Page 65 of All This Time

She arches a brow. “And what was his response to that?”

“Umm…” I can feel my cheeks grow hot from the memory of Fletcher pressing me up against the kitchen counter and the words he said in that deep timbre of his voice. “He basically told me that Spencer was an idiot, and he’d like to rip his limbs from his body.”

Dilynne’s eyes bug out as she stands, looking me in the eyes. “Holy shit. Laney…”

I throw my hands in the air. “I know!”

“He really said that?”

“Yes, but what the hell am I supposed to do with that information? I mean, shit, Dilynne…” I begin to pace. “What he said, how close he was to me, the way he toyed with my bottom lip…”

Dilynne visibly shudders. “Damn, that’s hot.”

I freeze and lower my voice. “It was one of the hottest moments of my life.”

She studies me for a moment, tapping her wrench on her palm. “What happened after that?”

“We finished filling the favors, and then he went home.”

“Huh.” Dilynne sits back down on the board and starts to roll back under the car, but I put my foot on the board, stopping her.

“Huh? That’s all you have to say?”

“What more do you want from me?”

“I don’t know. Tell me what to do! What does this mean?!”

“Laney, only you can answer that.”

“But—”

She sits up, resting her arms between her legs, peering up at me. “Look, you could have asked him, or hell, even kissed him, but you didn’t.” She shrugs.

“Well, I mean… Why would I?”

“I think the more important question you need to ask yourself is, whywouldn’tyou?”

I blink. “What?”

I’m used to blunt honesty from her, but I never imagined this being her advice.

“Why didn’t you give in to the moment?”

“Because… Because I don’t want to cause any issues for Elliot, Tori, and their big day,” I say, but Dilynne’s eyes narrow.

“Nope. Try again.”

“That’s the reason—”

“No, it’s not.” She gives me a full once-over. “You’re scared. I don’t know why I didn’t see it sooner. We’ve known each other most of our lives, and I can tell when you’re letting fear run things.”

“I am notscared.”

“Yes, you are, and now you definitely have a reason to be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“A man—not just any man, but your brother’s best friend, the guy you had the most insane crush on—wouldnotgo to those lengths and do those things, or say those things, if he did not have feelings for you.”