Page 84 of Big Girl Panties

"Yeah," he pursed his lips. "It kind of sucked listening to them all gloating over there." His gaze dropped to the bar as he slowly wiped it with the towel. "But…" His eyes lifted, meeting mine. "It's not so bad now."

"Yeah," I smiled. "Why is that?"

"Because they picked the most gorgeous woman in the whole bar for me to take home tonight."

"Take home?" I raised my brows. "That's pretty presumptuous."

"Very." He leaned closer, "Which is why I was thinking maybe I could take you across the street to that little diner. You know, the one where we can actually hear each other? Maybe talk until they kick us out, then walk you home the long way because I'm not ready for the night to end."

My heart did that annoying flutter thing. "And then?"

"And then I spend the entire walk thinking about kissing you but not doing it because I want you to know this isn't about any stupid bet or dare." His voice dropped lower, more serious. "I want our first kiss to be real, and I never want you to second-guess whether it was or wasn't real."

I searched his face for any hint of performance, any echo of that original bet. But his eyes held nothing but raw honesty, the kind that made my chest tight and my defenses crumble.

"The bet might have gotten me to walk over here that first night," he continued, "but it was you who brought me back to the café the next day. And the day after that. And pretty much every day since." My eyes blurred with tears. "That night, all I could think about was seeing you again."

"Really?"

"I'm sorry, Brooke." His voice dropped lower, almost drowned out by the music. "I'm sorry that I wasn't honest from the get-go."

He glanced away, then back, his fingers tightening on the bar edge. "Meeting you wasn't in my life plan." The pause stretched between us, filled only by the thumping bass. "But I honestly can't picture my life without you in it."

He swallowed hard, and I found myself holding my breath.

"I'm completely, hopelessly, ridiculously in love with you," he said, like he was confessing to a crime. "And I know I messed up, but if there's any chance…"

"Stop." I held up a hand.

His face fell.

I stared at him, processing everything he'd just said. The hurt was still there, a tender bruise I kept pressing. But seeing him here, vulnerable and trying so hard to make it right... The anger I'd been nursing for weeks suddenly felt exhausting.

"The truth is," I continued, "if you had told me about the bet that first night, I probably would have thrown my tequila at you and never looked back." A tear slipped down my cheek. "And I would have missed out on falling for the most amazing, frustrating, sweetest man I've ever met."

His eyes widened.

"I'm sorry too," I said. "You deserved a chance to explain, and I was too hurt and stubborn to listen because I convinced myself you were too good for me."

"So we're both idiots?" he asked.

"The absolute worst." I grinned. "Which is why it's perfect that I'm completely, hopelessly, ridiculously in love with you too."

"Yeah?" His voice cracked.

I nodded, and the space between us suddenly felt electric.

The world around us kept spinning, college kids pushed past, someone knocked into my shoulder, Davina was probably still dancing like her life depended on it, but all I could see was Matt's face, the way his eyes lit up like I'd just given him everything he'd ever wanted.

He held up one finger, wait, and my heart stopped.

My gaze followed him as he ducked under the bar and emerged on my side, moving like a man on a mission. One step. Two. Then he was rushing toward me like I was the finish line of the most important race of his life.

His arms wrapped around my waist, lifting me clean off the ground in the middle of Murphy's Pub. We spun past the dartboard, past the vintage posters, past Davina's delighted cheer from somewhere in the crowd. The whole bar became a blur of warm light and possibility.

When he finally stopped spinning, my forehead pressed against his, my hands tangled in his hair. We were breathing the same air, sharing the same space, and I could feel his heart hammering against mine.

"I missed you so much it physically hurt," I whispered.