“What?” Eddie asked. He couldn’t have heard her correctly. There was no way she said what he thought she said.

“I said, ‘me, too’ Eddie. I want you too.”

Eddie crushed his mouth to hers without waiting for her to say anything else. His head spun as he drew her scent into his lungs, filling himself with her just in case it was a dream, or a trick, or she changed her mind. He cupped her cheeks and tilted her head, his tongue darting out to taste her. She parted her lips for him and allowed him in, her tongue tentatively searching for his.

Eddie filled his other hand with her, wrapping it around her waist and pulling her toward him. Her body molded to his, her breasts tight against his chest, her thighs welcoming him in. He groaned and pulled away, cursing himself for not being able to just push forward with her, but he knew he couldn’t just drag her off to his bed. It was Emily. She wasn’t a random woman.

“Why did you come here?” Eddie ground out, needing to know what brought her to his door.

Emily gazed at him, her eyes heavily lidded, her lips plump and soft and wet from his kiss. He wanted to lean in and kiss her again, but he waited for the fog to clear her head so she could answer him.

She shook her head then focused on his face. Her hand stroked his cheek and he nuzzled into her, aching for any touch from her. She smiled softly at him then released him to lift the bag that was at their feet.

“I realized tonight that my relationship with Nick has basically been a lie. Throughout all of it, I’m fairly certain, you’ve been keeping him in my good graces, getting me things and letting him give them to me. I brought some things here, to ask you.”

Eddie wasn’t sure how to answer her. She was right, of course, but he hated to throw his friend under the bus. “Does it matter, Em?”

She smiled at him again and nodded. “It matters to me. Not because I want to think badly of Nick, but because I know it’s further proof of how much you’ve cared about me over the years. Can I show you?”

Eddie nodded, knowing exactly what was going to be in the bag she held. As she pulled out each item he nodded, letting her know that yes, he had carefully chosen the item for her, selecting something he knew she would love, something that would make her smile or would touch her heart. He knew what gifts she’d saved and which ones she’d thrown away from Nick. He’d complained that Emily only liked what Eddie had gotten her, but it had always made Eddie smile.

“I knew it was you,” Emily said softly as she returned the items to her bag. She shook her head. “I don’t think I would have stayed with him as long as I did if I had realized these were from you. I was so stupid.”

“No, sweetheart, you weren’t. Nick made me swear I wouldn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to be hurt that he sucked at picking things for you.”

“But you never did. You always knew exactly what to give me.”

“I have a few ideas of what to give you right now,” Eddie said suggestively.

Emily grinned and pulled him back toward her. “I wonder if I stripped today if you would be able to hold back again,” she teased. Eddie growled. “Maybe we should see.”

Emily stood and stripped off her shirt, tossing it over Eddie’s head. He was on his feet before she unbuttoned her jeans, chasing her down the hall. Then he proceeded to show her just how little he was willing to hold back.

Emily hated that she knew Eddie was right. She didn’t want him that night. It wasn’t about him, or even her, it was all about Nick. That was why she drank so much, why she’d stripped for Eddie. He was an even better man than she’d known. He cared enough to hurt her and risk her temper so he didn’t destroy their friendship.

“Thank you,” she finally said.

Eddie’s eyes snapped to hers, curiosity and tenderness shining bright.

“If you… like me… it couldn’t have been easy to tell me no when I was throwing my naked self at you. Unless… unless you were completely turned off by me. Oh, shit,” Emily groaned. The world spun and she thought she was going to vomit. He was repulsed by her. She’d always been a little shy about her figure, not comfortable with the few extra pounds and curves she carried. It hadn’t prevented her from sex before, but she’d seen the women Eddie went out with, women who made her look, and feel, like a Mack truck.

Before the tears brimming her eyes could fall Emily darted for the door. Eddie was fast and she could hear him moving behind her, but she ran, praying she could get out of there before he caught her.

Her hand turned the doorknob and relief filled her. Then her heart sunk as his body pressed against her back, his palm pressing the door closed in front of her.

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, in or out of clothes. You could weigh twice what you do, three times, and I’d still be just as attracted to you,” Eddie growled in her ear. The heat of his body coated her back until she felt him, hard, against her lower back. She gasped.

“You feel that, don’t you. Dammit, Emily, it took every last bit of strength in me to say no to you that night. It’s taken me every bit of strength to not pull you into my arms and keep you there forever. If I thought, for even one second, that it was what you wanted I would do it. In a heartbeat.”

Emily sucked in a breath, desperate to fill her lungs. When she did his scent filled her, made her head spin. Dizzy, she leaned back into him, her body tight against his, and took strength from him.

Eddie’s arm circled her waist and pulled her tight to him, guiding her to the couch. He gently lowered her to the cushions and kneeled in front of her. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

Emily nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“I’m sorry I came on so strong, but I don’t want you to think I don’t want you, or that you aren’t perfect. I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you.”

“Me, too,” Emily said softly.

Eddie didn’t answer her right away. He couldn’t breathe. When he’d opened the door he was certain he was going to pass out. He was sure he’d never see her again after his admission, and the smile on her face was so sweet, curious, beautiful, and it made his heart swell that it was for him.

Then she asked him that damn question. He couldn’t lie to her. She would see right through him, but he didn’t want to lie to her. He also knew she wouldn’t want the whole truth.

“It was no big deal,” Eddie lied, his blood pulsing through his veins at the memory of her body on display for him, her soft voice begging him to touch her.

“You’re full of shit,” Emily argued, pushing past him into the apartment.

Eddie closed the door behind her, wondering what she’d come over for. She was smiling when he’d opened the door, a small bag in her hand. He wondered what she’d brought over, why she was there, but he knew Emily well enough to know she had forgotten all about the bag and was focused on the night she couldn’t remember.

“When?” Emily asked, her voice low and still.

“New Year’s Eve.”

“That’s why I woke up in your t-shirt, only your t-shirt.”

Eddie swallowed the strangled groan that tried to rip from his gut and nodded.

“Did we…?”

“No,” Eddie said adamantly. “I would never do that.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed fiercely. “Never. You would never sleep with me. Good to know,” she said quietly, her face betraying the emotions she was fighting.

“No, Em, that’s not what I meant.” Eddie stepped forward and took her hands, imploring her to look at him. “Baby, I would worship you if given the chance. But I couldn’t sleep with you when you were so upset about Nick and too drunk to know what you were doing. You didn’t want me, not really. You wanted to piss Nick off, and I was here.”

Eddie hated that it was the truth. She didn’t want him. She never had. He was just a convenient fuck, but he wasn’t willing to be convenient or just a fuck to her. If he ever had her in his bed, and was lucky enough to be sharing it with her, she would only be thinking of him. No other man would enter her mind while he was with her. He would make sure of it.

But he’d never get the chance. Eddie wasn’t foolish enough to believe Emily would want him. And because of that a part of him would regret not sleeping with her that night, not having the memory of her body drawing his in, of her mouth on him, of her taste on his tongue. The bigger part of him knew he’d never forgive himself if he’d gone through with it, but the part that wanted her more than he wanted his next breath wished he had those memories to hold on to.

Emily watched Eddie rush out and felt her heart plummet. He told her everything she’d hoped to hear from him. He liked her. A lot. And he cared enough that he wanted her to be happy, without a concern for his own feelings.

Emotion swelled her throat, making it hard to breathe. She’d never had anyone who cared about her like that before. Someone who put her first. Someone who wanted her to be happy more than he wanted himself to be happy.

Emily shook her head, laughing quietly, as she compared the two men who’d been such a huge part of her life over the last few years. Eddie let her date Nick even though he cared for her. She didn’t know if Nick knew how Eddie felt, but she was fairly certain he did, and he let his friend suffer. Eddie knew how she liked her coffee, when her birthday was, the little things that mattered. After all the time she’d been with Nick she knew, without a doubt, Eddie had been the one to feed her details and make sure she had a gift.

Emily wandered through her room and picked up the gifts Nick had given her. Earrings for her birthday, a bracelet for Christmas, a card when she was sick that had made her laugh, the four leaf clover he’d laminated for her to carry in her wallet, and the flowers he’d given her for Valentine’s Day that she’d pressed and saved. When she’d collected everything that she’d kept, all the things that meant the most to her she left her apartment, a woman on a mission.

Ten minutes later Emily pulled up in front of Eddie’s apartment. She had to talk to him, to ask him what she knew was the truth. It was glaringly obvious now that she wasn’t under Nick’s control anymore. Influenced by how much she thought she loved him.

Emily knocked on the door and waited for Eddie to let her in. When he opened the door she breathed him in, his scent tickling her brain and bringing back flashes of memory. Memory she struggled to place. Until it hit her with such force she couldn’t do anything, including breathe.

“Holy shit. I stripped and tried to get you to sleep with me, didn’t I?”

Eddie looked Emily in the eye, not willing to answer her unless she knew he was telling the truth.

“Yes,” he said calmly, willing his voice to not betray the emotions rolling through him. He wasn’t sure how Emily would take his confession, and he was dying to know what her sudden intake of breath meant.

“For how long?”

Eddie ran a hand through his hair and down his neck. He held onto his neck, staring up at the ceiling and wondering how much she could handle knowing.

“As long as I can remember,” he answered honestly, still not looking at her.

“But I was with Nick. Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“Seriously?” Eddie asked, finally meeting her eyes. He didn’t want to try to interpret what he saw there. “You just answered your own question. You were with Nick. I wasn’t going to do anything to mess that up.”

“You just let me go on with him even though you liked me. I met him through you. You were the one who introduced us.”

Eddie thought back to the day Emily and Nick met. It wasn’t so much that he introduced them as he was out with Nick when they ran into Emily. As much as he wanted to keep her to himself, he couldn’t ignore his friend’s immediate interest in her. Eddie did what any friend would do and stepped back so his buddy could get the girl. He’d never told Nick about Emily, how much he liked her, so there was no reason for Nick to back off.

“I wasn’t going to keep you apart when I hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask you out. You both seemed to like the other when you met. I didn’t want to get in the way.”

“So you stepped back,” Emily answered.

Eddie nodded. “I know you’re still not over him. It was clear when you saw him tonight. Don’t think our friendship needs to change. I know where we stand and I’m okay with it. But, uh, I think I’ll head out. I really shouldn’t have come up here with you.”

Eddie didn’t give Emily a chance to say anything. He rushed out of her apartment and hurried down the stairs before she could follow him.

Not that he thought she would.

Emily wondered for a while how Eddie knew things, things like how she liked her coffee, or what her favorite drink was, or what was going on with her. But knowing her favorite color seemed even more personal, like he didn’t just know facts about her, but he knew her. 

Emily waited patiently for Eddie to answer her question. She knew he wouldn’t lie to her, but she knew he didn’t want to tell her either. 

“I pay attention,” Eddie finally said, shrugging as though that made his words innocent. 

“To everyone or just to me?” 

Eddie shrugged again and wandered over to the bookcase to look at the pictures Emily displayed there. Pictures of her family and close friends, and, until recently, Nick. 

“How does Nick drink his coffee?” Emily asked. 

Eddie froze for a second, such a short time Emily wouldn’t have noticed if she wasn’t watching him. “Uh, black.” 

Emily shook her head, “Nope. Two sugars. What’s his favorite color?” 

Eddie stopped looking around, not bothering trying to distract them both. “You know I don’t know. Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know, Emily?” 

Emily took a deep breath and looked at Eddie. She took in his caring eyes, the tilt of his lips, the strength of his body, and she said the words that she knew would change everything. “Do you like me?”