Page 173 of Rhodes
“No, neither of us can,” I say.
“And I’m not asking you to pretend it didn’t.”
“I know. I want this said out loud once so it never has to be said again. My family thinks I made that call. I decided at the time that was best. Now it will cost more to untangle it, and for what?”
I study him for a moment before I continue, the shape of his perfect nose, his square jaw, the way his Adam’s apple moves even when he isn’t talking.
“If we do this, you are going to sit at that table at Christmas and let my father hand you a beer and thank you for putting up with me. You are going to swallow it every single time. I need to know you can do that.”
“If that’s what you want, I can. I am willing to take ownership. I made a fucking bad decision, and it hurt a lot of people.”
“It was a bad decision, but honestly, it all ended up working out the best way it could have. It’s water under the bridge now. Or, should I say, water diverted from the marshline?”
He laughs at that. I rub my thumb over the side of the glass. “Cooper told me something.”
His face changes immediately.
“What?”
“He said you told him you love me.”
Rhodes goes very still.
“You didn’t know that?”
“No.”
He looks down for a second, then back at me.
“I do.”
My chest tightens.
“Why didn't you ever tell me?”
“You told me you wanted to get through Oak Moss before we talked about us. Then everything blew up, and after that you told me to stay away.” He pauses. “I guess I never found a point where saying it didn’t feel like I was asking you for something.”
I hold his gaze.
“Do you still?”
“Love you?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah.” His voice is quiet. “I love you, Tallulah.”
I let the words exist without needing to qualify them or brush them off. Hearing him say it is different from hearing it from Coop.
“I’m not ready to tell you this is forever. We’ve never even been together outside of some kind of bubble.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
“I don’t want to move back in here.”
His mouth twitches. “Good. I finally got the kitchen back under control.”
I smile despite myself.
