Page 25 of A Game Of Love

“Because why waste something so pretty? They’re living things. It would be a shame to just let them die. Don’t tell Mom, but I think they look better than the other flowers she planted.” She gives me a cheeky grin. “And they’re from you. So they mean everything to me.”

At that, my heart damn near explodes.

“This,” I sigh, blowing out a breath as I bury my face into her stomach. “This is what I want, Lilly.”

“What is?” she asks, her voice low.

“You. Us. The connection we had before. I’m tired of running from you, from my feelings for you. It all made sense to react the way I did in that moment. But now that I think back, I realized it was all because I was afraid.”

“Of what? Us?” she asks. “Why would you be afraid of us?”

“Not us.” I lean back to look up at her stunning blue eyes. “Of what the world would think.”

Her brows furrow. “Toby, you know I don’t give a shit about what people think of me.”

“I know you don’t. But I do.”

Hurt flashes across her face, and I know I fucked up my words. “You're ashamed of me?”

“Fuck no,” I growl, gripping her hips as I pull her closer to me. “Never. I could never in a million years be ashamed of you, Lillianna, because there’s not a single drop of anything inside you to be ashamed of. What I mean is that I’ve seen how people react to our family’s dynamic—the whispers, the nasty comments, the dirty looks. All I could think about was putting you in the spotlight and bringing all that negativity to you. The idea of people saying nasty things about you, looking at you like we were something dirty if they found out you were dating your stepbrother, it fills me with so much rage. It makes me want to protect you from the world, from people like that.”

“I know you think it’s your job to protect me, you’ve been like that since we were kids. But it’s not, baby,” she whispers softly. My heart slams to a stop. Baby. She called mebaby.I never knew that one little word that so many people throw around so casually, as a pet name, could mean so much. But fuck, it really does. “You made a lot of choices for me in my honor, and I understand why you did it. I love that you love me so fiercely, that you would be willing to burn the world down if it means keeping me safe. It means so much more than you will ever understand. And believe it or not, I have that same love for you.” She continues to stroke my hair in a soothing manner as she speaks. I feel like a lost little boy right now, and she’s the guardian angel keeping me safe with her brilliant light.

“You do?” I whisper, hating how vulnerable I feel in this moment.

She nods her head. “But do you know what I wouldn’t do? I wouldn’t make decisions that involved you without talking to you about it first. Because you have a right to have a say in what happens in your life, Toby. I deserved that too, you know?”

“I know,” I croak, an intense amount of guilt hitting me. “I’m sorry.”

“I know you are,” she says sadly. “I do. I understand now. I just... I can’t help feeling like we’ve lost so much time being apart because of something that could have been solved with a simple conversation.”

“It wasn’t just the fact that I wanted to protect you from the haters of the world. I also had myself convinced that I was broken. That I wasn’t good enough for you. That you deserved better than me. But I was selfish and couldn’t let you go. The idea of losing you fucking gutted me.”

“But you lost me anyway, didn’t you?” she asks, tilting her head to the side. “For two years, we’ve hardly talked to one another. It killed me, Toby; it fucking crushed me. Now, I don’twant anymore apologies, no more defending your actions. It’s over. It’s in the past. We can’t change it, and at this point, we’re going to keep going in circles if we don’t grow the fuck up.”

My brows shoot up, a smile quirking on the corner of my lips. “You know, you're kinda hot when you get all bossy like this.”

“Yeah?” She grins back, tugging a fist full of my hair. I grunt, my cock jerking in pleasure. I never thought I’d be into like something like that, but Lilly can do whatever the fuck she wants to my body—bite me, scratch me, pull my hair, I don’t care. I want it all. Fromher. “Then I’m just getting started. Don’t think what I’m about to say gets you off the hook in any way. I expect big-time groveling, Mr. Munro.” She narrows her eyes, but I can hear the playful tone in her voice.

“I will kneel at your feet and kiss the ground you walk on, Flower.” I groan when she tugs at my hair again. I want to be inside her—fuck, I need it more than I need my next breath.

She bites on her lower lip, looking all sexy. “Don’t give me any ideas now.” She shakes her head. “Stop distracting me.”

“Sorry.” I can’t help but grin. I’m loving every moment of being in her arms.

“As I was saying,” she scolds teasingly. “This is how things are going to go. We are together. Not friends. Not step-siblings. We’re boyfriend and girlfriend.”

“Do I get a say in this?” I ask playfully when in reality, I’m fucking losing it on the inside. I’m seconds away from bursting out of this room and beating my chest like a damn caveman as I shout to the world that Lillianna Tatum is my girl. Mine. Like she was always meant to be. She wants me to be her boyfriend? Fucking done, no argument from me.

“Nope,” she says, running her fingers along my cheek. “You're not going to fight me on it, not going to fight your feelings. We’re going to work on getting back to the way we were. I know we’ll get there just fine,” she whispers. “You're going toshare me with your best friend whether you like it or not. And when you're ready, you’ll have your bro talk and will be back to being best friends. Everything will be okay between the two of you because I know you love that man like he’s your brother. You're just pissed and processing your feelings about all of this, and that's okay. It’s a lot of changes; you have the right to feel the way you do.”

“It’s not going to be easy,” I grumble. “Seeing you two together like that.”

“I know.” She nods her head softly. “But you know what?”

“What?” I move my mouth to the side, kissing the palm of her hand.

“You're going to be okay. All of this will be okay.”

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