Page 55 of Shelter from the Storm

As always, Sam was selling himself short. Theo spent a great deal of time in the brewery, socializing with their patrons, and all he’d heard was overwhelming support for Sam and relief that they wouldn’t have to deal with the pretentious Scottie for much longer.

And to prove his point, he and Sam spent the next half hour chatting with countless locals, all coming over to wish his brother luck. The election was only six days away, and Theo knew Sam, who’d been doing quite a lot of campaigning, would be glad when it was finally over.

Theo was planning a celebration on the down-low with Gretchen. The day after the election and Sam’s win, they wanted to hold a victory party at the brewery, where people could raise a glass and participate in a happy hour with their new mayor. If—God forbid—Sam didn’t win, he would be none the wiser that there’d even been a party planned.

When a slow song came on, Theo excused himself, quickly moving to the edge of the dance floor, ready to intercept Gretchen on her way off. She smiled when she saw him waiting, and there wasn’t a drop of hesitance as she accepted his outstretched hand.

Theo pulled her back onto the floor, lifting both her hands to his shoulders before pushing the eye patch up—he didn’t want anything obstructing his view of her—then he grasped her waist, drawing her close.

Gretchen sank into his arms, and he released a long sigh. It had been a rough week of second-guessing himself. For the first time since that kiss, the world felt right again.

Because she belonged here.

In his arms.

The two of them swayed as Rihanna sang “Lift Me Up.” The lyrics and beautiful melody felt as if they were written just for them.

“This is our song,” he murmured.

Gretchen lifted her face to him as he spoke. “We have a song?” she asked, her eyes shimmering. Had she been on the verge of crying? Was the song affecting her the same way it was him?

“We do. This one.” Theo sang the words of the chorus in her ear as Gretchen rested her forehead on his shoulder.

“It’s a beautiful song. The words…they’re nice. Peaceful. I like the idea of being safe and sound.” She lowered her gaze, and he got the sense she was trying to compose herself.

Theo hated that she considered being safe and sound an idea rather than a reality, and he decided there was a special place in Hell for her mom and stepfather, mistreating her the way they had.

He put the thought away because this dance was too perfect to waste by not living in the moment.

“Lift me up,” he sang to her, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. Then he went for broke, his lips touching hers. He intended to steal a quick kiss, but his lips had other ideas, especially when Gretchen returned it.

Sadly, she recalled herself too quickly. She stiffened, broke off the kiss, and glanced around again, searching for witnesses. “Theo,” she started, the same tone of warning in her voice she’d used at the table.

“I’m not your boss anymore,” he said.

Gretchen stopped dancing, gasping.

Shit. She’d misinterpreted his words, because now she looked panicked and upset.

“Nora is,” he hastily added. “You’ll answer to her from now on. Which means you and I are nothing more than colleagues.”

Her shoulders visibly relaxed, though she rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way.”

“It does,” he reassured her, forcing her to start dancing again, a strong arm looped around her back. “You said we shouldn’t give in to this attraction to each other because I’m your boss. I’m not anymore.”

“That’s not the only reason. We barely know each other.”

“We’ve spent every single day together for the past five weeks, and every time we say goodbye, I start counting the minutes until we’re together again. Gretchen, I know this is fast, but this has never happened to me before. I’ve never felt a connection like this with anyone. We can take things slowly if you want, but I’m not going to pretend the attraction isn’t there. And we’re not going to hide our feelings from everyone. It would be pointless anyway, since I already told my brothers and Nora, and they told everyone else. So you can stop looking around to see if anyone is watching us.”

Gretchen’s eyes widened. “You what?”

Theo leaned closer, her breath hot against his face. “When I kissed you…you kissed me back. Both times.”

“I know,” she said, “but I shouldn’t have.”

“You feel this thing too, don’t you?”

She stared at him, biting her lower lip.

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