His face is flushed, and he’s looking at me like if I said the word, we would go straight up to my bedroom. “Jesus, Brooke,” he says.
I have to take a second to catch my breath. “I thought you were only looking for friendship.”
“Yeah, well, that was bullshit and you knew it.”
“No, I didn’t.”
He gives me a look. “Come on. You know I’ve been in love with you since I was four years old.”
My heart skips in my chest. Yes, I knew on some level that Tim felt that way about me. Even though he dated other girls, he never looked at them the way he looked at me. But I never felt that way about him. Not until recently.
“I just…” I glance up the stairs, hoping Josh’s door is closed. “We have a good thing going here. Josh adores you. And you’re my best friend. I feel like… I’m scared of messing that up, you know?”
“I agree—we have a good thing going.” He reaches out and takes my hand in his, and again, I let him. “But I think we could have a better thing going.”
He’s right, of course. As wonderful as it has been having him hanging around the last month, it would be better if he were here more. If our friendship were more. Tim and I—we could have it all.
“My life is just so busy between my job and Josh,” I point out. “Maybe you’d be better off with somebody simpler. You could still go out with that waitress from the Shamrock. Kelli, right?” Kelli was a little crazy, but she definitely liked him a lot, and she sure as hell didn’t have a ten-year-old son with her incarcerated ex-boyfriend.
“Brooke, listen to me.” Tim squeezes my hand as he looks me right in the eyes. “I haven’t seen you in ten years. In that time, I’ve dated a fair number of girls. But it never worked out—it couldn’t. And it was all because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Anyone else I dated, it wouldn’t be fair to them.” His Adam’s apple bobs. “I’ll never feel about anyone else the way I feel about you.”
I might cry. It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Tim is so sweet and sexy and he’s great to my kid. I should be throwing myself into his arms, and just thank my lucky stars.
But for some reason, I can’t turn off Shane Nelson’s voice inside my head.
Stay away from Tim Reese. He’s dangerous.
Please, Brooke.
It’s ridiculous, of course. I knew it when he was saying it, and I know it now. But I can’t shake the feeling that this has worked out just a little too well. That Tim is just a little too perfect. Especially for someone like me.
“Brooke?” Tim is frowning. “Look, I don’t want to pressure you. If you don’t want this, we can pretend it never happened. If you just want to be friends, that’s fine. I mean, it’s not fine. It would completely suck. But—”
“Shut up,” I say. I’m not sure if I’m saying it to Tim or to Shane’s voice in my head. But it doesn’t matter. “You’re right.”
A smile creeps back across his face. “I am? About what?”
“Not being together would completely suck.”
I grab him by his shirt and pull his lips onto mine. He kisses me back just as eagerly. And all the while, I ignore the tiniest hint of sandalwood clinging to the collar of his shirt.
Chapter 28
ELEVEN YEARS EARLIER
Tim hates Shane. He thinks I should break up with him. But what he’s accusing Shane of is a step beyond that. He’s accusing my boyfriend of murder.
“Tim,” I whisper, “are you saying you think Shane…？”