I’m not the least bit interested in interviews, and a book is an extremely hard pass. I don’t want to sell Genesis, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to work for anyone but myself either. I’mextraordinarily fortunate to have the resources to be able to take some time and figure out what I want my professional life to look like, so for the time being, that’s exactly what I’m doing.
I shrug, standing from the table to wrap my arms around Elliot, leaning my head against his chest, right over his heart. Everything inside of me settles at the feel of his arms coming around me and his spicy scent, his strong and steady heartbeat in my ear, the smell of coffee and the thought of an entire day stretching ahead of us with nothing to do.
“It all kind of feels like it’s happening to someone else, you know? My life still feels normal. You, me, and mornings like this. Disaster movie nights downstairs at Jordan and Jo’s and talking about books with the girls and your mom and Cece. Your brothers barging in at all hours of the day and night, and Cece showing up whenever the spirits move her. Molly and Gabe sending me pictures of literally everything Soph does and Liv harassing me for details about you.” I lift my head, propping my chin on Elliot’s chest so I can look up at him. “It’s a really good life, El.”
And it is. It feels crazy to me that in December I was sitting around a Christmas tree in Gabe’s living room feeling entirely unmoored, keeping secrets and not sure of where my place was, or what the future held. That’s a lifetime away from the secure, settled feeling that washes over me when Elliot leans down and kisses my forehead, grinning down at me.
“Mystery Girl, this life with you is the only life I want. It’s the best life, and it’s only going to get better.”
I press a kiss to his chest. “I’m not sure there is a better than this. This is already the best.”
“That’s what you think. Come with me.”
“Come with you where?”
Elliot winks at me and grabs my hand, pulling me out of the kitchen and down the hall. “You’ll see.”
“Your spare room?” I ask, as he pushes open the door to his second bedroom. Because Elliot is who he is, it’s a lovely room. A big space, with soft green walls, a comfortable looking bed draped in a white duvet, and pretty furniture.
“My spare room,” he repeats, tugging me into the center of the room and standing behind me, wrapping his arms around me. “Otherwise known as your future office.”
“My what?” I ask, turning my head so I can look at him.
“Imagine it with me,” he says into my ear. The bed and the furniture will go, obviously. No one has ever slept in here anyway—I just hated the idea of an empty room. Bookshelves on that wall…” He points to the long wall we’re facing, where the dresser currently sits. “We’ll paint them purple, and I’ll stock them with all the smutty books your heart desires, with a side of true crime for your freakishly weirdo brain.”
I laugh, my heart exploding with love for him as he continues to describe a space just like my office in the townhouse.
He turns us, pointing to the opposite wall. “That’s for your desk. I know you have your monitors sitting on your desk at your house, but I think we should mount them on the wall—that way you can have more of them. A genius coder needs all the monitors she can get to create her brilliance. The kitchen is close by, but I’m thinking a mini fridge by the desk, shelves for your snacks so you don’t have to go anywhere when you get into a groove, and the most comfortable chair we can find, obviously. Somewhere you can curl up and read or dream up your next greatest project. A space you can use to decide what path you want to take. What you want your career to look like next. I can’t wait to see what you do, Mystery Girl, to watch you soar.”
Emotion tightens my throat as I spin in Elliot’s arms, resting my hands on his chest. “You want to turn your spare bedroom into my office?”
He leans down and kisses my forehead. “I know you have a whole townhouse like ten minutes from here with a perfect office that you designed yourself, and if you want to live there, work in that space, say the word and I’ll pack my stuff right now. We can move there tonight. I just want to be wherever you are, Mystery Girl, because you’re my favorite human too. But if you thought maybe you could be happy in a brownstone full of brothers with parents who drop in unexpectedly, a meddling grandma next door, and a dog with a penchant for eating plants, I wanted to give you that, starting with a space for yourself to do every single amazing thing I know you’re going to do. I can’t wait to watch you get started.”
Lacing my fingers behind Elliot’s neck, I pull his mouth to mine in a kiss that tastes like happiness and a promise for the future and so, so much love. God, the love. It just pours out of me and him and meets right at the spot where our lips touch in an explosion of rightness that takes my breath away. “Yes,” I murmur against his lips.
“To which part?” he asks, trailing his lips over my jaw.
“Yes to absolutely all of it.” I tilt my head to the side to give him better access. “To the brownstone full of brothers and Jo just downstairs and plants named after famous Bostonians. To the visiting parents and the meddling grandma and walking your dog together late at night and big noisy dinners with your family. To going to sleep with you at night and waking up with you in the morning and this life that we’ve already started to build. The townhouse was never mine, El. It was Gabe’s and I just lived there. But this?” I glance around the room and back at him. “This is so much better than that because this will be ours. This house. This life. It’s the only life I want. The one with you.”
“I love you,” he manages, his eyes glossy as he drops his forehead to mine, tightening his arms around my waist. “I loveyou so fucking much, Amelia, and this is the only life I want too. It’s a really, really good life.”
I lean up and kiss his forehead. “Bet your ass it is.”
“When can we move your stuff in?”
I consider this and then start laughing.
“What?” he asks, confusion in his voice.
“Well, I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention, but most of my stuff is already here. I haven’t slept at my house since before we went to Maine. We came back from the trip and had that big dinner here with your whole family to tell them Henry and Clara’s story, and I kind of just never left.”
He studies me thoughtfully. “Shit, have we been living together all this time without realizing it?”
I grin at him, pressing a kiss to my favorite spot on his jaw. “I’m pretty sure we have.”
He shrugs. “Cool. But let’s do it on purpose this time. Move in with me, Amelia. I love you so damn much. Let’s make this our home, together.”
I smile, happiness bubbling up in my chest. “There is literally nothing I want more.”
