Page 102 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

“She’s leaving for New York tomorrow. I think she only stayed in town today because she knew the press would be here for Miles’ wedding.”

“And so you two are not?—”

“No, we’re not together. We haven’t been, and she finally accepted it. She didn’t really have a choice. On Monday, my publicist is releasing a statement about the fight and my move back to Firefly, and there are two versions. One that is announcing the fight, our breakup and the move which is being released on Monday and an alternate version that includes you?— ”

“Me? A version includes me?”

“Yes.” I smiled. It was adorable how shocked Nadia was that she could possibly be included in a statement about my life when, besides Matty, she was my life. “Jessie Sloan, my publicist, emailed Felicity both copies and basically let her know that if she continued perpetuating the false narrative, publicly or privately, that we were still engaged, Jessie would personally make sure the entire world would see the alternate version.”

“Is the alternate version bad?”

“For Felicity, it is.”

“Okay, so wait, are you…” Nadia shook her head. “Youaremoving back?”

The way that Nadia was looking up at me, her eyes brimming with hope and love, made my heart feel like it was going toexplode in my chest. I wanted to get down on one knee and ask her to marry me right now, this second, but it wasn’t the right time. It was bad form to get engaged at a wedding reception.

“Yes, I’m not taking Chloe away from the only place and people she’s ever known. And I want Matty to grow up here, around my mom and Buzz. And I want to be here with you. This is my home. You are my home. You are my heart. You always have been.”

She smiled as she took in a shaky breath. “What about the fight? You said the statement was about the fight.”

“I agreed to do it. My team is coming out here to train.”

I saw the fear in her eyes and realized I hadn’t even asked if she would be okay with that. When we were younger, I knew she was always scared about me fighting.

“Is that okay?”

Her eyes widened. “You don’t need my permission.”

“I don’tneedit, but I want it. Are you okay with me fighting?”

“Of course. I just…want you to be happy.”

I wrapped my arms around her tighter. “Well, if that’s what you want, then I guess we’re just going to have to break your resolutions again.”

She smiled as a flush rose on her cheeks. “We’ve already broken them.”

“Two of them, but we haven’t dated, and I plan on dating the fuck out of you. I have ten years of dates to catch up on, so I hope you don’t have a lot of plans for the foreseeable future.”

“Aren’t you going to be training for a fight?”

“You know I’ve always been a good multi-tasker.” I held her even tighter. “But you’re right. I think that to maximize the most out of our time, we should move in together.”

She stopped swaying and just looked up at me. “Are you joking, or are you serious?”

“I’m serious, but I know it’s a lot. I have Matty and Chloe?—”

“Yes, I mean no, I mean yes, no...it’s not a lot. Yes, I want you to move in, all of you. If that’sreallywhat you want, and what Chloe and Matty want. I have the space. They can each have their own rooms. But I know they’ve had a lot of changes lately, and I don’t want to doanythingthat would make them uncomfortable. I just want them to be okay, and we’ve waited this long. If we have to wait a little longer, it’s fine as long as...”

“As long as what?” I brushed a stray strand of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear.

“As long as we’re together, I don’t care about anything else. When I was with the girls earlier, Ashley asked if I would consider moving to Arizona with you. It was hypothetical, but I knew my answer right away: yes, I would. If you had to go to Michigan or Alaska or Timbuktu or wherever, I don’t care, I would go. Because the only thing I know for certain is I don’t want to go through this life without you. I did that already, and it isnotfun.”

I chuckled. “Are you giving it zero stars?”

“Yes, zero stars. Do not recommend.”

A warmth spread through my chest as I grinned down at the woman I loved, who I never planned on letting go of again. “So, we’re doing this. For good this time. No more miscommunication. No more lies by omission. No more breakups. No more silly jealousy.”

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