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“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
My stomach sank. He was going to say goodbye. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from saying anything, waiting him out.
Soren toyed with the zipper of the pillow. “I am. Happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding. “That’s good.”
He bit his bottom lip and looked at me, his gaze locking on mine, his dark eyes intense. “I need you to know that I told them I’m not straight. I guess I was always a little unsure about my sexuality, but for now, at least, I know I’m not straight.”
A lump formed in my throat. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? How did his revelation impact me? Impact us? “You’re not?”
He shook his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes. I longed to reach out and brush it away for him. “I’m definitely not. Last night was the confirmation I needed.”
I dropped my voice to a whisper, terrified of the answer. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because… I want to be with you. For real. Not just as business partners and pretend husbands, but because of who you are.” He bit his bottom lip again as if he was worried about my response.
I lurched across the couch and kissed him, my tongue teasing the seam of his mouth open and sliding inside. I held him close with one hand, the other propping me up, and resisted the urge to turn the kiss into something more sexually charged. Finally, I tore myself away and sat back.
“I want to be with you too, if that wasn’t clear.” I laughed shakily. “Not just as business partners or pretend husbands,” I echoed.
“You do?” His eyebrows rose as if he couldn’t believe it.
I nodded firmly. “I do. I’ve wanted to tell you that for a long time, but I didn’t know how. And after last night… it seemed like the right time, so I was going to tell you tonight, until you beat me to it.”
He laughed sheepishly and grinned. “What does this mean for us then?”
I lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “I guess it means we’re together. We don’t have to put a label on it any more than you have to label your sexuality. We can just… be together and see where it takes us.”
He exhaled softly. “That sounds good.” Soren hesitated for a moment. “I think we should go to bed.”
I raised my eyebrows. “We?”
“Together. In our bedroom.”
I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over my face. “I’d like that.” I followed him down the hall and we climbed into bed, Soren snuggling close into my arms. We fell asleep holding each other like that, my heart light, my worries about the theater put on hold until the morning.
Chapter Eighteen
Soren
Istirred awake the next morning to the sound of rain pattering on the windows, still in Levi’s arms, curled up against his warm body. I tried to ease out of his grasp but he quickly woke, pulling me back down and yawning.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I chuckled and wiggled out of his arms. “Sorry. Nature calls.”
He snorted. “I think we’ve had enough of nature’s attitude right now, don’t you?”
“Do you think we can get downtown today and check out the damage?”
“Yeah,” he murmured. “Absolutely. Look, I don’t want you to be too upset if things are bad, you know? We can always fix it. We’ve done it once, we can do it again.”
I bit my lip and nodded. “Sure,” I said, despite how very uncertain everything felt.
An hour later, we were driving downtown in Levi’s pickup to inspect the theater for damage. Of the buildings that hadn’t been boarded up, many had cracked or broken glass facing the street, and there were leaves and downed branches on the ground everywhere.
Levi turned up the side street before the theater so he could pull into the parking lot behind the Radiance. He let the truck idle as we sat for a moment, staring at the building. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath. “You ready?”
