Page 90 of Under Pressure

I hold my breath. “You’re dreaming.”

“Not this time.”

“We’re friends. You’re myfriend.”

He doesn’t so much as flinch. “I am.”

“It’s better that way.”

“I fucking love being your friend, Quinn.”

I swallow, tugging my brows together. “You do?”

“Yes. And I’ll love being yourbestfriend just as much as I’ll love being your boyfriend. They go hand in hand. You can’t be with anyone long term who isn’t your best friend.”

Run.

I need to get out of his hold and put some space between us before I do something reckless. My chest is shrinking too quickly while my heart is expanding, craving him with a passion that makes my knees shake. I want to give in so badly, but I know what happens the moment you let yourself rely on someone else. I’ve seen first-hand the damage it causes. How you can give so much of yourself to another person only to have them either take it with them when they leave or destroy the pieces with little care for the damage caused.

That hollow feeling nearly killed me when I walked away from my mom the last time. I don’t think I’d survive going through anything close to that loss again.

“I grew up with parents who couldn’t keep their hands offeach other. There was one time where they attended a meeting with the head coach of the University of Florida baseball team, and I had to actually tell them to leave because Dad wouldn’t stop giving Mom fuck-me eyes. I thought I was going to barf, but Mom laughed the entire time, loving it. And even when I was grossed out, it didn’t truly bother me that much. They both knew I wasn’t going to go to any school in the US and that we took the meeting only to be respectful after they asked a million times.

“Dad apologized to me after, but like I said, it didn’t really bother me. I watched the two of them be all loved up my entire life. They got together years before I was born and were married for almost as long. It was love at first sight for them, and Dad proposed after knowing Mom for a month. They were married two weeks after that in the backyard of my Pop’s ranch out East. I’ve never wondered what type of marriage I wanted for myself. It was always going to be the kind my parents have. I’ve fucked around in the past, but that doesn’t change the fact that I know what I want my future to look like and that I’m going to secure it. When I fall in love next, it will be a forever thing.”

His touch is so gentle as he cups my shoulders and turns me around. I glance up before I can think twice about it and get tangled in his consuming gaze. He oozes confidence, and I try to steal some for myself before I collapse at his feet. Covering his hands where they sit on my hips, I squeeze his fingers.

“You were lucky.”

“I know. My mom made sure to tell me repeatedly that when I meet my wife, I need to be patient with her in case she doesn’t see things as clearly as I do. Her favourite thing to remind me was that everyone falls in love differently. We choose our own path, and it’s important that we have support to take the one that makes the most sense to us. You can’t force someone to love you. All you can do is prove to them why they should, and that if they do, you’ll catch them.”

I lean forward, my forehead meeting his chin. “Is that why your arms are so big?”

His laugh makes his chest rumble. “Obviously.”

“Your parents sound amazing, Beck.”

“They are.”

He tries to hide the curiosity in his tone, but it’s too thick. I brush it off, not wanting to get into my mother today. Especially not after he’s just bared his soul to me and I slammed the door shut on him with a stupid attempt at a joke. At least he doesn’t look upset that I didn’t respond differently.

Instead, he’s smiling at me in that soft, dopey way I’ve grown to love. His eyes are warm and so full of understanding that my nerves settle. Everything settles, actually. My fear, caution, loneliness. My emotions are completely at peace.

“Let’s take Bodi for a walk before I go. I can remind you where his favourite spots to pee are,” he suggests, winking before smacking a loud kiss on the tip of my nose.

“You have time for that?”

“I’ll make the time.”

33

“I’ve been sayingthat the place could use a mascot. And look! The customers love him,” Eli babbles from behind the counter.

He’s staring out the open door with this ridiculous smile on his face, watching as Bodi sits at the foot of a teenage girl. His tail is thumping so loud I can hear it inside the busy café. The girl’s petting furiously behind his droopy ears, and her giggle carries on the breeze.

On the first day, I was dead set on keeping him in the office while I was working. It only took two hours for him to change my mind. Instead of being this crazy, ill-mannered puppy who barrels through the tables and steals the pastries like I expected, he’s been an angel. The perfect example of a well-trained pet.

Sure, he’s been fed his fair share of treats, and there have been times when his nose has gotten a bit too close to the edge of a table. I’ve yet to hear about him stealing any food or pissing on the floor, though. He greets every customer either with a leg rub or a kiss on the hand and seems to read their energy well enough to know when someone isn’t in the mood for puppy love.