Page 32 of Built to Last

“Great,” I said, the weight of wondering what would happen next pressing down on me. “We passed inspection easily. Everything’s done and dusted, and it’s all on Marco to put the shop together the way he wants it now.”

“That’s fantastic.” Gilbert marched forward. He didn’t stop, stepping all the way into me and throwing his arms around me in a congratulatory hug.

I loved it. I loved the feeling of his body against mine, his warmth permeating me. I loved how free and open he was, now that we weren’t at each other’s throats all the time. The animosity had just been misplaced desire anyhow.

I didn’t have to place my desire anywhere other than where it belonged now. Swallowing the burst of terror in my gut, I shifted Gilbert in my arms and leaned in to kiss him solidly. He made a quick sound of surprise, then melted against me, kissing me back enthusiastically. He tasted like coffee, which I was quickly coming to associate with him and arousal and all sorts of good things.

I couldn’t let things go too far, though. Not yet. I pulled back and laughed breathlessly. “I guess we can just do that now,” I said.

“Can we?” Gilbert asked, coming to his senses enough to ask the question.

I stepped back and glanced down, my insides quivering a little, now that we’d reached the moment of truth. I felt calmer than I thought I would, though. I was ready for this.

“I was talking to Angela today, before the inspection.”

Guessing where I was going with that, Gilbert asked, “Oh yeah?”

I nodded, confidence growing by the second. “Guess what? She already knows I’m gay. My entire crew knows.”

“Really?” Gilbert gaped. “How did they know? Did someone tell them?”

I grinned sheepishly and rolled my eyes. “They knew because of how we were always going at each other all summer.”

“No, they didn’t,” Gilbert laughed. “We weren’t that obvious.”

“Yeah, baby, I think we were,” I said, sliding my arms around Gilbert again and pulling him close. It didn’t just feel good to hold him, it felt great to call him baby. “And there have apparently been rumors in my business circles for years. But that’s beside the point.”

“What’s important is that your crew already knew,” Gilbert said, taking the words right out of my mouth. “So you won’t risk losing them if we—” He stopped, looking up at me like he was worried he’d jumped the gun.

“So they won’t ditch me if we start dating.”

There. I’d said it. The cat was out of the bag, the glitter bomb had gone off, and all I had to do now was wait to see whether my instincts about where things would go with me and Gilbert were right after all.

“That’s a relief,” Gilbert said, his eyes filling with fire as he gripped my sides. He didn’t stop there, he slanted his mouth over mine and kissed me like he’d been waiting a lifetime for a kiss like that to rock his world.

My world was definitely rocked. I held Gilbert tight, brushing my tongue against his, then diving in for more. My whole body went hot, and arousal had me uncertain which way was up. I wanted Gilbert like I hadn’t wanted anything in a long time, and it was clear the feeling was mutual.

“So, I’m assuming you’ll want me to close up?” Chase’s teasing voice came from the doorway.

Gilbert and I both tensed, and Gil yanked away from me with a hissed, “Jesus, Chase!” A second later, he recovered enough to smile and say, “Yeah, if you could close up, that would be great.”

I snorted with laughter that had a whole lot of terror wrapped up in it. My crew knew, and apparently the Common Grounds staff knew about me and Gilbert, too. Did anyone in Glenside not know?

“Let’s get out of here,” Gilbert said, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the office.

I followed him, and as soon as we’d made it through the café and out the door, I took the lead. “My RV is just around the corner,” I said, pulling him on. “I’ve got stuff to make dinner, if you’re interested, or we could go out somewhere.”

“Later,” Gilbert said. “There’s something else I want first.”

I wanted it, too. Neither of us were particularly subtle about anything now that everyone around us knew the score. We didn’t say anything as we practically sprinted around the corner to where my RV was parked. As soon as we were inside, I locked the door, pulled down the shades, and headed for the bedroom at the back.

Gilbert was one step ahead of me. That and he’d pulled his shirt off over his head already, exposing his broad, muscled back. For a guy who worked in the office of a coffee shop, he sure was toned.

“This is probably a bad idea,” I said, unbuttoning my shirt as fast as I could and tossing it aside once I crossed into the bedroom. “We’re on a residential street.”

“We can be quiet,” Gilbert said as he sat on the side of my bed and toed off his shoes.

I wasn’t convinced we could be quiet enough, but the way I was feeling, what we would lack in volume control we would definitely make up for in speed.