He stepped closer to me, and for the first time, took my hand. Not secretly, not under the table. Out in the open, in front of God, the county, and the devil in a pantsuit.
Viv stared at our hands like she could burn them off with her gaze alone.
“I’m done pretending, Viv,” Floyd said. “I’m done hiding.”
For a second, I saw the old Floyd—the one who’d arrest a guy for spitting on the sidewalk, the one who thought reputation was everything. But the way he held on to me said something else: that maybe, for once, he was ready to live in his own skin, no matter how it looked to anyone else.
Viv tried one last time, softer now. “Please, Floyd. For Levi’s sake. For your own. Don’t do this.”
He shook his head, gentle. “It’s already done.”
She backed away, her armor cracking with every step. “You’ll regret this,” she said, voice trembling.
He shrugged. “I’ve regretted a lot of things. This isn’t one of them.”
She left then, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the windows. The only thing left behind was her perfume and the sense that the whole town would know by sunset.
The door barely finished vibrating before the office went quiet. Real quiet this time, the kind that fills the space between thunderclaps. The blinds were still swinging on their chains, letting in flashes of gray daylight that striped the floor and left half the room in shadow.
Floyd let out a breath, slow and controlled. His hand never let go of mine, and I could feel the way his pulse raced, almost in sync with mine.
“That,” he said, voice raspy but amused, “went about as well as I expected.”
I grinned, but the adrenaline still had my jaw clenched. “I’d give it a solid seven out of ten. You barely threatened to shoot anyone.”
He snorted. “Don’t tempt me. The day’s not over yet.”
We stood there a moment, just breathing. I could see the lines in his face start to fade, the color come back to his skin. It wasn’t victory, not yet, but it was the closest we’d gotten.
“You good?” I said, voice low.
He nodded, then shook his head. “I am now. Thanks for the cavalry.”
“Didn’t do it for you,” I said. “Did it because Viv was going to kill us all with the power of her personality.”
He laughed. Real, this time. The sound made my chest loosen, like he’d just given me permission to relax for the first time in a month.
From the hallway, I could see Levi. He stood by the vending machine, staring at the selection like he was willing a Snickers bar to solve his life. Through the lobby glass, I caught Knox and Newt outside, loitering in the snowdrift by the front steps, arms folded and looking like a pair of bouncers at a bar that only served heartbreak.
I didn’t care who was watching.
I let go of Floyd’s hand only to wrap my arm around his waist, pulling him close enough that he had to lean in or fall over. He was solid against me, heavier than I remembered, like the last few days had packed on five pounds of stubbornness and spite.
“Never thought you’d do it,” I said. “Come out. Make it public.”
He shrugged. “I figured if I was going to lose everything, I might as well do it for something that matters.”
I kissed him, right then, right there, slow and careful but hard enough to make sure the message was received. When I pulled back, he was grinning, eyes bright.
“Scandalous,” he whispered.
I looked out at the lobby. Levi was staring at us through the glass, jaw slack, phone at half-mast like he couldn’t decide whether to take a photo or set it on fire. The secretary pretended to type, but she was leaning over her monitor, soaking up every second.
“Let them talk,” I said. “We’ll give them something to really write home about.”
He nodded, settling into the circle of my arm like he belonged there. “What now?” he asked.
I thought about it. The shop was wrecked, our reputations shot, and half the county was probably betting on how long we’d last. I smiled, all teeth. “We start over. Burn it all down and build something better.”
