Page 87 of Resisting the Running Back

My chest tightens as I think back over the years we’ve known each other, all the way back to when we first met.

I thought he was cute, but I was fourteen. I thought everyone was cute. And when he slid so easily into the role of my best friend, he just sort of stayed there.

He cheered me on when I started dating Bryce McDaniels, but at the same time, he was noticeably absent from many of the events Bryce and I attended together for nearly two years.

When Bryce and I broke up, he was right there for me, but he was dating Mandy. They broke up, and I was with Liam. We broke up, and he was with Jamie. They broke up, and we headed off to college.

Our timing just never seemed to work out.

We always saidI love youto each other, but I always thought we meant as friends.

I didn’t realize he was saying it from a totally different place. And the more I think about the love I feel for him, the more I realize how totally unmatched it is in every aspect and every relationship of my life.

I would do anything for him, and I know he would do anything for me.

And suddenly, just like that, my heart seems to swell for him as I think about how very much I want this love to last a lifetime.

And with Miller, it feels possible.Anythingfeels possible when I’m with him because he’s the kind of guy whomakesanything possible. Because he loves me.

I always just thought he was a really, really good friend. I didn’t realize his acts of service were because he was in love with me.

How stupid I’ve been. How much time we’ve wasted.

How very, very much I love this man beside me, and how lucky I am that he loves me too.

All this darts through my head in the space of a second, and I finally draw in a breath and lean toward him. I press my lips to his, and then I whisper, “I love you, too.”

And after dinner, we rush right over to our private cabana to celebrate that love.

CHAPTER 40: Miller Banks

We Almost Got Caught

Our third day on this ship is a day at sea, and it’s strange how one person’s slip of the tongue could result in me feeling completely and totally free today.

I’m no longer harboring some secret from the one person who means the most to me, and at the same time, the one person who I don’t want to find out.

But she knows, and the feelings I associate with that are elation and freedom and so, so much love.

Cassie, however,cannotkeep a secret, and it would probably do me some good to remember that since my new sister-in-law and my future wife are apparently best friends who share pinky promises now.

Every other day on this trip is a day at sea, and what’s great about those is the fact that we can spend the entire day naked in our stateroom. We leave for meals, and we hang out in the pool with Grayson and Ava a while. Tanner and Cassie are probably busy bumping uglies, and I have no idea where anybody else is, but it seems like everyone is having a great time. All in all, thiscruise was a great plan despite the secrets that have been revealed so far.

We’re getting ready for dinner when Sophie asks, “Is tonight the night Tanner and Cassie are having their own romantic dinner for two?”

“Yeah,” I say. I’m lying on the bed in my boxers. It’ll take me twelve-point-two seconds to get ready since all I have to do is throw on some clothes and run a hand through my hair, but my girl said she needed at least an hour.

She’s currently doing something with her hair as she makes conversation.

“Good, then maybe no new secrets will be revealed tonight,” she says with a giggle.

I laugh. “I never knew Cassie couldn’t keep a secret.”

“Get a little liquor in her, and she can’t keep things to herself.” She lifts a shoulder, and there’s a twinkle in her eye. “But can I ask you a question?”

I nod. “Anything.”

“If you’ve had feelings for me since high school, why didn’t you ever say anything?”

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