Dare cleared his throat. “If you want to interfere, I won’t always be here to stop you. But I can tell you one thing. If you fuck this up for him, Cam will never forgive you. Do you really want to lose your best friend because you’re insecure?”

Roan stared at Dare, fighting the burning sensation behind his eyes. “No,” he said roughly. “I don’t.”

“Then let’s take a walk. Give them some time to work this out.”

Roan allowed Dare to turn him toward the back door again.

“And later, you can apologize,” Dare noted. “To both of them.”

Thirty-Five

It hadn’t been until he was up the stairs and through the door that Cam realized what he wanted to say to Gannon. He hated the fact that Gannon had witnessed that, and he fully intended to explain to Gannon that whatever Roan felt for Cam, it wasn’t reciprocated.

Sure, Cam knew he needed to talk to Roan, as well. He hated that he’d left things up in the air with him, but he’d been telling Gannon the truth when he’d said he was more important. Roan was definitely important, but Gannon… Gannon was Cam’s everything. So, he would talk to Roan in a bit.

But first…

When Gannon closed the door to the apartment, Cam turned to face him. Without hesitation, he took a step closer, coming face-to-face with the man he loved. Cam was tempted to reach up and smooth the worry line creasing Gannon’s forehead. He hated that he’d been the one to put that there. What Gannon had seen… It had been a case of bad timing; that was it.

Gannon’s eyes searched Cam’s face, and he briefly wondered what was going through that beautiful mind of his. After the weekend they’d just spent together, Cam hated that this shit had happened. They were making progress, and there was no way Cam would allow this misunderstanding to come between them.

When Gannon’s eyes lifted to meet his, Cam held his gaze. “I love you.” Holding up a hand to stop Gannon from saying anything, Cam continued, “Roan’s my friend. I love him, but he’s like a brother to me. Always has been, always will be. I’m not sure what’s goin’ on with him, but I know he’s confused. Roan doesn’t love me. Not like that. He might think he does, but I assure you, even if that’s the case, it’s not reciprocated.”

Gannon didn’t make a sound, so Cam continued.

“When I tell you I love you, that’s not easy for me. I’ve never said those words to anyone. Not the way that I mean them toward you. This thing between us, it’s real. It might be a little rocky, but it’s real. And I’m not willing to lose you, Gannon.”

“I—”

Cam cut him off before he could speak. He wanted to say something else, needed Gannon to understand.

As he stared back at Gannon, his heart leapt into his throat, his nerves rioting from what he was about to say, what he was about to do.

But it was time.

Slowly, very, very, slowly, Cam took a small step back and then lowered himself to one knee in front of Gannon, keeping his eyes locked with Gannon’s the entire time.

Gannon’s eyes widened, his mouth opening slightly.

“Gannon Burgess,” Cam said confidently, his heart pounding in his throat, “I’ve never loved anyone the way that I love you. The thought of losing you, not having the opportunity to spend the rest of my life with you… I can’t bear it.”

“Cam, no,” Gannon whispered.

For a second, Cam doubted himself, but then he shored up his nerve. He wasn’t going to be deterred, regardless of what the outcome might be.

“I love you,” Cam repeated. “And I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Gannon. I can’t help how I feel. This is real for me. Confusing, sure.” He offered a small smile. “But real.” Cam paused for a moment, still looking up at Gannon. “I don’t have a fancy ring to offer right now, but I’ll rectify that as soon as possible. Marry me, Gannon. Agree to spend the rest of your life with me.”

The silence in the room was deafening. Cam could hear his heart thundering, feel the painful thump in his chest as he waited for Gannon to say something. He needed Gannon to say something.

Hell, anything, at this point, to let Cam know he’d heard him.

“Gan—” Cam didn’t get any further, because Gannon quieted him by placing his hand over his mouth.

“Quiet,” Gannon said softly, firmly. “Let me think.”

“You need to think about this?” Cam asked, but the words were unintelligible, muffled by Gannon’s hand.

“Yes,” Gannon finally said, his eyes softening. “Of course I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“So you’ll marry me?”

“One day,” Gannon assured him. “Yes.” Gannon smiled. “But I reserve the right to be the one to propose officially.”

Cam could live with that.

He could definitely live with that.

Gannon’s head was spinning, his mind racing with so many questions. But the most pressing one of all…

Was this real? Was Cam really asking him to marry him?

Based on the fact that Cam was kneeling before him, he had to think that was the case, but still.

Not that it would change his answer. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Cam, yes. Not that he necessarily wanted to get married any time in the near future, but one day, yes.

Hell, Gannon intended to meet Cam’s father and sister first.

After Milly had mentioned a wedding that morning, Gannon had thought about it throughout the day. He’d even gone so far as to pull up jewelers on the Internet to check out rings.

No, he hadn’t bought anything, but that was because he wanted them to pick out their rings together. They would be the symbols of their everlasting love; he wasn’t going to jump the gun there. But he was serious when he’d said he wanted to meet Cam’s family.

Staring back at Cam now, Gannon knew they would spend the rest of their lives together. It was inevitable, but that was what happened when soul mates finally met, when they finally realized that their match was waiting for them.

Cam was his soul mate.

The love of his life.

The man Gannon would forever give his heart, body, and soul to.

Still, Gannon had one question… “What happened to taking things slow?”

Cam’s smile was radiant, and Gannon couldn’t look away as Cam got to his feet. “Eh. Who’s got time for that shit?”

Gannon smiled, his heart warming, the thin layer of ice that had formed around it a short while ago melting away.

“But I’m serious,” Cam told him. “I want to marry you. Maybe not tomorrow or next week or next month. But it will happen.”

“I know,” Gannon assured him.

And he did know. They would get through the rough patches together. They’d proven they could do it already, and Gannon had no doubt that their love for one another was strong enough to endure.

“I think you need to go talk to Roan,” he suggested to Cam. “He needs to know how you feel. But more importantly, I think he needs to understand that I’m not here to interfere with your relationship with him. Y’all are friends and that can be a fragile thing sometimes. Especially when someone comes along to shake things up.”

“I really don’t think he’s in love with me,” Cam stated, the conviction in his tone reassuring. “That was the first time he’s ever said anything. I’ve known him for twenty-five years. Why now?”

That was a question only Roan could answer.

“Do you think he’s in love with me?” Cam asked, frowning.

Gannon had thought about that when he’d seen the two of them together, heard the things Roan had said. “No, I don’t think he is, but I think he thinks he is.”

Cam’s eyebrow lifted, a lopsided grin emerging. “English, Gannon.”

Gannon smiled back. “I love you. Now more than ever.”

“I see a but in there,” Cam replied, eyes narrowing.

“No but. My love’s definitely unconditional. But…” Gannon laughed. “Okay, so there’s a but.”