Page 76 of A Lot Like Love
“Then make her stay,” Chase replied.
“I shouldn’t have told you,” Ryder muttered, standing up and pacing down the porch. “Just forget I said anything.”
Chase stood too, finishing his drink and leaving the glass on the railing. “Have you ever heard me say that about a girl before? Or Nate?”
Ryder shook his head. Of course not—they didn’t fall in love, they had fun. Which was what he was supposed to have done with Chloe. The best part of what they had going on was that they’d both known it was a short-term thing, no strings.
“What’s your point?” Ryder asked.
“You honestly feel that way about her, you have to tell her. Don’t be a douchebag and let a woman like that slip away just because you’re too scared to man up and be honest.”
Ryder was listening, but he didn’t answer. His brother was right, of course he was, but talking to him about it and actually telling Chloe were two entirely different things.
“Thanks for coming over.”
Chase chuckled. “So that’s it? I’m dismissed?”
“Yeah, and don’t go telling Nate. The last thing I need is him giving me shit.”
Chase walked up the step and came closer, giving him a one-armed hug and slapping him on the back. “We’d give you shit about a lot of things, but if you’re serious about this girl? No chance..”
Ryder watched him go, called out before he disappeared from sight completely. “Thanks, Chase.”
His brother raised one hand in the air as he walked away. “Anytime.”
Chase might have had a lot to drink, his swagger made that obvious, but his words had been real. If Ryder didn’t stop Chloe from walking away now, didn’t man up and tell her the truth? Then he might regret losing her for the rest of his life, and he wasn’t prepared to take that chance.
He collected both glasses and left them on the counter before heading into the bedroom. Ryder stripped down and pulled back the covers, sliding into bed beside Chloe and scooping her back into him. She stirred, snuggling in closer when he put his arms around her.
He loved her. He actually loved her, and now he’d admitted it to himself and his brother.
Ryder dropped a kiss into Chloe’s hair and held her tight. In the morning he’d tell her how he felt. Right now he needed to get some sleep.
