“I’m here to watch the news with you,” he said, inwardly reprimanding himself for sounding awkward.
“Thanks for coming.” She opened the door wider. “I’ve got news-watching snacks for us.”
Gil stepped inside her home. She’d rarely invited him in. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself, so he stood there shifting back and forth on his feet for a moment.
“Have a seat on the couch. I’ll bring the popcorn and sodas to the coffee table.”
“Okay.” He walked over to her couch and sat in the middle, which would have her either sitting close to him or clinging to the far side. “So, you said you’re going to be on the news tonight?” he finally asked.
Moira placed a large bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of them and sat beside him with their thighs separated by a few inches of distance. She wasn’t clinging to the far side, which was a good sign. “I am.”
Gil lifted his brows. “Is this a good thing?”
Moira sucked in a shuddery breath. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I think so. Or maybe it’s not good or bad, it just is.” She shrugged.
“You are being very mysterious right now. Are you going to make me guess?”
Moira angled her body toward him, pulling one knee up in front of her. “I decided to confront my criminal past head-on instead of hiding from it. I didn’t give the reporter all of the details, but I provided enough to explain why I behaved the way I did. Not that violence is ever justified,” she said, backtracking.
Gil could see the slightest insecurity in her eyes as she looked at him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever admired anyone more than he did Moira right now though. “Wow. That took a lot of courage.”
“And you know what?” she asked, weaving her fingers together in front of her. “Once I told the truth and put it out there, it didn’t seem so big and ugly anymore.” She looked at him for a long moment, her smile deepening. “It also made me realize that I haven’t truly thanked you for stepping in that night. You could have ignored your gut and given your friend the benefit of the doubt. Most people would have. He was your roommate. Your friend.”
“You were my friend, too, Moira,” Gil said quietly. “And even if you weren’t, you deserved to have someone step in on your behalf and make sure you were safe.”
Moira seemed to swallow thickly. She fidgeted with her hands in front of her as she talked. “What you did took courage, too, and it changed my life, Gil.” Tears shimmered in her eyes.
Gil was speechless for a moment. He wanted to pull her toward him, but he still wasn’t sure where they stood or what she wanted from him tonight. “So are you back in the mayoral race?”
Moira laughed and shook her head. “No. I’m not ready for that. I think what you told me the other day was pretty wise. I need to start small by joining the town council. I enjoyed attending the last meeting. I have ideas, and I want to help the community. I also think you’re the best mayor for Somerset Lake right now. You always put the people of this town first. You choose what’s best, even if it’s not exactly what you want. Like moving Sweetie’s out of its location and building a parking lot.” She hesitated. “You have my vote. You always will.”
Gil’s heart squeezed. “It means a lot to me that you would say that after everything. Thank you.” He held her gaze, wishing he could read her mind, but he never could seem to know what the woman in front of him was thinking. Each unveiling of who she really was only made him fall deeper for her.
“You also have my heart,” she finally said.
* * *
Moira wasn’t sure what she was doing right now. She hadn’t planned on diving back into a relationship with Gil tonight. She just wanted to see him, and she wanted to share the news story with him because it wasn’t just her story. In a way, it was his too.
But being with Gil brought back a flood of emotions. She was in love with him. It was undeniable. It wasn’t rash or impulsive. It had built up over time, not just these last few weeks but over the last few years. Maybe that’s why Moira had avoided Gil so fervently. She’d instinctively known that letting him in was the same as loving him. For her, at least.
“Your heart?” Gil asked, brows raised just a touch, as if maybe he didn’t believe his ears.
“Yeah. Gil, I want to try again.”
“Try what?” he asked.
She laughed quietly. “You know, being your girlfriend.”
A smile flickered at the corners of his lips. “The thing is, we never broke up. So, the way I see it, you are my girlfriend.” He scratched the side of his face thoughtfully. “That still feels a little juvenile somehow. Until you, I haven’t called someone my girlfriend since early college. Maybe not even then.”
“I like it.” Moira leaned in to kiss him, brushing her lips to his. “I like you.”
“Well, I love you,” he said, looking her in the eyes. “I’m in love with you, Moira. Some part of me thinks I fell in love the very first time I laid eyes on you. All I know is that the kind of feelings I have don’t ever go away. You have my heart.”
She swallowed. Saying those three little words wasn’t something to do impulsively. This wasn’t impulsive or rash though. She knew how she felt about Gil. “I love you too,” she whispered. “I’ve never said that to a guy before. You’re the first.”
“I’m honored. And I’m humbled that you would love me back.” He kissed her briefly. Then he leaned forward and grabbed the bowl of popcorn off the table. “It’s almost six. I’m ready to watch my girlfriend on the news.”
Moira scooted in closer to him until her thigh was touching his. “Fair warning, Mr. Mayor. I might just kick you out of your office four years from now.”
He glanced over. “Assuming that Denise Berger hasn’t already done so.”
As he said it, the news started with a breaking story that wasn’t Moira’s. Jessica Marcus stood on-screen talking into her microphone in front of Denise Berger’s large brick home.
“Breaking news tonight, Denise Berger has decided to drop out of the mayoral election for Somerset Lake,” Jessica said, speaking into her microphone. “What was going to be a tight race this fall is looking like a shoo-in for the current mayor, Gil Ryan.”
Moira’s lips parted. “What?” She looked at Gil. “Did you know about this?”
“No, I didn’t. But I can’t say I’m surprised. She didn’t seem too thrilled at all her opposition at the town council meeting the other night. I don’t think she realized that she wasn’t going to win the popular vote. Denise isn’t really one to go into a contest that she isn’t likely to win.”
“I agree. There was no way she was ever going to beat you.”
“Whatever the real reason, I’m a lucky guy. I get to keep my job and the girl.” He leaned in and brushed his lips over Moira’s again.
When the kiss was over, she reached into the bowl of popcorn and pulled out a piece, holding it up to his mouth. He took it from her in one quick motion. Then he picked up a piece of popcorn and fed it to her as well.