Page 91 of Holding On To Good

And while she loved her family and friends, she’d never been in love. Had never even witnessed the phenomenon known as a healthy, loving relationship between two consenting adults. Urban was her only brother to have been in a serious relationship and Verity had been so young when that happened, she didn’t remember it or the mysterious, shows-up-unannounced-to-ruin-sort-of-kisses Miranda.

Both Miles and Toby had only had casual girlfriends over the years, Eli was too young to think about settling down and Silas was too closed off to ever let a woman get close to him.

So, yes, her knowledge of lust and love was limited, but only because, so far, her experiences and resources were, too.

But longing?

She knew all about that. Her entire life, she’d longed to know her parents, to have even a few of the memories her brothers had of them. She’d longed for that connection with them. And it didn’t matter what she did have—a family who loved her and supported her. Brothers who took care of her. Urban, who’d given up his own future for her.

All that mattered was what she didn’t have.

That was the thing about longing. It was relentless. Endless. A constant ache in your very soul, reminding you of what you were missing.

Now, normally, she wouldn’t believe Toby’s assessment of this particular situation regarding this particular brother. Urban wasn’t the type of person to yearn for something, or someone, he wasn’t absolutely positive he could get.

God bless his pragmatic little soul.

But one glance at his white face and the panicked glint in his eyes convinced her.

He was completely shook.

As if, with that one word, Toby had exposed Urban’s biggest secret. A want that’d been buried so deep, a hope that’d been hidden away for so long, not even Urban had known its existence.

Verity’s vision swam with sudden tears, the tip of her nose tingled. “That is the most tragic thing I’ve ever heard. Like, ever.” She sniffed. Dabbed the corners of her eyes with her napkin. “There you were, secretly in love with Willow—”

“I’m not—”

“—for decades, broken-hearted and hopeless, enduring the torture of her being with Caleb, suffering in silence like the stoic, stubborn, prideful man you are, miserable with your life—”

“I wasn’t mis—”

“—and I was so caught up in my own life, focused on petty teenaged, high school dramas that it took Tweedledee and Tweedledum here to show me the light.”

That, more than anything, had her wanting to burst into tears, because what was up with that? She was the one who was supposed to be all insightful into the human condition and in tune with other’s emotions.

Taking a hold of Urban’s upper arms, she turned him slightly toward her and held his wary gaze. “You needed me, and I let you down. Luckily for you, that ends right here, right now. From now on, my sole purpose in life is to make sure you and Willow finally get the happy ending you both deserve.”

She paused, but he didn’t shout hallelujah or otherwise praise her name while sobbing about his undying gratitude. Nope. He shut his eyes briefly, gave a long, slow sigh, then looked up at Toby. “This is your fault.” He turned his attention to Miles. “Both of you. Prepare to die.”

“It’s more like, prepare to die,” Miles corrected in an overly dramatic, really horrible imitation of Montoya’s accent from The Princess Bride.

Obviously he was super concerned about his impending doom.

Then again, he was a cop. He faced danger every day.

Plus, it wasn’t like he’d never been threatened by one of his brothers before. Kicking each other’s butts was their love language.

“You can’t kill them,” she told Urban, letting go of his arms. “They’ve finally become useful. Why, without them, I’d have no idea the depth of your despair—”

“Despair?” he muttered with a wince. “Jesus.”

“—or that you were smart enough to realize what a treasure Willow is. This changes everything.”

“Willow and I are just friends,” Urban said, stubborn down to his very core. “Nothing has changed.”

“Yeah. Friends who are secretly in love with each other. It’s a tale as old as time. Look, I know it’s been scary, locked in the cage of the Friend Zone with no hope of escaping, whiling away the lonely hours, yearning for your one true love. But I’m here now and I’ve got the key to your freedom.” She patted his knee. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you fix everything.”

And what was his reaction to her generous, magnanimous offer, her comfort and support?

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