up. And . . .”
“And?”
“I thought she deserved better.”
Declan’s hand clamped down on his shoulder. “Tate, man, that’s not true.”
“True or not, she was always the girl who wanted a commitment.”
Declan held his hands out wide. “Doesn’t everyone?”
“I guess. When the time is right.” It had never been right for him. At least, not for long. Sure, he’d had girlfriends for months at a time, but he never lasted much past a year.
Declan pushed again. “The time hasn’t been right for you. But things change. Do you want to make a commitment to her now?”
“I see how happy Drake is with Adria.”
Declan nodded. “It’s such a huge change from how he was before he met her.”
“Exactly. I can’t remember ever seeing him that happy. And settled. Like no matter what happens, he’s good, because he’s got her.”
“You’ve always had Liz. Good times and bad, she’s always been by your side.”
“Exactly. And I don’t want to mess that up. But it’s not the same as what Drake and Adria share.”
“They have sex.” Mischief and teasing filled Declan’s eyes.
Tate rolled his. “Yes. And there’s also a closeness that bonds them.” He didn’t know how else to explain it and knew he fell short, because he didn’t know how to put his finger on that intangible but so evident thing Drake and Adria shared.
“You don’t think you have that with Liz?”
“The question is should I risk our friendship to find out? I was ready to tell her yes yesterday, but her boyfriend showed up and threw a wrench in the whole damn thing. I think something happened between them when I left.” He should have stayed to be sure nothing happened to her. It nagged at him.
“Like what? A fight?”
“He definitely wasn’t happy when I left.” Understatement of the century.
“Do you think he hurt her?”
If he did, he’s dead. “I hope she’d tell me if he did.”
“You think she would, knowing you’d hunt the guy down and beat him into the ground?”
Tate had to concede the point. “She held something back last night. She never does that. She puts it all out there. Every conversation we have is real. It’s not like that with other women. I don’t like this sudden distance between us.”
“I keep telling you to get closer to her. There’s something there, Tate, whether you want to admit it or not.”
“What if she’s built us up in her mind so much, there’s no way I can live up to it?”
“What if reality is better than anything she or you could ever dream up?”
Tate’s belly tightened with . . . anticipation. And maybe hope. He’d never feared losing a woman in his life.
He’d never hoped things would work out with one this bad.
Declan read his mind. “If you go into it worried that you’ll mess it up instead of intending to make it work, you’ll doom yourself to failure. From all I’ve heard”—Declan feigned ignorance though he’d had his fair share of women in his life, though not lately—“relationships take work and require compromise. You’re friends already. You’ve got an easy rapport. I have no doubt any challenges that come up, you guys will work them out. If you want her.”
The more he thought about it, imagined them together, yes, the more he wanted it.
Now he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Tate checked his watch. “She should be home soon.”
Declan waved him away. “Go see her. Figure this out before your mind spins out of control and you talk yourself out of what you’ve always wanted again.”
One side of Tate’s mouth drew back. “I’m not talking myself out of it.”
“You’re spending far too much time talking yourself into it rather than just doing it.”
Tate gave him a dirty look.
“Go. Pin her down,” Declan mocked.
Tate went to the truck door. Before he climbed in, he overheard Declan say under his breath, “I’ll hold down the fort alone.” Tate wasn’t the only one who wanted a partnership—and love—like Drake had found.
On the way into town, Tate thought about how things had been for him and Declan the last few years, running the ranch, working hard, and hardly living. Tate found a few hours here and there to get out and have some fun. Declan mostly stayed back, finishing paperwork, placing orders, paying the bills. He’d shouldered the burden without complaint, oftentimes pushing Tate to hang with his friends.
Tate went because he’d rather have fun than do more work after a ten- or twelve-hour day. But now he wondered how Declan did it. How much