Page 33 of Rule 5: Never Crush on the Captain
“But—”
“It really is just me,” he says.
I try to understand. “You’re busy.”
“Well,” he says. “I am. But so are you.”
Silence fills the tent. The air is thick and uncomfortable, and my breath quickens.
“Do you really want to know? Even if it might change things?” Vinnie’s voice is soft. “Because I don’t like feeling like I’m lying to you, but...”
“Of course, I want to know.”
He inhales. For a moment, I think he’s going to make another excuse. Instead, he says, “I like you.”
“I like you too,” I say at once.
“But Ireallylike you.”
I blink.
“An inappropriate amount.” His voice shakes, and suddenly Iknow.
“That’s why you’ve been hiding away?”
“What else was I supposed to do?”
“Not be a dick?”
He inhales. “I-I can’t help it. I swear, I tried.”
“No, you idiot.” I shove his chest, wondering at the heat of his broad muscles. “People get crushes all the time. I’m pretty sure that Julia in Marketing has a crush on me. But that’s fine. She doesn’t hide away. She doesn’t leave the room when I enter. You shouldn’t have left me.”
“I’m sorry.” His voice is husky.
Something about the way his voice trembles hits me. He’s being serious.
“It’s okay,” I say quietly.
I reach for him tentatively, conscious of the way he trembles, conscious of the way I’m trembling. I pull him into my arms, just like I do with Stella when she’s upset.
But this isn’t my daughter.
This is my best friend.
Something relaxes within me. “Thank you for telling me.”
“It’s embarrassing.”
“You think I’m embarrassing?” I tease.
“No, I think you’re—”
I kiss him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Vinnie
