Page 116 of Ink and Ashes
He wraps his arms around her, and she does the same with a smile on her face.
“It’s about damn time,” he tells her.
I hear Cassidy mutter something back, but I can’t tell what it is since her back is turned. But right after she says it, Colson trains his gaze on me and simply says, “Yeah.”
He hugs Sam next, and the rest of the guys at the table do the same as Colson retakes his seat.
“Hey, Rhodes. Wanna see a magic trick?” Ethan asks once everyone’s settled again, always good at shifting the mood fromserious to silly.
I smirk, looking to Colson. His mouth is quirked at the corner, and he rolls his eyes, which is enough for me to say, “Let’s see what you’ve got, Langley.”
He shuffles the deck of cards in his hands, then spreads it out for me to pick a card. I look at it—the queen of hearts—and show it to Cass to the left of me before adding it back into the middle of the deck. Ethan does some weird hand gestures, shuffles the deck some more, then lifts the card off the top.
“Is this your card?” he asks, showing me the eight of clubs.
I glance at Cass, trying to hold back a laugh.
“No, it’s not,” I tell him, and his face falls. Brows pulled together, he picks up the next one and asks the same thing. This one is the queen of diamonds, so while he’s closer, it’s still not right.
I shake my head again.
“Damn it,” he huffs, tossing the deck onto the table. I’m about to open my mouth to say something when he looks up at me, a quizzical look on his face. “Wait a minute,” he says, reaching across the table toward me.
“Langley…” Colson warns from the other end of the table.
Ethan just laughs, then he reaches his hand behind my ear and asks, “Is this your card?” as he brings it back into my eye line.
Sure enough, he’s holding the queen of hearts.
I laugh. “Wow. Consider me impressed, Langley. Didn’t know there was a real magician in my midst.”
“Plenty more where that came from.” Ethan tosses the card into the mess of all the others, retaking his seat. “You know, my favourite is the one where I make you c?—”
He’s cut off from a bellowing, “Langley,” coming from Colson.
I huff a laugh at his obvious jealousy, though I’m relieved he stopped Ethan before he could finish.
“Alright, alright, Lieutenant.” Ethan holds his hands up. “It’s about time you admitted you two are together, and I’ll take that as confirmation.”
My cheeks heat as I look to Colson, but neither of us sayanything to deny it. Cassidy smirks, and I realize then that the thing she muttered to Colson when they were hugging was about me.
Colson clears his throat. “Yes, Holland and I are together.”
Cheering starts up again as Ollie says, “Damn, I guess this is the day of firehouse relationships, eh?”
“I guess so,” I say with a smile, keeping my gaze locked on Colson.
“Does this mean you’re staying?” Cass asks with a smile.
I nod. “Yeah. I am.”
Her arms are around me in the next moment, and I can’t help the laugh that falls from my lips. It feels wrong to laugh at a time like this, but it also feels good, and we need as much good as we can get right now.
The conversation shifts after that, and when Colson stands from the table, I follow him. He makes his way to his quarters, and when we get inside, he shuts the door and lets out a deep breath.
“You okay?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. He’s happy for his sister and Sam, and I saw the relief flood from him after revealing we’re together too. But his mind is still elsewhere, and until we get to the bottom of this investigation, that isn’t going to change.
Colson nods as he leans back against the door, but the word that comes out of his mouth is a simple, “No.”
