“And Sylvia thought you’d died.” As if on cue, the journalist’s flash left Molly blinking away more spots. “I think we can do better than that.”
His small smile got bigger and bigger, until his joy was as brilliant and blinding as Sylvia’s flash. “Sure as hell can.”
Rob ostentatiously cleared his throat, and they reluctantly looked over at him. “If and when you come to your senses, Molly, I’ll accept your apology, and we can talk about—”
Karl groaned so loudly, her ex-husband jumped.
“Quit dicking around, fuckface,” he told Rob, “and justgo.”
“Please do.” Sylvia held up her camera. “You’re blocking my view, young man.”
“Make like Walt Whitman’s grass,” Lise said, “andleave.”
“Do what the lit nerd says, asshat!” a random spectator—was that Ned?—called out.
After a final long-suffering sigh, Rob did in fact turn to go. Onlyto get tangled with Karl’s foot somehow. Her ex-husband staggered, half falling to the floor. And as Karl reached out to assist—
After a collective gasp, utter silence blanketed the gym.
Then Rob raised his cake-covered face, and a dollop of eel slime dripped from his nose. At which point Molly had to look away before she totally lost her shit, like the rest of the crowd.
“Oh, no.” Karl wiped his hands on a napkin, sounding unutterably bored. “Such a fucking shame. My apologies, dude.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Rob puff up like a rooster and snatch at the pile of neatly folded napkins too. “You did that on purpose, you dick.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Karl patted at the most unconvincing yawn in the history of theater, all while eyeing the other man like a cockroach. “Must suck to get a cake in the goddamn face when you didn’t want that, though.”
They both knew she’d never have done it herself, because—even now, in her petty era—she’d be too concerned about reasonableness and maturity. So he’d done it for her, where she could watch and appreciate every frosting-caked bit of glory.
Truly, Molly had never loved anyone more. Which he didn’t yet realize, because he’d interrupted her declaration of affections several minutes ago.
She should probably get back on that.
Ignoring Rob’s various complaints and inadequate attempts to clean himself, she stretched out her hand to Karl. “Hey, Dean? I have something you should probably look at.”
“Jesus H. Christ.” Without even a flicker of hesitation, he put down the cake plate, dismissed her ex-husband from his attention, and rounded the table to claim her hand and intertwine their fingers. “Whatnow?”
“Nothing bad.” With her free hand, she showed him her phone display. “See?”
He squinted down at the screen. “The hell am I looking at, Dearborn?”
“A social media update. Which, as you’ll notice, I posted at least five or ten minutes before you said you loved me.” A tap of her fingernail against the phone’s screen directed him where to look. “While Rob was still lecturing me, I shared my upcoming move with my Facebook fan group. Announced I was pulling up stakes and heading to Maryland sooner rather than later.”
“Really?” He bent closer to the text. “You did thatbeforeI told you how I felt?”
“As my post’s timestamp clearly indicates.”
“I don’t get it.” His back made a cracking noise as he straightened, and he stared at her with a creased brow. “Why would you—”
“Because you said you wanted me to move here. That’s not something you’d ask a casual lover to do, or anyone you weren’t absolutely sure about.” She tucked the phone back into her clutch. “And I’ve never met a more steadfast person in my life. When it comes to loyalty, you’re basically the Rock of Gibraltar—”
“Home to a shit-ton of macaques?”
“—which means you won’t change your mind or find someone you want more than me. Not soon. Not ever.” She stepped into him, close enough to bask in his unfaltering heat. “Your declaration of undying love was merely the icing on a delicious eel-shaped cake. I’d already made my call.”
His hands lifted to cradle her face. “You know I won’t be an asshole and take advantage of you, right?”
“Yep.” When he swept his work-roughened thumbs over her cheekbones, the slight friction set her nerves alight. “I know.”
