Page 33 of Choose Me

He turns his hand over and laces our fingers together. “Jules.” The way he says my name sets my pulse racing. There’s hope and fear and exhaustion in his gaze, and I have the most mixed up emotions crowding my chest. “Tell me you feel it.” His fingers tighten their grip. “Please.” His gaze is so intense I forget to breathe. “Tell me I’m not too late,elskling.”

“Too late for what?” Is this really happening?

“This.” He squeezes our fingers together as he sits up. “Whatever I feel every time you’re near me.” He reaches out and tucks my damp hair behind my ear, and I lean into his warm palm, closing my eyes. “It took me forever to realize what was right in front of me. And then I fought it for so long. But I don’t want to anymore.”

My heart soars and emotion thickens my voice. “How long?”

He huffs out a laugh. “A long time. But I didn’t know you felt anything for me. I was oblivious until your tipsy confession the night of my graduation party.” My cheeks burst into flames, and Erik chuckles. “Something about a soft cinnamon roll Viking?”

I let go of his hand and cover my face, groaning into my palms. “I thought I dreamed that.” Shit, if that part was real… I peek at him through my fingers. “Please tell me I didn’t actually sniff you.” His shit-eating grin confirms my worst fears. “Oh, my god, I did!” I’m going to die of humiliation right here, on my couch. “How did you even look at me after that?”

“Jules, you were adorable.” He pulls my hands from my face and holds them in his big, strong ones. “Itwasa bit of a shock. As far as I knew, you had a crush on Gunnar and that’s why you kept coming over with Stef.”

I shake my head, keeping my eyes focused on my lap, my hair falling forward to hide me. “It was always you.” This is surreal. I’ve fantasized about a moment like this for so long, and now it’s actually happening. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Erik lets go of one of my hands and tilts my chin up so I’m gazing into his sad blue eyes. “You know why. My life was a mess. Mom was gone, Gunnar and Bjorn were constantly at each other’s throats, and I’d just graduated from college but didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with my life.” Erik rubs his thumb over the back of my hand. “And there was Stef.”

There is always Stef. He’s larger than life and always right there when I need him with no questions asked. I know he’d die for me, and I’d die for him. But he thinks being with Erik isn’t good for me.

“You should have seen his face when I carried you out of my house that night. He was so angry, demanding I put you down immediately. He said you were off-limits.” Erik shrugs. “He’s my best friend. I had to respect that.”

“I know.”

He leans in, holding my gaze. “But Jules, every time I came home, there was an undeniable pull to be near you. And it only got stronger with time. I may be getting ahead of myself, but being around you makes me happy. And I think I could make you happy. Don’t we both deserve that?”

How can something I’ve wanted for so long be so painful? “How do we do that? Nothing’s changed.” The words get stuck in my throat, but I force them out. “You’re still best friends with Stef, and he’s still incredibly overprotective.” I turn away and drop the final blow. “He’s known since the beginning that I’ve had feelings for you. Which means he knew when you carried me out of your house.” My heart twists in knots. Stef isn’t trying to be selfish or vindictive. He just doesn’t want me to get hurt. “He was against it then, and as far as I know, nothing’s changed.”

Erik brings my hands to his lips and places a kiss on each palm, then presses my hands over his heart, and my resolve waivers. “Hey. Jules, look at me.” I clench my jaw and meet his eyes. “Stef may think that now, but we could try to change his mind.” Hope blooms in my heart, and even though it’s probably pointless, I let it grow. “Please, Jules. Tell me it’s not too late.”

11

Erik

MypulsethrumsasI wait for his answer. I have no idea what we’re going to do about Stef, but if Jules is willing to try, so am I.

“Shouldn’t we talk about this? About Stef and stuff?” He chews at his lower lip and I follow the drag of his teeth, desperate to kiss him.

“Yeah. We should. And we will, I promise.” I lean closer. “But there’s something I need to ask you first.”

His fingers curl into the fabric of my shirt like he’s afraid I’ll move away. “Okay.” His voice is low and breathless. “Ask me anything.”

“Jules,elskling, can I kiss you?”

Jules’ eyes darken as his entire body sways toward me, and my heart soars. He wants me. He feels the connection, too. Every part of me wants to wrap around him, cover every inch of him with kisses, and show him how I feel.

But this is Jules, and things need to move at his pace, whatever that is. I don’t want to make him anxious, and this thing between us is still tenuous. I can’t rush him. Not if I want more than one kiss before he panics. Jules’ smile is slow to appear, but when it does, it’s soft and sweet and so very tempting. He nods once. That would be enough from anyone else, but I need to know he’s sure. “Elskling, tell me in words that you want this.”

He leans in, and for a moment I thinkhe’sgoing to kissme. My heart flutters and I inhale quickly, anticipation igniting every nerve. Just before our lips touch, he brushes the tip of his nose against mine. “First, tell me what that word means.”

I’m so focused on how close he is that it takes me a moment to realize he’s said something. “What?”

He brushes his nose against mine again, his lips quirked up in a soft smile. He’s purposely teasing me and all of my concerns melt away. “That word you keep calling me. What does it mean?”

“The word iselskling. It means ‘sweetheart’ or ‘darling’ in Norwegian. My grandfather called my grandmother that, and I always loved it.” His blush is adorable, and I hope that means he likes it. “Do you want me to stop?”

He slowly shakes his head, keeping his tempting lips so close to mine. “No. I really like it. Especially now that I know what it means.”

“Good. Now,elskling, is it all right if I kiss you?” There’s a pause before he answers, and I swear he’s delaying on purpose.

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