Page 129 of What We Brave

---

"You can't just say stuff like that," she mumbles into my jacket.

"Why not?"

"Because it makes me feel things."

"Good things?"

She tips her head back to look at me. Her eyes are bright. Maybe a little wet.

"Yeah," she says. "Good things."

She kisses me. Soft. Slow. Her fingers dig into my back like she's trying to pull me closer. I let her. Let myself sink into it, into her, into this moment in the middle of a crowd of strangers who probably think we're just two normal people having a normal day.

We're not. But that's okay.

When she pulls back, she's smiling.

"So you're really going to refinish my dresser?"

"Our dresser. It'll be in your apartment, but I'm going to put six weeks of my life into it, so I get partial credit."

"Fair." She kisses me again, quick. "Thank you."

"Thank me when it's done."

She steps back, still grinning. I turn to the vendor, start negotiating. The guy wants three hundred, which is insulting for the condition it's in. We settle on one-seventy-five, which is still high, but I don't care. The look on Laine's face was worth ten times that.

"How are we getting it home?" Laine asks as I hand over the cash.

"Vendor's going to help me load it in the truck."

"Then to your workshop?"

"Yeah." I pull out my phone. "But we're going to need help getting it inside."

so about that "nothing big" thing

Reid

no

too late

Reid

BLAKE

dresser. six drawers. solid oak. probably 200 pounds.

Reid

I LITERALLY JUST SAID

it's for Laine

Three dots appear. Disappear. Appear again.

Reid

---