“And a new teacher. Seven more days, then the shooting range.”
“If your mom agrees.”
Jacquie smiled at Pierce. “If you own a weapon, Brandon, you need to know how to use it. If Pierce is willing to give you some lessons, you should take advantage of that good luck.”
“Absolutely. Hey, don’t let this one get away, Mom. Apparently, I need hard core instruction.” Brandon winked at her.
“I don’t intend to,” Jacquie said softly, her gaze clinging to Pierce’s. He opened his arms and she stepped into his embrace.
She realized he wasn’t the one who had come home.
Brandon offered his hand to Elizabeth, who slid her arm around his waist. “Okay.”
“Never better,” she said.
“I want to talk to you. Got a minute?”
“I’ve got all the minutes in the world just for you,” she vowed and they kissed all the way back down the hall. The door to the bedroom they were sharing closed with finality.
“Sorry if I was too tough on him,” Pierce murmured into Jacquie’s hair.
“Didn’t seem to trouble him. Maybe it was good for him.” She tipped her head back to meet Pierce’s gaze. “I didn’t know he wanted to be a teacher. Good work.”
“Just trying to play for the team.”
“You rocked it.”
Pierce’s smile was fleeting and his eyes became more green as he looked down at her. “I’m thinking about choosing that moment.”
“I’d go for it,” Jacquie advised softly.
He almost smiled. “Will you marry me, Jacquie?”
“Of course,” she replied, then Pierce kissed her to silence, the sizzle between them so hot that she forgot everything else.
She had a feeling it was always going to be that hot.
And that suited Jacquie just fine.
The bride wore red.
It was a glorious spring day when Jacquie and Pierce exchanged their vows in the lobby of Flatiron Five Fitness. The club was still closed so it was easy to arrange the service there.
Things had changed quickly at F5F with the virus spreading and by the time Jacquie and Pierce’s quarantine had ended, the club had been closed. Jacquie had continued to work remotely from home. She’d worked with the partners to try to keep the part-time employees on solid financial footing. They made a push to more digital content and approved podcasts from virtually all of the staff. Tyler’s wife, Shannyn, started a weekly online workshop about lighting and camera angles, while Sonia and Cassie worked on captions and graphics for the videos. Theo arranged for F5F to run its own cable station, and they streamed content 24/7 about keeping fit at home and eating well. The entire team from the office worked remotely, Meesha coordinating their social media as adroitly as ever and keeping up morale.
Cassie’s partner, Reid, had kept the bodega in the lobby open for groceries and take-out, but was beginning a joint venture with Hunter’s brother-in-law to launch a meal kit service. The partners of the club were funding meal kits for the part-timers, helping them to eat well when their finances were tight. Jacquie and Pierce got the meal kits and prepared the meals together, following the videos—Jacquie was learning to cook and enjoyed it. Damon’s wife, Haley, had enlisted several interns to provide medical counseling for the staff, too, and they offered online appointments. The partners pulled together a fund to help the staff on an as-needed basis and Tyler asked Jacquie to let him know whenever anyone needed extra help.
They could have been Jacquie’s second family, a much larger one, and she appreciated how the partners strove to take care of everyone.
Her own kids had remained in New York, with the exception of Cole who had briefly returned to his classes in Chicago. Brandon and Elizabeth had gone to city hall to get married, only telling everyone afterward. They’d bought a tiny house in Queens and were busily renovating in anticipation of the twins they’d have by Christmas. Brandon was going back to college in the fall. Ashley and Maddy had moved into Pierce’s apartment, and he’d made it easy for them to buy it from him by providing their financing. Ash was making her own films and intended to distribute them online: her current documentary series was about Chynna, the tattoo artist from Flatiron Five Tattoo. Maddy had decided not to return to her day job and was teaching financial management online.
Jacquie and Pierce had converted the second bedroom at Jacquie’s place to his office, while the smallest bedroom was a spare room for Cole to use when he was home. Pierce’s gallery of images had been moved there. Jacquie had gotten to know both Lisa MacAvoy and Jimmy Wong as well as their families and Farah turned up unexpectedly at regular intervals, too. Mr. Abernethy came regularly for Sunday dinner, and Cole had helped to set up his new iPad so he could Facetime with any of them. They treated him like another grandfather and Jacquie loved how happy he looked in their midst.
She also had a new picture in her gallery, one of all of them on the last night of their quarantine. They’d had a party and Cole had set up his phone to take a picture of them all. They were sitting on the kitchen counter or the stools, toasting the camera, laughing together. Several were wearing their black F5F yoga gear, and Jacquie stood behind the counter, beaming. Pierce was behind her, his arms around her waist, smiling with satisfaction and she thought they looked like the ideal family. The picture had been blown up to a larger size and had pride of place on her wall.
It was also in Pierce’s gallery, which Jacquie liked a lot.
Pierce had gone to Boston several times already, organizing Farah’s personal security and overseeing the arrangements for her mother’s move from Paris later in the year. Farah’s friend had delayed her wedding until after the vaccine, so there was time to pull the details together.
On that day in early June, Jacquie walked into the club that
