Page 187 of Affair
He stared into his eyes.
“Again, flawed theory, Gamble. That’s how you see you. I see you very differently. You’re an honorable Marine. You’ve served your country in ways mere mortals couldn’t. You’re a hero. Why wouldn’t I be thrilled to be with you? Why wouldn’t I want to be with someone who can survive in a cave? Mate, you pulled two fish out of a hole in the ground with your bare hands. Who does that?”
He sat there like what Poe was saying was all foreign. So, he continued.
“You could have given me a chance to prove myself to you, Gamble, but instead, you assumed. While my parents are the Duke and Dutchess of Gordon, I’m just Poe Seville. I love my horses more than money, and I would be lucky to be with you.”
Gamble was definitely struggling.
No one ever wanted to be with him. Most of the time, Storm barely wanted him near her.
To hear this…
It was difficult for him.
Poe wasn’t done.
“You’re smart, funny, and brave. Any person would be lucky to be chosen by you. I hope you find that person one day, and I hope that you remember these moments and think about me a little. I know I’ll never forget about you.”
His heart kicked.
Had he fucked this up so badly that the man was done with him? That he’d wrecked that slim, tiny chance?
“Poe.”
The man shut that down.
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready to head out?” he asked. “You have a long trek a head of you. You have recon, and I’m holding you back.”
Gamble was curious.
“If I left and never came back to NOLA, what would you do”? he asked him. “What would you have done before we had this conversation?”
Poe didn’t hesitate.
That was the easiest answer for him.
“I’d try to find you. I’d be worried that you were out in the world alone, and hurting. I’d try to hunt you down, and be there for you. I’d leave it all behind for you. That’s what you do when you love someone. You don’t hurt that person, and kill yourself. You dig in, and you fight. You fight harder than you’ve ever fought before, and if it costs you your life, you died for love. That’s the noblest thing to die for in my opinion.”
Gamble closed his eyes.
Then, he went there. When he opened them back up, his mind was made up.
“I love you, Poe.”
When he said it, the man blinked, and it was clear that he was caught off-guard.
“You heard me. I fell in love with you. You fixed me, and I stopped seeing you as a man, but more as that comfortable place that keeps me safe.”
Well, he hadn’t been expecting that.
Anger?
Yes.
Him walking?
Yes.
