Page 120 of Nothing to Do

Right there.

Choice.

Lilya and Zach decided to be together. To have a baby. To get married. To have a future. Together. Like Roxie and Zairn, Roux and Rourke. It wasn’t happenstance, they didn’t fall into these relationships. Each of them made a decision to stick with it, to fight for it, to make their love a priority.

And that was it. All she had to do was choose what she wanted her life to be. Did she want it to continue unchanged without Zane? No. She didn’t. He was what she wanted.

After the amorous kiss, the music started again. The newlyweds departed down the aisle together, others crowded from their seats to follow.

Before Roux could move, she tightened her grip on her hand. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?” Roux asked.

“Last night, everything you said about—”

“Welcoming you to Huddle Hope? Absolutely! You can’t get a recommendation better than Roxie’s in my eyes.”

“And if Zane doesn’t—”

“Fuck him,” Roux said, jutting up her own chin, prompting her to reciprocate with similar pride. “We’re the power.” A whistle brought Roux around and there was Rourke at the end of the row. “Did you just whistle at me?”

“To any bitches listening, I guess your ears are good.”

“Tell you what else I’m good at?” Roux said, shuffling to the aisle, hand still locked in hers. “Signing divorce papers.”

“Oh, ho,” he said, tossing his head back as he laughed. “Christmas has come early this year.”

“Not that it matters to you. Naughty boys get nothing.”

Zane approached. Roux let go when Rourke yanked her against him and backed up, separating them to nuzzle at his wife.

“They’re full on,” Zane said.

“It’s love, right?”

The couple disappeared behind a curtain. She wasn’t all that sure anyone wanted to know what happened back there.

“Are you okay?” her guy asked.

“Am I…?”

“There will be some pictures and then—”

“I don’t want to go back.”

“What?”

The words came from her mouth, yet she hadn’t processed their full power. The confusion on his face matched the sound echoing in her ears. No, her mind was one hundred percent certain.

“I don’t want to go back,” she said, taking his hand. “I want to work with Roux, with Roxie, I want to build something with them, something that matters.”

“The—”

“I am not rushing our relationship or expecting anything from us.” Though she wanted to do just that. “Roux said I can stay in the employee apartments.”

“Babe, my house is your house, everything that’s mine is yours. This is what I want. I want you to live with me, for us to be together. I’ve been trying to bring it up… No, I haven’t tried. It’s been on my mind.” Like it had been on hers. “This is a big decision; I want you to be sure. It’s moving away from Alessia and your mom, away from your work—”

“My work is meaningless. When I look at what Roux and Roxie have built, everything you’ve built, you matter to this, and your group, you matter to each other. Think of the time I spent working on the island.” Might have been frequent but wasn’t half as hard as it should’ve been. “I took time away from us, and stressed that what I’d done wasn’t good enough, and then what? Anika didn’t even look at it, the project was pointless, it went nowhere. That might be no big deal any other day of the week, but that was time I took from you, from us. If I’d known how it would work out, I’d have locked myself away with you and never thought of work.”

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