Page 74 of One Night With You

“Yes. It’s hiding in Dad’s safe.”

“Good place for it. When are you going to propose?”

“After the party. That way she can enjoy time with the family, and we don’t take attention away from everyone getting together, you know? Plus there’s newbabies around, and I don’t know, I just want it to be the two of us.” Kane then glared at me. “Because I love her. Just like you love Claire. All of us can see it.”

He made it sound so easy when it was anything but. “How do you know? How do you know if you love someone.”

“I used to think if you had to ask that, it wasn’t really love,” Crew began, and held up his hands as I scowled at him. “But that would be wrong. Because love isn’t a single thing. There are thousands of poems and books and movies about it, and you just never know. You don’t know until you’re feeling it. I don’t even know if I’ve felt it,” he countered, and it looked like Kane wanted to ask who. “But it doesn’t have to be this cupid heart love bomb bullshit. It can just be the fact that you care about a person.”

“That’s what I told her.”

“Oh my God,” Kane said, putting his hands over his face. “You said youcaredfor her?”

I winced, as Crew stood up and began to pace. “That is after I said I had never felt like this before,” I put in, knowing that I was digging my own grave with platitudes.

“Next time just say it’s not you it’s me, and add a few other cliches, why don’t you?” Crew asked.

“We weren’t even really talking about it. And then I just blurted it out. Because I needed to say something.Because she’s been so amazing and caring, and she does everything she can to help everyone around her. And I wanted to say something about how I felt but then I didn’t know and then it was there, and I couldn’t stop myself.”

“I want you to think about what you just said and think about the words that you weren’t saying,” Kane whispered.

“Tell me this,” Crew said after a moment. “Where do you see yourself in the next month? With Claire?”

I didn’t even pause in my response. “Of course.”

“There’s not an ‘of course’ if you’re worried about what could be,” Kane put in.

Crew shook his head. “Where do you see yourself in a year? With someone else?”

“No. I can’t think of myself with anyone else. I’m with Claire.”

Kane sighed. “Do you see yourself moving in together? Or sharing a drawer?”

“We already have drawers in each other’s houses…” I answered, feeling more like an idiot with every passing second.

“Where do you see yourself in five years? With her or without her?” Crew asked. “Or does the thought of even thinking that far ahead without her hurt?” I rubbed my hand over my chest, and Crew clucked his tongue at me. “Bingo.”

“You fucked up,” Kane said pointedly.

Everything clicked and I realized I was an idiot. “Oh my God, I’m in love with Claire.”

“Oh no, this is brand new information,” Crew said deadpan, and I flipped both of them off.

“I need to tell her. Can I call her?”

“You really shouldn’t do that over the phone or even a text after you screwed up,” Kane answered.

“But the party’s tomorrow, and everyone’s going to be there. She has to go in early because she’s planning it, and I said I would meet her there. She’s not even coming over tonight.”

“Then tell her tomorrow. Find a way to make it so you can be on your knees and grovel when you do,” Kane added.

“Of course you love her.” Crew stared at me.

I looked at Crew at the simplicity of his words. “How isthisof course?”

Kane looked between us. “Because you wouldn’t be so worried about how to fix this if you weren’t. You were so worried about being wrong so you wouldn’t hurt her, that you didn’t realize it was right.”

Kane cleared his throat. “When did you get all philosophical?”

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