harder than necessary in my agitated state. Finn must be outside or asleep upstairs because he doesn’t greet me at the door.

She looks almost exactly the same as when I left her this morning, but she’s brushed her hair and slicked it into a high ponytail. Just like every time I see her, she takes my breath away with no effort.

“Hey!” She sounds so happy to see me. “How was your time with the dads? I didn’t expect you home so soon, but I can’t say I’m upset about it.” She giggles and wraps her arms around me.

My entire body relaxes as I finally consider that Archie might be right. Has she really been in love with me for all these years? And did I really friend zone myself that first day?

There’s only one way to find out.

“You okay?” she asks.

I clear my throat several times before I can speak, and even then, it sounds like my words are being raked over hot coals. “I love you, Wren.”

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