Page 31 of Hearts Clash

She leaned in to press a kiss to Gianna’s lips as the elevator doors slid open, the metallic sound echoing across the office floor. They walked together across the hall to the boardroom and stopped outside, turning to look at each other. Gianna reached out a hand, and Scarlett took it, shaking it firmly.

“May the best woman win,” Gianna murmured playfully.

“Break a leg,” Scarlett teased back, giving her one last lingering, loving stare.

Gianna squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, then nodded. She turned the knob of the door and disappeared into the boardroom, closing the door behind her. Once it closed, Scarlett sank back against the wall with a deep exhale, smiling to herself as she looked up at the bright lights.

Well. That was it. Either she or Gianna was going to become the youngest cardiology director in the country, and she was pretty much okay with whatever happened at this point. Either way, they were going to end up happily celebrating with champagne that night. Then they’d go back to work, saving lives and changing futures together, challenging each other and driving each other crazy.

It was going to be a wonderful ride.

Epilogue

Gianna 3 years later

“Oh my God, I’m exhausted,” Gianna exclaimed, sighing heavily as she leaned against the wall once the last of their guests closed the front door behind them. “Who knew throwing a party was so exhausting? We’re never doing that again.”

“You’re the one who wanted a housewarming party,” Scarlett laughed. “I just wanted to invite my parents and your sister, serve a nice dinner, and spend some quality time with our families. But someone got a little excited.”

Gianna shrugged innocently, crossing her arms casually over her chest, pushing herself back onto her feet.

“What can I say? I want to show off our fancy new house to everyone we know. Sue me,” she retorted sarcastically. “Anyway, why don’t you go start the jacuzzi and pour some wine, and I’ll lock up the downstairs?”

“Anything you say, dear,” Scarlett teased back with an affectionate eye roll. “You’re the boss, after all.”

Gianna winked and blew her a kiss, then sauntered down the stairs. Cocoa trailed behind her, still a little unsure of himself in this new place, but definitely liking his big new backyard. Gianna had lived in apartments all her life. Big, fancy, luxurious apartments, sure, because what was the point of a cardiothoracic surgeon’s salary if she wasn’t going to live it up a little, but apartments, nonetheless. A two-story house in the suburbs with a garden had always seemed like entirely too much space for one person.

Two years ago, when they’d decided to move in together, they had started looking for a new place. It had taken a while. They had wildly different tastes in many ways, and anyway, there hadn’t been any kind of rush. So they took their time, going to dozens of viewings and checking out every option, and none of them had been quite perfect. One of them had always found something about each potential home they visited that they didn’t like—not enough natural light, too much traffic noise, too close to airport, too far from work, whatever it was.

This one, though? The second they’d stepped inside, they had looked at each other, and it had just been a completely synchronized realization that this was The One. Three bedrooms upstairs, a walk-in closet in the master bedroom, spacious living room, enormous backyard, close enough that they could walk to work on bright summer days, but not so close to the city center as to be crowded. It was perfect. They’d put down an offer on the spot.

It had taken another six months to actually move in, what with selling their respective places, packing, and finding contractors, and all that nonsense. Still, the wait had been worth it. By the end of it, the place was finally furnished and ready, and it had been about three weeks since they’d moved in. At Gianna’s insistence, they invited everyone they knew and threw a huge party to celebrate.

Gianna couldn’t stop smiling these days. As she locked all the doors and headed out to the garden to join her beautiful fiancée in the massive stone tub, the stars glittering beautifully overhead, she could scarcely believe how happy she was. After so long, everything in her life had finally fallen into place.

“Did we have any more of that champagne left?” Scarlett called out from the jacuzzi, already lounging comfortably against the edge, pale skin flushed from the warm water and bubbles.

Gianna grinned widely and held up the bottle in response, making the redhead perk up happily.

“Way ahead of you,” she chuckled, climbing up onto the deck and over to the jacuzzi.

“Not everything is a competition, you know,” Scarlett teased, watching her pour the golden liquid into the sparkling glasses. “We can just agree that we both have fantastic ideas sometimes and call it a tie.”

Gianna handed Scarlett a glass of champagne and quickly stripped down to her underwear, settling into the foamy waters next to her partner. She leaned in for a brief, soft peck on the lips, grinning like an idiot at the feeling of the bubbling water around her body and Scarlett’s warmth beside her.

“Never,” she said with a smirk, “I plan to beat you in all things for as long as we both shall live. You should know me by now.”

Scarlett looked at her with an adoring smile, shaking her head in mild exasperation. Gianna responded with an impish grin and another quick kiss on the lips. For a while, they sat there in contented silence, holding hands and enjoying the comfort of having created this quiet, peaceful safe haven of their own.

“Your mom asked for our registry, by the way,” Gianna remarked lazily as the warm jets massaged the soreness out of her back. “I thought you sent her that last week?”

“I did,” Scarlett groaned. “I swear, it’s like she’s run out of things to complain about now that I’m no longer hopelessly single. She has to make things up instead.”

“She’s your mom. That’s what they do,” Gianna joked playfully, rubbing her thumb along the back of Scarlett’s hand. “And she just wants her baby to be happy. Which you are, right?”

A broad grin spread across Scarlett’s face, lighting up her whole expression, hazel eyes sparkling in the soft yellow glow of the garden lamps. Gianna felt her heart skip a beat, breath catching at the sight of this incredibly sexy, accomplished, intelligent, compassionate woman that fate and a string of coincidences had led into her orbit.

“Couldn’t be happier,” Scarlett confirmed. “What about you?”

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