“Cute. Just thinking about our next step. As nice as this condo is, I think it’s time we move.”
“What, you don’t like the lingering effects of trauma?”
He laughed. “Seriously, until Nico is behind bars, I want us to be someplace safe. I’m thinking my place is the best option for that. Johnny was able to easily get into here, after all.”
“That sounds good to me. Then what?”
“Then… whatever we want. Duncan Pitt told me that if I put in a few years at the hospital here in Evergreen, the world’s my oyster. I could stay here, or we could move to Denver or wherever else they’ve got a clinic or hospital. And you can work from anywhere.”
“That’s true. But there’s no reason to rush, right?”
“Right. We take it one step at a time. I don’t even have to officially move in with you yet, or vice versa. In fact, let’s wait on that.”
“OK. Baby steps, right?”
“Baby steps.”
We fed the girls, and by the time the bottles were empty, both of them were ready to be put back down.
“Two easy babies,” I said. “We’re lucky.”
We put the girls back in their cribs, turning off the lights as the snow continued to come down. Together, we went back to the living room and stood in front of the window. He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, and I rested my head on his shoulder.
“That meant a lot to me today,” he said. “Having you there at my side.”
“That’s how it is from here on out. I’m there for you, and you’re there for me.”
“And we’re both there for the girls.”
It was as simple as that. I turned my head, and he met my lips with his. In that moment, everything was perfect. And I had a damn good feeling that all of the moments to come would be, too.
Epilogue
Georgia
One month later…
My productivity was off the charts. Sitting in my new office at Alex’s place, I typed like a madwoman at the computer.Master and Minotaur, after a long spell of creative draught, was coming along at an insane pace.
“I don’t know what it is!” I said to Haley an hour later as she was over for lunch.
We were in the bright, sunny kitchen. It was late March, an unseasonably warm day. In fact it was the first day over sixty degrees in months. There was a good chance that we had more cold weather to deal with—it was Colorado, after all—but the day was a wonderful peek at the spring to come. The girls were napping, and Haley and I were enjoying some delicious chicken salad sandwiches that she’d brought in from her favorite deli in Denver.
Haley grinned, leaning forward over her sandwich. “You know what I think it is?”
“What?”
“I bet it was your head getting knocked around.”
I couldn’t do anything but laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”
She shrugged, popping a chip into her mouth and wiping her hands. “Stranger things have happened.”
I laughed again. “So, you’re saying that this low-life thug hitting me in the face, what, unleashed my creative potential?”
“I don’t know. You ever heard the expression ‘knocking someone’s block off?’ Maybe that’s what he did to you, but that he knocked yourwriter’sblock off.”
“You’re out of your mind!”