Page 79 of Dirty Martini
I peek up at him when his words fade. I quirk an eyebrow, curious at the faraway expression in his eyes. “What?”
“You’ll never be second place to me. How can you?” He leans in close so I can barely feel his lips and smiles. “All the space. All the air. Remember that? Fuck, I’m so lost in you, even Apollo 11 couldn’t find my way home.”
“Did you just…make a historical reference to explain your feelings for me?”
He snorts as his shoulders start to shake with repressed laughter. “I guess I did.”
“Holy hell, that was cheesy,” I laugh, slapping his shoulder. “What? Am I going to get a George Washington joke next?”
“Shut up,” he snaps, but the chuckle in his voice is too loud to hide. He sobers after a moment, though, and runs his thumb against my bottom lip. “Do you believe me, Ev?” He taps his temple with his free hand. “It’s just you in there. Too much, if you ask me.”
I believe him. Everything he’s saying is true, and I know because…
I love him.
I’m so in love with him. Not just the way he makes me feel, but the person he is. Loyal, strong, calm in the storm, butpassionate in the breeze. He took my freakout and brought me back, took my fears and soothed them, and took my deepest insecurities and made them feel like they were never there to begin with.
I love Rhys in a way I never thought I would.
I kiss him, catching him off guard, but he recovers quickly. He gives me all of himself with his lips, patching the broken parts of me back together, taking the shattered bits and making them whole.
It won’t be easy. Elton, my own issues, Rhys’s future, it’s all up in the air, but he’s my constant.
“It’s going to be okay,” he assures me when he comes up for a breath. “You’ll see, baby. Everything will be okay.”
And when he puts it like that, how can I not believe him?
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Rhys
Everest’s incessanttapping is going to drive me crazy.
We’re sitting at the airport satellite lot, me behind the wheel of his Jeep, and him in the passenger side, freaking the fuck out. I turn up my wrist when I get a text from Elton saying that he’s landed. Knowing Miami International Airport, I give it a solid thirty minutes before Elton is anywhere near close to pick up.
“He’s here,” I say, cranking up the AC because it’s somehow still so fucking hot in here. Everest continues to relentlessly tap his foot as if he didn’t hear me. I sigh and wrap my hand around the back of his neck. “Baby, did you hear me?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he mutters, worrying the inside of his cheek as he looks out the window.
I sigh and unbuckle my seatbelt. Turning fully toward him, I rest one hand on his knee. “You’re still nervous.”
He shakes his head, but then nods when I raise an eyebrow. He lets out a puff of air and chuckles as he runs a shaky hand through his hair. “It’s just been a while since Elton and I talked.”
“When was the last time?” I ask, curious, because I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen him talk on the phone.
“Um, the day he left?” My eyes widen, and he flinches, looking like a combination of annoyed and sheepish. “You’re disappointed, aren’t you?”
I don’t think disappointed is the right word. Pity isn’t it either. I feel bad for both brothers. For Elton because of how badly he wants to reconnect with his little brother. For Everest because he might not admit it, but he misses his big brother too.
“You’re entitled to your own feelings. I have no judgment on your relationship with your brother, but I’m not going to lie and say that it’s awesome you two haven’t talked,” I say simply and honestly, not skirting around the bush or sugarcoating my words. “You know he just wants to be close to you, right? That’s all Elt’s ever wanted.”
“And you don’t think I know that?” he snaps, throwing his hands in the air out of frustration. “I already feel like a piece of shit. You don’t have to make it worse.”
“I’m not trying to,” I say gently as I pat his leg. Once again, honesty seems to be the best option, no matter how many unpleasant memories it’ll dredge up. “Do you know why I hated you so much a few months ago?”
“The list is long,” he snorts. “I don’t think we have enough time.”
I roll my eyes. “Smartass. One of the reasons was because of how you hurt Elton. All he’s ever wanted is to be your big brother, and it hurt him when you pulled away.”
