How could anyone doubt, when he said it so softly, so gravely? He even glanced away after he’d told her, as if the emotion of doing it was just a little too much.
Though that might have been Lydia drawing his attention.
She pointed to her eyes and then pointed at him before turning to speak to Brad.
Who was in fact wearing a shirt that showed off his delightful chest.
“Your buddy looks kind of disapproving.”
“Well, in her defense, you did Stockholm me.”
“I want to deny it, but right now it kind of feels like I did.”
“I’ll let you in on a secret: I went willingly to my doom.”
“It will never be your doom. I promise you. I promise.”
He squeezed her hand tight. As if he could imprint that promise on her skin.
But really it was her, now, who needed to reassure him.
“Not even if I’m an asshole who keeps you like a dirty secret?”
“You weren’t an asshole. You protected yourself. I like that.”
“It doesn’t seem like you like it.”
“Not going to lie—it stings, too. But it’s a sweet kind of sting. Like the kind of thing you might get after taking a bullet in the shoulder for someone you love.”
She had something planned to say, after hearing that firststing.
But it started to melt at the idea of it being sweet. And then he got to the other part, the part about the bullet and the shoulder and thelove,and the words dissolved altogether. She froze right where she was, looking up at him through the faintly smoky air. Half leaning on his arm, hand in his. Everything as it was, only he had just said those words.
And now he was slowly becoming aware of that fact.
She watched his eyes widen slightly, and then he jerked his gaze to her.
“Oh. Oh no, wait…no, I meant…you know what I meant.”
“Wow, okay, because for a second there…”
“Yeah, for a second I was like in love with you after five minutes of friendship.”
He laughed, while she tried not to think about how thin that sound was.
It was probably just her imagination. Or his embarrassment over this mistake.
“Right? Has it been five minutes? Because it feels like thirty seconds.”
“Well, actually it’s been around a month, but I take your point.”
“A month is still absolutely nothing.”
“No, god no. It’s a tiny amount of time.”
“And that bullet comment was totally cool enough.”
“You like the bullet thing?”
