Page 107 of Cherry Auction

I intertwine my fingers with hers and drag her forwards towards the sidewalk, grabbing her suitcase with my other hand. “Fuck the shirt. I’m not lettin’ you out of me sight for a goddamned second. C’mon. We’ll call a cab with your phone.”

Her high-pitched peal of laughter is all the healing my lost, damned soul has been needing the past year. I let go of the bag and hike her up into my arms.

She laughs again and wraps her legs around my waist. I look up into the dancing eyes of the most beautiful girl in the world.

“I love ya, future Mrs. Callaghan.”

Her grin gets bigger. “Anna Callaghan,” she says. “I think that plaque will fit nicely on the desk in my beautifullydecorated room.”

Then the world’s most gorgeous woman blesses a poor, sad fuck from the arse end of nowhere with the sweetest kiss, and I know I’m the luckiest man in the world as I spin with her in my arms.

EPILOGUE I

ANNA

“I wanna take you on a date,” Domhnall says from beside me in bed.

We’re in a luxury uptown suite at the Ritz downtown, two days since I got back in town. We’ve spent most of it in bed. Well, we have visited the large, multi-headed shower a couple times, but still.

It’s a far cry from the tiny studio I’ve been living in back in Chicago. I know I have money now, but I’ve been anxious not to waste it. Especially when I want to do important things, like give it to people who really need it. I bought Ria and her mom a house on the outskirts of Chicago. They were so kind to me when I first got there, even though they barelyhad enough space for the two of them and Ria’s new little baby.

Then I made a donation to the Dallas shelter that housed me after my hospital stay when I had amnesia, so they could buy a new building. Ria said I needed to be careful or I’d be poor again in no time. I just laughed. I wasn’t afraid of being poor anymore. Not since now I knew there’s not a monster out there chasing me.

I look over at Domhn. “A date?”

He nods, reaching over to push my hair behind my ears. I melt a little inside.

“We never really got to do that. Either time we knew each other.”

I melt more. And… putting a table between us could give us a chance to talk without falling into bed every three seconds. If I’m honest, I know there’ve been some conversations I’ve been avoiding. Like, uh, thebigone.

I’m still… not well.

Dr. Kim has tried to help me rethink what sick and healthy and normal and crazy mean. We’ve tried to deconstruct a lot of things. A big part of me was afraid to come back here. It’s part of why I put it off for a whole year and even then, I wasn’t sure if I was ready. But when isready? I wasn’t ever going to be quote-unquotenormal. I knew that even before I left.

Dr. Kim thought I was strong enough to come back for a visit.

But I knew all along there was no just “visiting” Donny.

I grin at him with the uncontained joy that bursts inside my chests like mini-fireworks any time I’m around him. “I’d love to go on a date.”

I tackle him back to the bed and it takes us another hour to actually get out the door.

Of course Domhnall takes me to an absurdly expensive restaurant downtown.

“I feel like everyone’s watching us,” I whisper as we walk in.

So he says something in to the immaculately-groomed maître d's ear who’s seating us, and we’re taken to a private little booth in the back. Domhnall’s always so thoughtful.

We’re holding hands and I squeeze his. He flashes those devastating blue eyes down at me and I die a little inside like always. Can this man really be mine?

I freeze up a bit. Last year I told Dr. Ezra and Professor Roberts they could tell him some of what was going on, but I always told them to downplay it.

Today, though, I really want to talk to him about it. Ineedto talk to him. If we’re really going to have a future together, he needs to know what… what that might mean.

I suck in a deep breath as we’re seated.

“You look beautiful,” Domhn says as I pick up my menu.

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