“Fine,” I reluctantly agreed, not quite convinced, but if Lottie needed me, I’d be there as fast as humanly possible.
She nodded. “Right, well, good luck tomorrow. Charlotte and I will leave the day after. I’ll make sure she says goodbye.”
“Thanks, Moira,” I said, still a little shell-shocked with the bombardment of emotions in the last few minutes.
And then she was gone. High-heeled shoes clipping on the concrete. Chanel mixing with the fresh lakeside breeze.
Once she was out of sight, Pearce stepped in front of me and wrapped me into a tight hug. “Fuck,” I whispered, “I thought…”
“I know. Me too.” His soft voice caressed my skin, helping to slow down the erratic beating of my heart. “But it’s okay. Amazing even.”
I nodded against his shoulder.
“How do you think Lottie will handle it?” He didn’t disguise the concern in his tone.
“Hopefully not badly. She’s been amazing this year, well, certainly the last six months. I just don’t want her to feel abandoned.”
Pearce’s hold on me tightened. “If she does, we’ll support her. It’s no hardship reminding her every day how much she’s loved and wanted.”
Easing out of his hold, I slowly shook my head, nothing but wonder making my heart beat anew. “How’d I get so lucky, having you be mine?”
With a softening gaze, a small smile appeared before it kicked up on the right, forming into an expression very much Pearce. “Because we’re fucking magic together, and try as you might, I’m a stubborn asshole who never gave up hope.”
“Who thought stubborn could be a good quality?” I teased, resting my lips against his.
He nodded against the kiss. “I hide it well.”
I chuckled, pulling away. Pearce was one of the most easygoing people I knew. He seriously wasn’t stubborn at all. “You hide it remarkably well.”
“It’s because you’re dazzled by my wit and sparkling personality.”
I kissed him again, absolutely agreeing with him.
“And how my ass looks in a pair of CKs.”
Abrupt laughter spilled out of me. “That right?”
“The bookmarks on your computer tell me as much.”
“Fucker,” I said with a laugh, shoving at him with my right shoulder but refusing to let him go.
“Seriously, best bookmarks ever. I think it’s adorable. It also explains the wet wipes you keep in your office.”
I groaned and rested my head on his shoulder. “I take it all back.”
“Too late for that, Ed. Tomorrow you’ll be mine forever.”
I embraced the rightness of the words, the perfect happiness they created, and settled into stealing him away in the fifteen minutes we had before dinner, to show him exactly how wonderful we were together.
Pearce and I were just at the start of an amazing life together. And whether we had a year or more of commutes ahead of us, we’d make it work. The truth of that settled in my chest, encompassing me in warmth and certainty. And tomorrow, when we exchanged our vows, it would be the perfect reminder that there were no wrong moves between us.
How could there be when everything had led us right here?
EPILOGUE
PEARCE
EIGHT YEARS LATER
