“I know. I’m sorry. I was just freaking out and having a meltdown, whatever. All of it. Your past is your business.”
“And what about the money?”
“The money…I…I’m still scared that…that you’ll one day realize I suck. That you could go anywhere or date anyone, and you…you’ll realize…”
“That’s never going to happen.”
“But how do you know?”
“Because I know myself, and I know you. I have hope. I know what it means to work hard, and I know what it means to come from nothing. The money is nice, but it doesn’t change who I am and what I want. I want to be happy, just like everyone else. I want to find the person who loves the hell out of me, and I can love the hell out of them back. I want a family. I want to have a good life. And I want the money to not mean anything at all when the person sees me. It’s been a long time since I had that.”
“Honestly, me too.”
“I’d work hard, and I’d fight for it. I wouldn’t just let it go. I wouldn’t just assume it’s going to be easy and then walk away when it’s not. The thing is, Zoe, we just fit. We mesh in every way, and we already know we can get along. We also already know we’re…um…compatible.”
“Shh!” Zoe glances back at the doorway.
She finds me grinning when she turns back. “I didn’t think you’d cash the cheque.”
“I wasn’t going to. But then I thought if I really wanted to be a vet tech, why not? Why not, if I’m going to work hard to better myself and make the world better for people and animals? I actually got turned down for loans, so I didn’t have any other choice. It was either that or be too proud and not take it and then work aimlessly at jobs I hated, all the while wishing I’d taken the incredible opportunity when it was given to me.”
“Kind of like this. Like us.”
“Yeah.” Zoe’s eyes get a little misty, damn it. I think there might be dust or something floating around in the office because my nose is suddenly burning, and my eyes feel a little bit itchy too. “Like us, but don’t worry. I didn’t need all that money. I actually donated the rest—forty thousand dollars—to an animal shelter here. They really needed it.”
“You’re amazing. You know that? In every way. If you think I could ever get tired of you or just move on, you’re crazy. You have no idea about me, or you, or about how much ass we’re going to kick together. I’ve been waiting for eighteen years for this. Well, kind of, I think. I mean, no one ever felt right until the second I saw you again. Not a single person. I think I was always waiting for you to come back into my life and mess with everything I thought I knew.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s a compliment.”
“Is it?”
I push back my chair. “Absolutely. Now, can I please hug you and kiss you as if you gave me your rabies? Because it’s all that I’ve been thinking about.”
Zoe raises a brow, but she stands up too. When we meet at the edge of the desk, we practically clash together in a frenzied tangle that I’m not entirely sure doesn’t have anything to do with rabies. Kissing Zoe is everything. It’s just…yeah. My past and my future. This very moment. All of it. Everything.
A slow clap breaks us apart. We both stand there, a little shocked, but I’m grinning even though Sharon is standing at the open doorway, studying both of us with a surprised expression. Also, a crowd is starting to gather at the sound of the clapping, but I absolutely don’t care.
I don’t care. I want the whole world to know how I feel about this woman, and Zoe might be a little bit more hesitant, naturally shyer, but she doesn’t pull away when I take her face in my hands and kiss her again. A real, proper kiss. We don’t stop even when the clapping gets louder and louder, and there are actual cheers going on out in the hallway.
If this is what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life, then I’d say sign me up, but I’m already registered. And I am seriously going to rock the hell out of this—until I’m blue in the balls or face. Or both. Whatever.
EPILOGUE
Zoe
The guy who is dressed in a bear costume in the highest heat and humidity of a summer day while giving our four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter rides on his back amidst an entire gathering of adults, family, friends, and screaming children? Yeah, that’s the man I love.
He’d do anything for our kids, and he always showed up for them. He’s the best dad in the world. He’s also the best husband in the world, and unbelievably enough, he’s mine.
Gavin and Charlotte happen to be born a week apart. I mean, their birthdays are June tenth and June seventeenth, so we celebrate them together every single year. Raiden always goes all out and plans this huge party with blow-up castles, balloons, cake, all of it. The whole deal. This year, because Gavin’s developed a slight obsession with bears after we visited Raiden’s mom in Colorado a few months ago, he dressed up as a bear. It seriously made Gavin’s day, and Charlotte loves it too.
I love them all.
Our friends are here, and our parents too. Both of them. It was a little weird for them at first, getting used to the idea of Raiden and me together, but they came around faster than we both thought they would. Now, they even get along when
