Page 126 of Fumbled Into Love

“You used romantic comedy movies to try to determine if Sawyer had feelings for you,” I counter.

“And it worked.” His smile is smug, and I want to tackle him.

“Look.” Jack gives us all a fatherly look of bemused disappointment. “I can’t say for sure how Nathalie feels because I’m not her—”

“Obviously,” Declan chimes in. “You’re much burlier.”

Jack rolls his eyes, chuckling before he continues. “But I’ve spent enough time with both of you to see that there’ssomethingthere.”

“We’ve been acting,” I defend.

For a single heartbeat, the room is silent before the three of them cackle like maniacs.

“Acting forwho?” Henry questions between laughs, “The media talked about your love life for all of ten minutes before that crazy mid-season trade happened with Davis Owens, and your five minutes of fame was over.”

I frown, but his words strike true.

“The only thing that you two have been doing is actingcrazyand assuming the other couldn’tpossiblyhave feelings,” Declan says, before unnecessarily adding, “You and Nathalie are acting like stubborn, love-sick idiots. Stop it.”

His words hang in the air before they settle deep in my chest, reverberating through my soul.

“You’re saying I might have a shot?”

That’s what he’s suggesting. That Nathalie harbors feelings for me the same way I hold feelings for her.

A collective groan fills the air.

“Christ on a cracker,” Jack mutters, grabbing my shoulders and staring into the depths of my soul with his all-knowing gaze. “Yes, that is exactly what we’re saying.”

Henry rubs his temples and I don’t particularly enjoy being on the other side of these interventions. I’m feeling a bit stupid at the moment.

“She won’t wait forever for you to tell her, Deon.” Declan lowers his voice. “I told you when this all started that her heart is soft. Now, that heart could be yours, so what are you going to do to win it?”

I have no fucking idea.

“What are they doing here?” I ask, entering Donna’s Diner, resigned to this planning meeting. I offered to have it anywhere but here, but I was outvoted.

It’s tradition to talk about our love lives here, Henry whined,It’s only right that we plan your grand gesture here.

I spent the entire practice and film session focused on one thing: finding a way to tell Nathalie that I love her and I want a shot with her.

A real relationship.

I think I have an idea, but I have no way to pull it off alone. Not with the gala next week and her plan to move out rightafter. Her accelerated timeline makes planning a love confession difficult.

“There’s no way we can pull anything off without them,” Jack says, dragging his wife into a slightly inappropriate kiss for a family-friendly diner. Maren sighs into him and I look away to find Henry and Sawyer in a similar situation.

“This is what you and Nathalie look like if you were curious,” Declan says, sliding into the booth.

“It’s not,” I scoff.

“Whatever you say,” he responds as the rest of the group squeezes into the booth. I’m surrounded by all of my friends and the sudden weight of my decision bears down like a ton of bricks.

Maren claps her hands together, a grin that can only be described as pure glee on her face. “I’ve been told that someone is ready to tell Nathalie that he loves her.”

My gaze swings to Jack and he shrugs. “We need her help.”

“Damn right. Now tell me what your plan is,” Maren demands.

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