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“So when are you two getting married?”
Laney freezes next to me, her gaze shooting up from her plate to me and then Emma. “What?” she chokes out.
“Well, it took you two long enough to get together. And you know each other better than anyone else. When it’s right, it’s right,” she says, that dreamy look taking over as she glances at Luke next to her. He smiles back, his gaze just as dreamy, and squeezes her hand on the table.
“We’re taking it slow,” Laney blurts. “Sometimes, it doesn’t work out going from friends to lovers, ya know?”
Emma frowns and glances at me, but all I can do is stare at Laney, my chest feeling tight and my stomach swirling with unease.
What the hell? We’re back to this again?
Fucking Cynthie. This is her doing, I know it. Laney had let her guard down and she said something shitty that now has her back to playing like a scared rabbit. But no more. I’m not letting her sabotage what we have, and certainly not because of whatever stupid lies her mom planted in her head.
I bide my time until everyone is distracted chatting and then I lean over and whisper into Laney’s ear. “Meet me in the hall in two minutes.”
Then I get up from the table and march to the hallway. I lean against the wall, waiting, and I swear those two minutes take a goddamn eternity. Then she rounds the corner, and like my nickname for her implies, it’s like the sun breaking through my gloomy mood.
I’ll never forgive myself for taking so long to notice her.
She reaches me, and I pull her into the closest single occupant bathroom. There are two, so I don’t feel so bad stealing one.
“Dom, what the hell are you doing?”
“What are you doing?”
She frowns. “What do you mean?”
“You’re putting up your walls again, Laney, and I thought we were done with that shit. Why would you tell Emma that we might not make it?”
Her eyes flash with indignation and she puts her hands on her hips, her stubborn streak shining through. “Because it’s true. Just because we were friends before we got together doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee that this relationship will work.”
“Have I given you any reason since we got together to doubt me?”
She crosses her arms over her chest and can barely look at me. “No.”
Thank God. Because if I did, I’d beat myself up over it. “So, what’s this about? And don’t lie to me because I suspect I already know.”
She nibbles her bottom lip, and when she looks up at me, her eyes shine with the hint of tears and way more vulnerability than I expected her to give me right off the bat. “What if you get bored with me, or I’m not enough for—”
“I’m gonna stop you right there because whatever bullshit is about to come out of your mouth is just that.” I step closer, holding her face with my hands and making sure she doesn’t look away from me. “Laney, I’m the one who isn’t good enough. Who will never be good enough. You are perfect for me and everything I wanted before I let that shit with my dad poison my ideas about love and relationships.” Her eyes flare a little and I know what she needs, what I hope she’s finally ready to hear, because the words have been clawing and scratching to get out for days—weeks even.
“I love you, Laney.”
Her lips part, but no sound comes out. One single tear escapes her eyes as she stares at me wordlessly.
“I’m in love with you. Please believe me because it’s the truest thing I’ve ever said, and I don’t—”
She cuts me off with her lips surging against mine and her arms wrapping around my neck.
When we pull apart after several minutes, I drop my forehead to hers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to confess that in a bathroom. I’d planned something more romantic.”
She huffs out a laugh. “This was perfect.”
We sit there, soaking in the comfort we can only offer each other.
“I love you too, Dom.”
Her words wash over me, and I know we’re back on solid ground.
