Page 147 of Enchanted

“I did. I didn’t mean to, but like I said, there wasn’t a lot of thought or finesse going into it.”

“I probably should’ve freaked out about where it had gone more,” he mused, “but compared to learning I didn’t have cancer, it didn’t feel very important in the grand scheme of things.”

“True,” I said. “Anyway, back to your earlier question, I suspected you were lying when you said you didn’t want friends. You seemed so fucking lonely, Ethan.”

“I was.”

“I know.” I kissed his temple. “You’ll never be lonely again. Not only do you have me, but you’ve inherited an entire family who will willingly march into battle with you.”

“Even Sam?”

“Oh, don’t underestimate Sam. He’s not much of a fighter, but he’s just as scary as the rest of us. He’s learned pretty fast that angels aren’t much better than children. You’ve got to put boundaries in place and reinforce them.”

“Noted.”

“Sam was the one who reached out, obviously. It was all his idea.”

“So he didn’t really need a thousand photos of you in different poses and outfits?” He smirked at me. “Shocker.”

“He is planning on selling them, but I wanted a way to become your friend without it seeming weird. When Nate found your website, this seemed like the easiest way.”

“It is kind of genius. God, no wonder Sam was so pushy about my fee.”

I fixed him with a pointed look. “That’s something that needs to be discussed, going forward.”

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like you’ll be convincing me of anything of the sort.”

“You’re right, I won’t be convincing you of anything. Sam will.”

He flinched. “That’s not playing fair.”

I chuckled lightly. “Feels like a ‘you’ problem.”

“I thought we were in this together!”

“We are, unless it comes to matters concerning you. Then I’m firmly on the side of whatever is best for you.”

Ethan grumbled. “Damn it, you’re so sweet and earnest, it makes it hard to be mad at you.”

“Ah, you’ve discovered my dastardly plan.”

“I’m assuming your other plan didn’t involve flirting with me at every opportunity.”

“I wasn’t that bad.”

He raised an eyebrow, making me laugh.

“Okay, I was.” I shrugged. “But it was unintentional, I promise. I genuinely wanted to be your friend. I can’t help it if flirting with you is as easy as breathing.”

“That’s true; I can’t say I was much better,” he said ruefully. “We were just meant to be, even if I wasn’t always aware of it.”

“I would’ve waited, Ethan. Even if all you’d wanted from me was friendship, I would’ve been happy with that.”

“I know.” He kissed me briefly before grinning happily, an expression I knew was a mirror of my own. “Now we get to be friends and in love. How does that sound?”

“Like all my dreams come true.”

Ethan’s teeth dug into my palm, doing little to contain his whimpers.