Page 53 of The Score

I've never seen myself look at her, of course. But his words sound like the truth anyway.

When I look at her from afar, something in my chest aches in the most delicious way.

Fuck.

I shake my head. "Despite how it may look sometimes, there's nothing romantic between us. We keep it platonic. Always."

"All right," Logan says. "So how do you want us to proceed moving forward? Especially at the ceremony."

"You can tease us at the wedding." I take a deep breath. "People would expect it— her parents especially. You can pretend Pen and I suddenly realized we're in love and act accordingly. Even later on, when in public, sometimes. It won't change things between us. But the next time you guys feel like staging an intervention? Don't make it about me being secretly in love with Pen."

"Got it," Damián says.

"Good to know we can still tease you," Saint adds, "because we were planning to clank our glasses a bunch of times, to ask you guys to kiss."

Dom nods. "Now we don't have to feel bad about it."

"Don't feel bad. It helps us," I say. "I want the day to be great and for us to have a lovely wedding. A few extra kisses won't change anything. In fact, it will make it more magical for her parents."

"Can't believe you've already kissed," Logan mutters. "Didn't expect that."

I shrug. "It wasn't a big deal."

It wasn't. Not beyond the way it set the course of friendship for us. Whatever's making noise deep in the dungeon of my mind, it's seeing things where there are none. Just because so much of this looks like what I want in love, it doesn't mean things are changing between Pen and I.

No matter how it may feel in my chest when our wedding day comes. How beautiful she will look, walking down the aisle toward me, arm in arm with her father. How bright her wide smile will be.

When I say I do, I'll promise to love my wife like my best friend first and foremost.