“A kiss.”
“And if I lose?”
“You have to answer a very serious question.”
She looked up from the ball, surprised by the somber note. “Okay. What’s it about?”
He didn’t answer, so she pulled her putter back to take the shot.
“Us.”
She tapped the ball sideways, glaring at him. “You did that on purpose.”
“All’s fair…” He walked to his ball, knocked it in, then bent over to retrieve it from the cup. “In love and friendship.” He straightened and looked right at her. “I just don’t know which one this is…yet.”
She stood very still, holding his gaze, aware that her palms were damp and her world could very easily shift depending on how she responded to that.
“Is that the question?” she finally asked.
“No.” He tipped his head toward the ball. “If you make this shot, we tie and you don’t have to answer my question. If you miss, I’ll ask.”
As she put her putter behind the ball, her heart slammed against her ribs, and not because she gave a hoot about this game.
But she cared very much for Peter. This wasn’t just a summer crush anymore. He was a man with a life, with roots. What was he going to ask her?
She took her shot, missing by a foot. From behind her, he slid both arms around her and pulled her into his chest. Shecould feel his heartbeat, too, and the sheer strength of a man she trusted.
“Viv,” he whispered into her ear. “I want to be more than your friend with history. I want to be with you. I want…us.” He turned her around slowly and looked down at her. “Is that possible or am I dreaming?”
She inhaled softly, lost in his gaze, vaguely aware of the next group of golfers coming to the eighteenth tee. She swallowed, silent. After a moment, they heard the others’ laughter, waiting for them to leave the green as they teed up.
“Come on,” he said gruffly. “We’ll finish off the course.”
They walked to the car in a companionable silence, holding hands, the weight of his question pressing on her.
As they reached his car, he stopped at the passenger side, pulling her into an embrace. “Listen. Just so I’m clear. I don’t have to go back to Pensacola.”
She drew back. “You don’t?”
“I’ve infiltrated the Destin PD—in a good way. The chief offered me a job here, which is very alluring. I could stay—sell my house, buy something here. I could stay. For you.”
Forher?
“Peter, I…” She exhaled slowly. “That’s…wow.”
“I’ve been holding back, Vivien. I know you’re just out of a long marriage and I know exactly what’s involved with a divorce. But this opportunity came up and I wouldn’t consider it, if not for you.”
“That’s a lot to put on me.”
“I know,” he agreed instantly. “But I care about you. I think—no, I know—we could be happy together.”
“Oh.” She tried to breathe again. “But Cameron’s at the Pensacola police academy. And when Connor finishes dental school, won’t he go back home near you?”
“They’re grown men,” he said with a shrug. “I’m not going to choose my home base because of where they are.”
“But you’d choose it because of me?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “At least I would if I believed there is a real future for us.”
