Page 24 of The Truths We Find

“You don’t need to say it.” Gavin smiles. “Your faces are already apology enough. And I forgive you for being so hotheaded.”

“No. We need to say it,” I sigh. “That was incredible. We’re really sorry. Where did you learn to edit like that?”

“My minor in college was video editing.” He smirks.

“Wait, what?”

“Editing is just fixing things. Dani, you of all people know I’m good at fixing things. So when it came time to declare a minor, I figured it would be the easiest thing for me to pick up. Turns out, I was a natural.”

I slump my shoulders. “I had no idea.”

“You don’t know all my secrets.” Gavin winks.

Understatement of the year.

“Listen,” he continues, “I just wanted to help. You guys have been kicking ass with this. I literally just took your amazing work and gave it a spit shine. It’s ready for air now. Which means, you guys get to take the day off and relax.”

Alexa shoots up from her chair. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

“There’s got to be something we still need to do for this?” I ask.

“Nope!” Gavin says. “It’s rendering now, and I’ll send it over to Master Control for air. You guys go home and enjoy your day off. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Gavin. This was—” I pause trying to find the words. “This was really nice of you. And we’re sorry again for freaking out on you.” A smile escapes. I don’t know if it was the genuineness of the act, or the fact I’m mad at Sam, but a gut-turning sensation hits my stomach. Shit. Are those butterflies again? Why do they only show up when I’m around Gavin?

“Anything for you,” he says softly.

I catch him staring into my eyes, as if he’s seeing me for the first time. I can’t look away, drawn in by the intensity. It takes a moment for it to hit me. Alexa is still in the room. My pulse quickens, and the air suddenly feels heavier. Gavin notices, too, and quickly breaks the gaze, his voice steady as he continues. “Both of you.”

Alexa just laughs. “Uh-huh. Nice save, Gavin. Come on, Dani. Let’s get out of here.” She grabs my arm and pulls me out of the editing suite, out of sight of Gavin.

Chapter 9

Dani

Alexa wanted to spend the day hanging out. Me? I want to use the day to just watch TV and not do anything. It sounds like heaven. I jiggle my keys in the door of the apartment and walk in to find Sam on the couch. I must have been so lost in my thoughts I didn’t see his bike in the lot.

“What are you doing home?” he asks, his brows furrowed. “You okay?”

“Yeah, fine. We finished ahead of schedule so Gavin gave Alexa and me the rest of the day off.”

“Well, that was nice of him.” He lets out a shaky breath. “I guess now might be a good time for us to talk, huh?”

“Yeah…” I trail off. “We probably should.”

I sit down next to him and brace myself. “Okay. Talk.”

Sam grabs my hands in my lap, rubbing my knuckles in a circular motion. “I’m really sorry I kept it from you for so long.” He stops, almost like he’s trying to come up with his next words carefully. “I was just so worried about how you were going to react.”

“Sam, you’ve been in the military our entire relationship. Hell, even longer. You really think I wasn’t prepared for this someday?”

“That’s fair.”

“Even if I did take it badly, you robbed me of having a few months to process it.” My voice cracks despite my best effort to keep it steady. “Now I get how many days?”

“I leave Monday.”

“Exactly,” I huff. Ripping my hands from his hold, I fold my arms tight around myself, hoping it might keep everything from spilling out. “I get what, five days to come to terms with something that all the other families in your unit got three months to figure out? I don’t even know where you’re going or for how long.”