Page 103 of Connected By Stars
“Man, I’ve missed you.” I release him from the hug and scoop Emma up, kissing her on the cheek. “How’s Mrs. Bennett doing?”
“Mrs. Bennett is doing amazing. We had the best time ever.” She grins at me before pulling Sophie into a hug. “God, I missed you girls.”
“We missed you too,” Sophie says before letting her go. “You guys look amazing. Being married looks good on you both.”
“I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling since the wedding,” Emma laughs. “Wait until you see all of the pictures we took. We brought gifts, too!” She holds up a bag before walking over and setting it on the counter. The girls follow her and gush over the matching bracelets that she pulls out of the bag that the three of them now have alike.
She hands me a small hand-carved surfboard keychain. I study the details on it and smile.“We came across alocal on the street who carves all of these by hand. I couldn’t believe the tiny details. We thought of you as soon as we saw it.”
I grab my keys off the counter and add it to my keychain. “I love it. Thank you.”
Noah and I get a beer while the girls pour some wine before sitting down and looking at all their photos while they tell us about their trip.
Noah sits back when we’re done. “Well, now that you know what we’ve been up to the last two weeks, what’s been going on around here? Anything exciting happen?”
I cough on my beer and look anywhere but at Noah. I can’t delay this any longer, but the words just don’t want to come out. I take a deep breath and force myself to get this over with.
“There is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. Maybe we could go outside for a bit? Just the two of us?”
“Why would you want to do that? You know whatever you have to say to me, you can tell Emma and the girls. We’re family.”
“It’s, um.” God, why is this so hard to get out? “Since you’ve been gone, I’ve realized some things. I’ve, uh, realized that I have very strong feelings for someone, and she feels the same way about me.” I hear Bell hold her breath next to me, and Sophia reaches out a hand and places it on my arm.
“Are you serious? I can’t believe I missed all this. Someone finally caught your eye, and I missed the whole damn thing. Who is she? Do I know her?”
Emma puts a hand on Noah and looks at Bell and I. I can tell she knows by the excitement that appears in her eyes.
“Yeah, you know her. I…I don’t know how to tell you this because I’m not sure how you’ll take it.” I give a small laugh and run my hand through my hair again.
“I’m not following you? Is it someone I don’t like?” Noah’s eyes are full of confusion when he looks at me.
“No, you like her. Love her even. It’s…”
“It’s me. I’m the one Maverick is talking about.” Noah’s head whips to Bell, and I cringe as I see a frown appear on his face.
He meets my eyes, and I can’t tell if he’s shocked or mad as hell about this. “Yeah, you’re right. We need to talk outside. Now.” He gets up and storms out the backdoor, leaving us all sitting there.
“Shit.” I get up, and Emma puts a hand on my arm. “It’s not as bad as it looks. He just needs to process it. Just talk to him and help him understand the situation.” She looks at Bell, and her grin goes wide. “I knew I wasn’t just imagining things between you two. I’m so happy you guys finally decided to act on it.”
“Thanks, Em.” I give her a small smile. “I better go talk to Noah.” I open the backdoor as I hear Emma say to the girls, “Oh my God, tell me everything, and don’t leave a single thing out.”
I shut the door and see Noah down by the dock. I make my way down to the water, knowing this is a talk that has to be had. I need him to understand how serious I am about his sister.
His head turns in my direction as I walk up behind him. “What the fuck are you doing, Maverick? You know you could have your choice of girls out there. Why the hell did you pick my sister to mess around with?”
“I’m not messing around with her? And I don’t want any other girl out there.”
“All your life, you’ve protected her from guys like you. Guys that just like to fuck with no attachments. Bell isn’t like the other girls you’ve been with. She won’t be happy with just a fling.”
“I know that. God, do I know that. I’ve changed, though, Noah. I’m done with one-night stands. She’s all I want. I…I love her and not in a sister kind of way.”
Noah’s eyes widen with shock before he rakes his hands through his hair, focusing on the water before us. “Shit,” he says softly. “How long?” I hear him sigh.
“Probably my whole life, but I pushed the feelings way down and convinced myself that my feelings were just me being protective and not wanting her to settle. When I learned she had feelings for me, the walls I had put up came crashing down, and I couldn’t fight it any longer.”
“She feels the same way?”
“Yeah, she told me she’s been in love with me for as long as she can remember, but she hid it from everyone because she was embarrassed and felt I would never look at her that way. Then she let her feelings slip the night we were at your parents’ house discussing the wedding party dance.”
