“But I kissed you last night. I wouldn’t have done that if I was with someone else. You should know that about me.”

“I do know that about you, but…well, it’s been almost a year. Things sometimes change. I didn’t want to make false assumptions about us and where we stand. Basically, I didn’t want to get hurt.”

“Well, I didn’t want to either, you know? I believe you when you say you’ve changed. I can see it in your attitude, your behavior, even the way you carry yourself. You’re different. And I want to believe that you’re still attracted to me, Brett. I really do. But it’s hard for me when I don’t look the same as I did before.”

Brett’s eyes gazed over her. Her makeup was smeared down her face, her long hair was plastered to her head, and her skin had broken out in goose bumps from the cold. She looked like hell. But he knew how beautiful she was—inside and out—and there was no one else he would rather be with.

Then he glanced down and realized something else. Her thin white blouse was soaking wet, and she looked like she’d just participated in a wet T-shirt contest. One she would’ve easily won, seeing how she wasn’t wearing a bra. Christ.

“You’re going to have to trust me, Sid.”

Her bottom lip trembled. “I…don’t know if I can. Not when it comes to this.”

Brett moved toward her until he had her backed up against the doorjamb and their bodies were touching. Determined to convince her how wrong she was, he rubbed himself against her, letting the hard ridge in his pants speak for itself. “Does that at all feel like I’m not attracted to you?”

Her breath hitched, and the sound made him even harder.

Unable to help himself, he bent his head and kissed her, his mouth taking hers with a fierce hunger that he’d never felt before. She responded immediately by parting her lips and pressing more of herself against him, and his heart beat wildly. God, he wanted her. But he still needed to know if she was all in.

With a growl of frustration, he forced himself to pull back. “I love you, Sid. Always have. But I need to know you feel the same. Otherwise, we need to stop this right here and now before one of us gets hurts.”

Her chest heaved with every breath. “Of course I’m still in love with you. I’ve been miserable without you. I never stopped loving you.”

Thank God. His heart squeezed. “Let’s go inside and get out of the rain.”

“I don’t think I can move yet. My legs are shaky. Give me a minute.”

Not happening. He wasn’t waiting that long.