Page 229 of The Carnage We Keep

And lands directly on the boathouse a few dozen yards down the shore.

“Well, he did…” Dame mutters.

We turn and glance at the black lake water, and the distant shore beyond it.

My teeth rake over my bottom lip as we turn back to the roaring flames and stand in silence for another minute.

“You know…” I turn to grin at him. “It’s kind of romantic.”

His brow knits. “Which part? Swimming back to shore in New England in November? Or going back to the rental place and scrubbing their records in case the van’s VIN number survives?”

I roll my eyes and smile. “The fire, dick. It’s kinda full circle. It’s how we met! Like, some couples have a song. We have structural fires.”

We both turn back to the flames.

“Well,” I say, injecting some peppiness into my tone. “Personally, I still say this counts as a win.”

“Yeah, a Pyrrhic one,” he mutters.

I stare at him.

“It means victory at a great cost. King Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated⁠—”

“Yeah, I know what it means, dick,” I giggle. “I just can’t believe what a nerrrrd you are sometimes.”

Damiano sighs as I grin and slip my hand into his, turning back to the flames.

“You’re just so fucking weird!” I laugh. “I love it!”

“I love you too."

My whole reality record-scratches to a halt. I go stock-still, then I slowly twist my head to stare at him with wide eyes.

“What?” I choke.

My hand releases his as I take a step back.

The corners of Dame’s lips are curled up as he turns to eye me.

“I said I love you too⁠—”

“Yeah, but I didn’t say I love you,” I snap testily as my walls start to go up. “You can’t say too, because I didn’t fucking say it!”

The motherfucker just grins.

“You kinda did.”

“I did not!!”

He lifts a shoulder and tips his head. “Yeaaaah, you did.”

My jaw drops. “Fuck you! No, what I was saying…” My teeth grind. “I don’t⁠—!”

The wheels in my head screech to a halt just as the tension and the anxiety and the warring thoughts smash together in one violent explosion that almost shorts out my brain.

So I make the only logical next move, which is to shove past him to run away.

Just as I start to go, Dame grabs my wrists and easily puts a stop to that whole idea. He yanks me back and I gasp breathlessly as my palms land on his chest.