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“No, she’s not,” Gideon says proudly, taking my hand as I come to stand beside him. “Thanks for the appetizers, Silas. Hopefully, I’ll see you at Thanksgiving.”
As we turn, starting toward the door, Gideon squeezes my hand and whispers, “How are you feeling?”
“Great,” I whisper back, a smile stretching wide across my face. “I feel like I have my whole life in front of me.” We exit the restaurant, pausing on the sidewalk outside. I pull in a deep breath of fall-tinged air and let it out in a rush. “And for the first time in a long time, that feels…exhilarating.”
Gideon beams down at me. “Does this mean you’re going to consider working for me? I hear your sexy boyfriend has a competitive compensation package and impressive benefits.”
I smile as we start down the sleepy street, marveling again at how quiet the Upper East Side is compared to so many other places in the city. But I want even more quiet, the kind I only find in one place. “I’ll be considering all my options, thank you, sir. But first, I’m going to need a week in Maine with my girls. It’s almost October book club time and I don’t want to miss seeing the cats at Elaina’s café dressed in their costumes.”
He nods. “Sounds good. I’ll miss you, but I—”
“I hope you won’t,” I cut in. “I’d love for you to come along. I mean, I heard you’re the big boss, Mr. Gabaldon. Surely you can take a week off…or work remotely every now and then.”
“I certainly can, and I’d be honored,” he says, drawing me to the side of the street near a white stone townhome and gathering me into his arms. “I want as much of your time as I can get.”
“And what about kids?” I ask, deciding to take a chance and roll the dice. I’ve already made outrageous leaps of faith tonight. Might as well go for broke. “Would you maybe want a couple more someday? Assuming you met the right woman?”
He pulls me closer, his eyes locked on mine. “You told your dad you couldn’t abandon your dreams.”
I nod and murmur, “Yes.”
“I’ve never abandoned mine, either. Except one. The dream where I get to spend the rest of my life with the woman who was meant for me. The dream where I get to have babies with her and be part of the kind of close, loving family I’ve always wanted. I thought I’d missed my shot at that. Forever. That it was too late for me.” His eyes begin to shine as he adds, “And then I met you.”
I cup his face, the back of my nose stinging. “I’m so glad that storm brought you out of the sky and into my life.”
“Me, too,” he says. “Want to head home? Figure out what we’d like to dream up next?”
“More than anything,” I whisper.
And so we do.
epilogue
Gideon
Two years later…
It’s the end of another summer in one of our favorite places on earth.
The sun is setting behind the softly rolling hills, the lobster pots are ready above the fire pits, and our nearest and dearest have joined us for one last beach party before we fly home to Vermont in the morning.
Everyone’s chatting and drinking, enjoying the music from our portable speakers, and watching the waves roll in, as yet unaware that they’ve secretly been invited to our wedding.
The surprise was Sydney’s idea. As soon as her dad confirmed he’d be able to make it up for the party—and that he didn’t mind Adrian, Noelle, and Ben catching a ride with him on his private plane—she’d turned to me and asked, “You want to get married? Saturday night? I think I can pull it all together by then.”
I’d said “hell, yes,” of course.
The only thing better than living with Sydney, working with Sydney, and anticipating the birth of our daughter in just two months, is the chance to finally make her my wife. I tried to talk her into getting married after we learned we were pregnant, but she’d insisted she wanted to wait until the baby was born and she’d settled into being a mother before we planned a wedding.
But her father’s heart attack earlier this summer changed things. It was only a minor cardiac event, and his prognosis is good as long as he makes some changes to his diet and lifestyle, but I could tell it spooked Syd. She only has one parent left and she wanted him at our wedding, even though she isn’t having anyone give her away.
That custom didn’t resonate with my independent better half. She’s decided to give herself away, and she’ll be walking down the narrow boardwalk leading from the lighthouse to the beach any second.
As soon as I have our guests in position…
“Hey, everyone, time for a group photo,” I call out, lifting my camera into the air. “Adrian, find a place in the front row of seats, will you?”
“Will do,” my son says, saluting me with his beer. The past two years have been an incredible time for us, as well. I finally have the close relationship with my son I’ve always hoped for. He even helped throw a surprise double birthday party for Sydney and me on New Year’s Eve last year, spending the night in sleepy Vermont with us instead of in Paris with his friends.
