Page 116 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
“Hey, little mermaid girl.” He tucked the piece of hair that had broken free from the bun behind my ear as a wide grin spread across his face.
“I need to tell you something,” I said.
His brows cinched together, and his smile dropped. “Is something wrong? Are you okay?”
“I’m more than okay.”
“All right.” His shoulders relaxed a bit. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I just, well, I wanted you to know that I have these feelings for you. Deep feelings,” I said, clearing my throat as the nerves kicked in. I was naked in a tub of water with the most beautiful man I’d ever seen, and I was declaring my feelings in the most vulnerable way possible. “I just feel so much, you know? It’s overwhelming sometimes.”
My voice started to wobble.
Oh my gosh. This was an epic fail.
His finger moved over my lips to stop me before one large hand covered the side of my face. “I have deep feelings for you, too, Winnie. I didn’t see this coming, and I’ve been trying to control it and slow things down, but I can’t. So I understand feeling overwhelmed. But I think it’s a good thing, because we both feel it.”
I wanted to say it right here.
Right now.
I love you.
But something stopped me from going there.
Maybe it was fear that saying it would scare him off.
Maybe it was fear that it was too soon.
Maybe it was fear of getting my heart broken if he didn’t reciprocate those exact feelings.
I wasn’t supposed to come here and feel all of these things.
This wasn’t the plan.
So we’d leave it at deep feelings for now.
“Love” was just—a complicated word. He and I had both said it to only one person before now, and both had been failed relationships.
Why curse a good thing?
“I’m glad you feel it, too,” I said.
“Me too, beautiful.” His gaze locked with mine. “I think it’s time that we talk to Melody about it. I don’t want you to have to keep sneaking out in the morning. I think it’s okay for her to know what’s going on.”
“The casita is still part of the house,” I said with a chuckle.
“It’s too far away. I want you in here. In this bathtub. In my bedroom.”
I nodded. “I want that, too. But what are we going to tell her?”
That we love each other. That this is the real deal. That we wouldn’t be talking to her about it if it wasn’t real.
“We’re going to tell her that we have—feelings for one another. More than friendship feelings, and we like each other a lot,” he said, kissing the tip of my nose. “We’ll talk to her tomorrow morning.”
I nodded. “Okay. Sounds good.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he gave me a quizzical look. “Are you sure? Should I say more?”
