Disclaimer: JE's Characters—my Version.

Chapter Eleven

Tony managed to get me out to the car and through my choked out sobs he got us back to my place. I was glad when he stepped out of the car and followed me inside. Maybe he wasn't the person I wanted most of all to talk to; but Tony was a pretty solid second. Growing up Tony was the one of Joe's brothers I was closest with. Trey and Joe never saw eye to eye so he was never really around us; Gino spent most of his times chasing other woman—so he had no time for me either. Tony saw the way Joe and I used to be and if anyone knew the stuff we had gone through; it'd be him.

When we got upstairs Tony wasted no time grabbing a couple beers from my fridge and handed one to me as we both plopped down on the couch.

"So how much do you know about what happened after you sent Joe to come get me?"

Tony took a swig of his beer and stretched his legs out on my coffee table. "Pretty much everything. Joe beat the piss out of Austin; took you back to his place, you rehashed the past, he professed his undying loved and you walked away."

Now it was my turn to take a drink. "He told you all of that?"

"Steph," He said rolling his eyes. "That poor fool has called me about a thousand times since last night. He's a mess and keeps asking me what he should do about it."

"What do you tell him?" I asked as I cringed inwardly.

"Normally, I would tell him to quick crying and go get his girl. In this case; his girl also happens to be a really good friend of mine." I must have had a confused look on my face, because he smiled and clarified. "You, Steph."

"But Hallie…"

"But Hallie nothing. My brother doesn't love her; he didn't want to even get engaged. She talked him into it and just think of it this way—you were with Austin, did you love him?"

"No." I answered without hesitation; even if I hadn't walked in on Austin playing hide-the-salami with another woman, I never could have gone through with marrying him.

"Well, think of your Austin—as Joe's Hallie."

"I can't just expect him to call off the engagement though for me; I mean we hardly know each other anymore. Sure, we were best friends and ended on awful terms—but it's been ten years."

Tony shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Do you think the two of you have changed that much? C'mon Stephanie, now I am not a sappy guy so what I'm going to say has to be between the two of us—deal?"

"Deal."

"I have never seen two people more made for each other than you and my brother. The way you two have always been around each other; and the way you guys never really moved on. That should tell you something in itself Stephanie."

I slammed down the rest of my beer and tried to regain my vision through the layer of tears in my eyes.

"I'm going tell you right now that Joe is going to call me about a dozen more times tonight and ask me what to do. He is so lost and so damn scared to lose you again. You might not know this but when the two of you had your falling out—he was a wreck. Drank himself stupid, picked fights with everyone and at first I thought it was just him turning into the shithead we all became at that age. But on several occasions when he thought no one was looking I saw his head drop down and a few tears rolled down his cheek. I always knew you two were close and cared for each other; but it was then that I realized he was in love with you. And when I saw you around and saw how worn down you looked—I knew you felt the same way."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Joe had been as broken up as I was; but our stupid pride prevented us from going to one another. Just like last night there he was the man of my dreams standing in front of me professing his love. And me being the fool I was—I didn't say it back. I was afraid of what would happen if I were to lose him again so it was like I was pushing him away on purpose to avoid a potential heartbreak. Man am I screwed up or what!

"Stephanie?" Tony asked, pulling me out of thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"What do I tell him? Should he back away from you and let you move on with your life or do I tell him to fight like hell to win back the only woman that has ever been in his heart?"

"Don't tell him to do anything. I don't want Joe to come for me because in a moment of weakness I was in his mind. If he wants to get married, if he doesn't—he shouldn't. I don't want to be the deciding factor of his future." Tony looked at me and nodded.

"I'll tell him to figure things out for himself."

"Thank you."

Tony stood to leave and I followed him to the door and before he left he took my chin in his hands. "I'm going to stay out of this and let things happen as they will. But I'm still praying that one day you'll be my sister-in-law." With that he placed a kiss on my cheek and was gone.

I didn't know what to think anymore. My heart was screaming at me to tell Tony that Joe needed to fight for me. We needed to be together, but I meant what I said. I didn't want to be the reason Joe left Hallie; because what happens if in the future we did get together. Would he still be thinking of the life he could have had with Hallie? Joe needed to end things on his own terms, because she wasn't the one for him. That would be the only way I knew for sure that we could really be together; which I knew I would only admit it to myself—but that was what I wanted more than anything.

Joseph Morelli was a brilliant comet that had returned to my life, illuminating the darkness I never realized I was in. Without him around my life was dark and meaningless—I just had to pray that I was the light of his life as well.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Joe's POV

There were very few times in my life when I was so emotionally handicapped that I couldn't function. And every single time it had to do with Stephanie. In high school when I watched every guy stare at her like she was the next item on their "To Do List"; I became an extremely jealous wreck. I never admitted this to Steph though; she had always worked in mysterious ways and the last thing I wanted to do was risk potentially losing her by stepping in. Then the night we had sex was the single most powerful and passionate moment I have ever experienced. And shortly after that I let my anger get the best of me and I said some things that I didn't mean. Little did I know that my next opportunity to take back what I said would arrive 10 years later.

I didn't mean things to go the way they did; and I had to admit I was scared shitless at the thought of a future with Steph. Not because I didn't want one with her—but because I wanted one so bad that it was killing me to have nothing but silence between us. I had every intention to go over to her house and tell her I loved her and that she was the only person I could ever love. But those words never left me; instead I showered her with words that still haunted me. The last thing I said to her was "forget you then" but that had been much easier said than done.

I had never forgot about Stephanie and now here I was…once again in the same position. I could feel it—I was on the verge of losing her forever; and there was no part of me that could handle that.

I was sitting on my couch when I heard the front door open. There was only one person I wanted to walk through that door—and I knew immediately it wasn't who I wanted. That was when Hallie's face came into view; her arms lined with bags containing more crap she didn't need. I had told Hallie many times before that I wanted to do things the 'old fashioned' way, and not have her move in until we were married. Truth was I couldn't stand the way she took over this place; I was a man of simple tastes—and this woman was the complete opposite. For the past couple of months now she has been bringing over bags of shit and stuffing them in my closets. There had been a few times I was tempted to throw the stuff out in the yard; but I knew she'd just buy more.

"Hey sweetie-cakes!" I inwardly shuddered at the nickname. The nicknames Hallie bestowed on me were all cutesy and nauseating; and usually were never the same.

Just seeing her in my house put everything into a perspective that I had been blind to in the past. I wasn't opposed to living with another woman—I was opposed to living with this woman. Nothing about the comforts of this home I made my own after I inherited from my Aunt Rose were conducive to Hallie's styles. She didn't fit here, and she certainly didn't fit with me.

"We need to talk, Hallie." She moved toward me to give me a kiss, but I moved away from her.

"What's wrong snookie poo?"

"This isn't going to work."

Hallie didn't seem the least bit affected by my words. "I know, I was actually out looking at new living room sets; this stuff in here has to go. It should be illegal!"

This wasn't the first time she had insulted the furniture in my house; and usually I brushed it off without another thought. But this time I knew I couldn't deal with her obnoxious remarks and insult. Hallie wasn't just trying to change my furniture—she was trying to change me. Everyone else saw it; and it wasn't until Stephanie walked back into my life did I remember who I truly was.

"No Hallie, you are what has to go." There was a flash of shock that hit her face, before regaining composure and brushing it off.

"What are you talking about?"

"This isn't going to work—you and I. We aren't going to work."

"Well of course we are; you're just getting cold feet, muffin lips. That's normal."

"No actually right now my feet are good and toasty about this decision."

Hallie eyed me down and her eyes darkened. "What is this really about Joseph?" The way she said my name reminded me of the way my mother used to say it when I was being scolded. And there was nothing attractive about being reminded of my mother in a situation like this.

"This is about the fact that we are not right for each other—at all. I mean we don't really know anything about each other; and what's more is I haven't really cared to know."

"What are you talking about—we know a lot about each other and we have the rest of our lives to get to know the rest."

I laced my hands and rested my chin on top of them. "What's my favorite color?" Hallie rolled her eyes at me.

"It's red, of course."

"It's blue; do you want to know why my favorite color is blue?"

"I give up—you like the ocean!" She was quickly losing control of the Stepford Wife persona she so regularly wore.

"Because that is the color of Stephanie's eyes." I swear I saw flames flicker in Hallie's eyes at my answer.

"So this is about her?"

"Not directly—even if Stephanie didn't come back into my life, things between us still wouldn't have worked."

"Are you in love with her?" She spit out the question at me.

An image of Stephanie smiling and laughing filled my mind. And even just the memory of her caused a smile to naturally spread over my face. "Yes—I do love her." I loved every part of her. I loved the way she looked in the morning; and the way her face always lit up when she saw me. I loved the way a simple touch from her could take away any pain or anger I was feeling. I loved the way her lips felt against mine, and I loved the way no matter where I was or what I was doing—just the simple thought of her made my day. And I was done hiding it and running from it. Stephanie Plum is the only woman for me and I knew deep down that she had my heart from the moment I saw her in her cute little pigtails holding out a cupcake for me. I was a Cupcake man—and that was never going to change.

"That's absolutely ridiculous! How on EARTH could you love her!" The tone of disgust in Hallie's voice brought out my defensive side—she was talking about my Stephanie like she was nothing but trash.

"You don't even know her Hallie—so I suggest you back away and leave it alone."

"Oh Joseph, you can't be serious here! She is a train wreck; she's ugly and has absolutely NO redeeming qualities about her! You don't know what you're saying!"

That was it—she could insult my furniture and my lifestyle all she wanted but I was not about to let her trash talk Steph. I stood from the couch and planted my hands on my hips.

"You have no right to talk shit about her Hallie. I have never met anyone as transparent as you! You have no personality and you haven't once taken the time out to actually get to know me. Since we met I have been nothing but your damn Cabana boy and I'm done with this shit. You need to get out of my house right now—and I swear Hallie, you better quit flapping your lips about Stephanie. Because even though I would never hit you—I know for a fact she has a mean right hook. And I know she isn't going to let you anyone trash her like that."

"Honey boo—you are just stressed, it's fine."

I pointed one of my hands to the door. "Get out Hallie, before I arrest you for trespassing." Her mouth hung open for a beat before she snapped it shut and narrowed her eyes at me.

"You'll regret this Joseph Morelli!" She stomped out the door.

"Not likely!" I yelled before slamming the door shut behind her.

"Why the hell didn't I do that sooner?" I said to Bob who finally made an appearance from gnawing at something in the kitchen. He tipped his big goofy head to the side—and I was sure he was saying: No idea!