Page 40 of Filthy Rich Brother’s Best Friends (Filthy Rich Harems #5)

Reid

W es slams the front door so hard it rattles the whole house. My hands are shaking from the adrenaline and I curl them into fists at my sides.

Lola hasn’t made a sound since Wes left. I turn to look at her and her eyes are fixed on some invisible point beyond me. I take one step toward her. She won’t meet my eyes.

“Lo…”

She still doesn’t look at me. “I’m processing.”

“I didn’t want to lie to him when he asked about what was going on.” My voice scrapes the back of my throat.

I take another step toward her.“What we have is not nothing. I need you to know that. Whatever this is—we both know it’s not a phase. It’s not temporary. It’s not a fucking accident. I’m in. I’ve been in since the second I let myself want you.”

Please don’t let this be the end of it.

When her eyes lift to mine, I stop breathing. She looks gutted.

“Please, baby…” My voice drops. “I don’t care if he cuts me off. But don’t you walk away.”

I reach for her before I can second-guess it. My thumbs brush against her cheekbones.

“Lola.”

“I’m not mad. I mean, I am, just not at you.”

The relief hits so fast it’s dizzying.

“You were just trying to avoid that. I cannot fucking believe him.”

“He put his hands on you,”Miles growls.

I glance over my shoulder, surprised at the anger in his voice. His expression is neutral, but he’s practically vibrating with rage.

“I’m fine,” she reassures him. “I’m okay.”

She turns back into me before any of us can say more. Her hand slides into mine, and then she leans forward, pressing her forehead to my chest. Her head tips forward to settle just beneath my chin, and I feel her take a deep breath.

I wrap my arms around her and hold on. I’m never letting her go again. I hate that this might end my relationship with Wes, but if that’s the price I have to pay, I will. I press a kiss to her hair and just hold her.

“I can’t lose you,” I tell her quietly. “I… I love you, Lo.”

“You’re not going to lose me,” she says. “And I love you too. As crazy as it sounds, I think I always have.”

Before I can absorb what just happened—before the weight of her words has even registered—there’s movement behind us.

Jude throws one arm around my shoulders and the other around Lola, pulling us both into a tangled, uneven hug that knocks the breath out of me. The force of it nearly knocks us off balance, not that he seems to care.

“I knew it,” he says, voice cracking with emotion. “I fucking knew this was happening.”

He squeezes harder.

“You guys. I’m so glad we’re saying it now. Jesus. Keeping it in was pure fucking torture.”

Lola lets out a sound that’s half laugh, half gasp. She leans into Jude and I can feel the tension in her body start to fade away.

Jude pulls back just enough to look at her, and his eyes are glassy when he says it. “I love you. God I love you.”

He says it again, quieter. Then louder—practically shouting it.

Lola starts shaking. For a second, I think she’s crying. But then she tilts her head back and I see the pure, unfiltered joy on her face. She’s laughing.

Jude holds her tighter, swaying with her in his arms while she buries her face in his shoulder. He’s grinning like he’s been waiting his whole life for this moment.

“I love you too,” she says. “Even if you are an absolute lunatic.”

He makes a sound halfway between a sob and a shout. Then he kisses the top of her head.

Everything about this moment feels right.

I wasn’t sure about the sharing—hell, I was adamantly against it.

I knew I wanted Lola and that was about it.

It wasn’t her fault that I waited so long to pull my head out of my ass.

By then, she was already falling for Jude.

And of course, I’ve always known Miles had a thing for her.

Speaking of Miles?—

I scan the room.

He’s standing off to the side with an unreadable expression on his face. He doesn’t look angry anymore but I can’t tell what’s going through his mind now.

Miles always feels like he’s on the outside looking in. But he’s been a part of this from the beginning. Lola wants him here. I want him here.

Lola notices Miles just as I do. She crosses the room to him without hesitation.

She stops in front of him, rises onto her toes and presses her mouth to his. The tension in Miles’s posture drains out of him as he exhales into the kiss. He melts into her.

“I’ve loved you for a long time, Lola Monroe Hayes. Quietly. In my own head. I just…never thought I’d get to tell you out loud.”

Lola’s smile softens and she kisses him again. “You could’ve told me.”

“I’m telling you now.”

“Then I’m telling you, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I love you, Miles.”

“I love you too, baby.”

Of course that’s when Jude decides to come over and hug the two of them.

“This is the best day of my life,” he says, grabbing ahold of both of them and swaying.

“I love us,” he continues, with a huge goofy grin on his face.

Miles exhales through his nose, but he doesn’t pull away. Lola keeps giggling. And Jude squeezes them both even tighter.

Never in a million years did I think this is how this would play out.