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I took a deep breath and jumped. “Full disclosure, I asked your brother for permission to date you.”

“Dumbass didwhatnow? I’m nearly thirty, not thirteen.”

Unsure if she was referring to me or her brother, I hid my smile, focusing instead on the chives I chopped for our baked potatoes.

“When I lost my soccer career, most of my friends from the team ghosted,” I admitted, keeping my gaze focused on the chives I was scraping into a bowl so I wouldn’t have to see the sympathy on her face. “Jess dumped me. My agent quit returning my calls. One unlucky moment, one injury, and it all went poof.”

I finally looked up, wanting her to see my sincerity. “I don’t take real friends for granted.”

“And Jimmy’s one of them,” she acknowledged.

I nodded. “Jimmy. Chase. My trivia team. You,” I added softly.

“Are we friends, Ty?” she asked with a husky edge to her voice that did more to turn me on than every soccer groupie’s lewd suggestion. “Is friendship why you turned me down that night?”

I’d been building up to the topic, but it shouldn’t have surprised me when she went for it. I nodded, leaning across the counter to still her finger from continuing its path along on the countertop. She glanced up, and I held her gaze. “Friends don’t let friends make mistakes.”

“And sleeping together would have been a mistake,” she said as she leaned back, breaking our connection.

“I wanted to be more to you,” I admitted hoarsely. “And you’d had a lot to drink. I wanted to make sure it was you talking, and not the booze.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Then why didn’t you ask me out later? Or earlier for that matter? Was it because of Jimmy? Did the dumbass forget he isn’t my keeper?”

I shrugged. “I hadn’t asked him yet. After that night, you started dragging every random guy within a five-mile radius into your team. I thought you’d moved on. I worried the same with Ed.”

“And now?” she challenged.

“And now I’m buying condoms in bulk to show my commitment.”

Her burst of laughter lightened the mood, and I grinned at the merriment in her expression, wishing I could capture the moment and keep it forever. Andi’s dark curls rioted around her head, inviting me to get lost in them. Lost in her.

We swapped more stories and memories of the years after high school over dinner, and Andi seemed to appreciate the effort I put into cooking for her.

“How’d you know chicken cordon bleu was my favorite?” she asked as she pushed back her empty plate.

I grinned. “I did my time in your grandma’s kitchen. And I remember things.”

“Things about me?” Her raised brows indicated her disbelief, and I couldn’t resist the challenge.

“You hate orange soda. Love chicken cordon bleu. Are allergic to strawberries. Used to listen to Dave Mathews Band on repeat. Need I go on?” I asked, ticking off each item on my fingers.

She folded her hands, placing her chin on top. “Fascinating, Ty. Keep telling me about me.”

Warming to her playful tone, I dug into my personal vault, wanting to prove to her that she’d had an impact on my life long before she realized.

“If you hadn’t given Andrew McDonnell a black eye for talking smack to you in the ninth grade, Jimmy and I would have taken care of it. Half the soccer team had a crush on you but didn’t dare go against Jimmy. And it was Chase and I who started the nickname Bigmouth.”

Her eyes widened at the last, and I regrettedmybig mouth.

Not to be outdone, Andi rubbed her hands together. “Okay, Hot Stuff. My turn. You aced advanced calculus but pretended to struggle so Jimmy wouldn’t feel bad. When the Southie high school mascot disappeared, nobody but me knew it was you, Jimmy, and Chase who took the macaw for a joyride and put up pictures of its travels around the school.”

She knew so many of my secrets. Was it the right time to take it a step further, reveal my last one? I opened my mouth to interject, but Andi barreled on. “Jess was your first kiss, but only because I didn’t get there first.”

My eyes lit at her last words. She may not have been first, but she’d be last.

Something about my expression must have telegraphed my intentions, because Andi held up her hands.

“Not so fast, Hot Stuff. If you know me that well, then you remember Grandma’s major rule.”