Page 107 of Valor

“There isn’t anywhere that I wouldn’t go for you,” he replies.

A moment passes between us as we sit here beneath the sun, a light breeze in the air. Is this what falling in love is? This soul-deep warmth that radiates through every single part of me?

Oh, who am I kidding. I’ve been in love with Gibson Lawson for longer than I can even remember. It’s just changed over the years. Moving from friendship intoheart-stopping, I can’t imagine my life without himlove.

I just need him to catch up.

I hate it, but there’s a darkness to Gibson that wasn’t there before. He’d been such a happy kid. Even when I left for college and we’d said our goodbyes, there was light in his gaze. But the moment I came back and saw what Kleo had left behind, I’d wanted to hunt her down and beat some sense into her.

Which, of course, is not the right way to look at it. But she’d destroyed my friend. Ripped away the light and replaced it with a heaviness that wasn’t there before.

I’ve been trying to get it back ever since.

And as we sit here, there’s a bit of that light coming back into his gaze.

I clear my throat. “So what do I owe you for the food, Sheriff?”

“Nothing. Consider it my contribution to keeping Lani Hunt on her feet. Besides, you spotted me a twenty in the seventh grade when I didn’t have lunch money on that field trip to the zoo.”

I eye him in amusement. “You remember that?”

“I remember everything,” he says, his tone suddenly taking on a much more serious tone.

My heart leaps. Could he be talking about—no. That was a long time ago. And it was one kiss we’d been dared to share. A moment that forever changed the way I saw my best friend. “Well, I guess that good memory comes in handy now that you’re an officer of the law.”

He chuckles. “Something like that.”

We spend a few minutes eating in silence, and every passing second rejuvenates my soul. “So, you said you were already planning to bring me lunch before your mom told you that my mom thinks I’m starving away to nothing. Any particular reason?”

“Oh, yeah.” He lifts a fry but sets it back down again. “Something’s been on my mind since Bradyn’s wedding.”

I arch a brow. “That was almost three years ago.”

“I know. And it’s also a lie.” He lets out a breath and runs a hand over the back of his neck. “Look, it’s been on my mind a lot longer than that, I’m just not quite sure how to bring it up.”

“Okay. Color me intrigued.” I take a drink from my water and give Gibson my full attention even as I try to keep my excitement from growing. Is this it? Is he finally going to take that step I’ve been trying to guide him toward?

The tips of his ears are pink, and his gaze keeps darting all around. He’s nervous. “I, uh—” He runs his hand over the back of his neck again, and the muscles of his biceps flex. I have to actively keep my attention away from them. The guy has definitely bulked up since joining the sheriff’s department. “I was thinking maybe we could get some food together.”

“We’re getting food together now,” I say, grinning like an idiot.

He eyes me in a frustrated Gibson way, and it only makes my smile grow. “Dinner. Just the two of us. Maybe tonight? If you’re not available, or not interested, I can?—”

“That sounds great.” Hope surges through me and my stomach flips, happy nerves dancing in my belly.

“Really?” His expression lights up like a kid on Christmas morning.

And so does mine.

“Absolutely.”

His smile falls a bit. “You know I’m asking you out on a date, right? Like, as in not eating together as friends, but perhaps seeing if there’s something more here?” He gestures between us. “I don’t want there to be any miscommunication that would lead to embarrassment of epic proportions.”

I laugh, feeling my own smile stretch so wide I’m genuinely concerned it’s going to stick that way. “Yes, Gibson. I understand it will be a date.”

“Okay, good.” The relief on his face is evident, and he lifts a fry to stick it in his mouth. “Glad we got that cleared up.”

“Me too. So where are we going?”

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