“I am not! It’s only four.”
He tries to send me the middle finger as I make my way around the front of the vehicle to the driver side, but he’s wearing mittens, which decidedly mutes the effect.
“Shut up.” He scowls, ripping off his mittens and unwinding the scarf. “Fuck, I’m sweating.”
“Oh my God, I love you so much,” I say, reaching across the console to kiss his sweaty temple.
Suddenly, Gael’s grumpy attitude vanishes and he goes quiet. He turns to me, his eyes gone all gimlety.
“I know,” he murmurs.
“You know what?” I ask, rewinding our conversation.
Oh.Fuck.
Too soon, Tolly. Too soon.
I grimace. “Gael—”
He holds up his hand, or as much as he can, given his many layers. When an indelicate snort escapes my nose, he tries—unsuccessfully—to cross his arms in a pout. After some wrangling, he takes off the rather large puffer coat, which seems to solve most of his issues.
“Fine. Just show me your estate, and we’ll pretend you didn’t tell me that you loved me two seconds after you sat on my face.”
“It wasn’t your rimming skills, darling, which are unequaled.”
“Whatever. That’s the story I’m telling myself.”
“You know I’ve been mad for you for six months. This is not a surprise.”
He drops his chin to his chest, his smile so bright it might crack his jaw right off his face. “I know.”
“You have fancied me for exactly the same amount of time. Don’t lie.”
“True.”
“And just because I was respecting your healing process doesn’t mean my feelings weren’t developing. Seriously, name one person who has spent this much time with you and not fallen head over heels in love. I’ll wait,” I say, a smidge defensively.
“I know.”
I look at him, incredulous. “What do you know of other people falling in love with you?”
“Johnson City is a small town, but there are plenty of people who find me attractive. Some who’ll even ask me out.”
“You’ve been dating this whole time?” I ask, my heart cracking in two. “I thought you said…”
I mean, is it fair I’m jealous when I hadn’t even asked him out? No. But here we are.
“No, you idiot.” He emphasizes my idiocy with a mostly ineffective punch to my shoulder. “People have been asking me out, and I have been rejecting them.”
I stare at him. “Why have you been rejecting them?”
“You know why I’ve been rejecting them,” he says snippily, gesturing forward as if to hurry along my review of the estate.
I turn off the vehicle and face him entirely. “We are going nowhere until you tell me why you have been rejecting them.”
Chuckling to himself, he reaches across the console and cups the back of my head, giving me a kiss for the ages. “You asked the question and you are the answer. Please turn the vehicle back on before I freeze to death. It’s negative two degrees outside!”
“That’s in Celsius, you drama queen. Nearly thirty degrees in your Fahrenheit.”
