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“What?”

She waved a hand, dismissively. “Never mind. But really, you should have told me.”

He reached for her and drew her down. She didn’t hesitate, snuggling back into him. That made him smile. “Come on, you have to admit, my way made a bigger impact.”

He got a “harrumph” from her and figured that was the most acknowledgment he would get of her acceptance.

Her hand landed on his heart. “You okay being so far away from Sissy?”

Blake’s hand covered hers. “It’s been two months since I’ve been needed, and she seems to be making small improvements every time we visit. I can FaceTime and go see her between trips. She’ll be okay.”

She picked up her head and looked him in the eye. “That’s not what I asked. I asked if you’ll be okay.”

He cupped the side of her face, loving how well she knew him. He smiled. “I’ll be okay.” Kissing the top of her head, he reached over and clicked off the side light, then scooted farther down on his pillows. “You need to sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

“What will you do? I don’t want you to be bored.”

That made him laugh. “I have one of the oldest cities in the world to explore.”

“Mmm, I think I might be jealous. I have to work, and you get to have fun.”

Her words were slurred, and her voice was sleepy, clues she was starting to drift. He kissed the top of her head again and held her a touch tighter. Never wanting to let go. “Sleep, baby. We have the rest of our lives to have fun.”

Epilogue

One Year Later

“Surprise!”

Gwen stood stunned as all her friends and family shouted and blew noisemakers when she and Blake walked into the living room of her parents’ house.

She looked accusingly in her husband’s direction. “Did you know about this?”

Blake held his hands up in surrender. “I’m as surprised as you are.”

They’d arrived at LAX yesterday afternoon after a long-ass flight from Tokyo and had gone straight home, crashing for over twelve hours—she never did get a handle on jet lag.

Allie came up to her, giving her a big hug. “Welcome home.” She stepped back but kept hold of her arms. “Are you here to stay?”

“We’re here to stay.”

Her mom had walked up to them. “You didn’t sign the new contract?”

She looked over at Blake and gave him a secret smile, her hand coming to rest low on her stomach. “Nope. But we do have some exciting news to share.”

Ten Years Later

“Daddy!” Blake heard Emma screech before she materialized in his office doorway.

He held up a finger her direction as he said into the phone, “My offer stands. No more.”

After their first child, Nora, had been born, he’d gotten into the real estate game. Buying low, fixing it up, then turning around to sell for a profit. He made a mint and—bonus—got to spend quality time with his family.

“I saw the state of the place. They’ll be lucky to get that.” He listened to the realtor for a few seconds then interrupted when he didn’t have anything new to bring to the table and was just repeating himself. “Call me when they’ve reached a decision.”

He hung up and gave his full attention to his youngest daughter. She started in as soon as she got his eyes. “Nora says I can’t have one of the princess-sparkle cupcakes that Aunt Sissy made ‘cause I don’t have long hair no more, and she says princesses only have long hair, and only princesses are allowed to eat them.” She balled her little six-year-old hands into fists and placed them on her hips—ever the dramatic one in the family.

A few nights before, Emma had fallen asleep with a piece of gum in her mouth. Two jars of peanut butter later, Gwen ended up having to cut her nearly waist-length hair to just above her shoulders. Blake wasn’t sure who’d cried longer, Emma or Gwen.

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