Page 109 of The Geography of Happiness

I wrapped him in my arms. “You mean Every. Fucking. Thing. To me, Spencer.Everything.I hope you know that.”

He lifted his head. “Right back at you, baby. The whole fucking world.” He kissed me softly. “But right now, I think I’m about to go up in smoke.” He wriggled free of my arms and launched himself onto his back, his body slick with sweat. “Jesus, that’s better.”

I chuckled. “Don’t move.” I dashed to the en-suite for a quick cleanup before returning with a warm facecloth for Spencer. Then I curled against his side and listened to his breathing drift into a soft snore while I marvelled at how much my life had changed in under a year.

The scratch of Miller’s doggy nails on the bedroom door put an end to my musing and had Spencer grumbling into his pillow. “Damn dog.”

“He smells the sex,” I surmised. “Probably needs comforting.”

Spencer huffed. “What heneedsis training.”

I chuckled and threw a leg over Spencer’s thighs. “He doesn’t like to share you. It’s cute.”

“It’s not cute when it interrupts our sexy times.” Spencer rolled onto his side. “Lucky that we happen to know a good dog trainer, right? Now, come here. I need to kiss you again.”

“Dad, Spence, you need to get up! We’ll be late.” Hannah’s cane rapped on the bedroom door.

Spencer groaned and fell back onto the mattress. “We’re cursed.” But there was a lilt in his voice that told me he was grinning inside. The fact that Hannah was on her canes, not elbow crutches, and that she was actually ready before us, was a big, big deal. It had taken four months of hard work and physio, but her determination had finally paid off, and for her end of semester recital, she’d performed a simple dance using only her canes—the first time in over a year.

More rapping on the door. “I know you’re not asleep cos I heard you talking.”

I grinned and patted Spencer’s chest. “Remember how thrilled you were that Hannah also wanted us to shift down here rather than stay in Painted Bay?”

“Don’t remind me,” Spencer grumbled, but there was a smile on his face.

“Welcome to the world of teenagers, my darling.” I kept my voice hushed. “Zero boundaries.”

“You do realise I can hear you, right?” Hannah said saucily.

Spencer snorted and I poked him in the ribs.

“Okay, listen up,” Hannah rattled on. “Judah called to ask why you weren’t answering your phones and to tell us they plan to go fishing. He says he needs moral support so he doesn’t have to kill Morgan for even suggesting it. And Miller’s hungry. I can feed him when I feed Gabby if you want. I promised Judah we’d pick up pastries on our way. He says it’ll help him deal with the day. And do you want me to start breakfast?”

Spencer and I stared at each other. I checked my phone and held it up for him to see... five missed calls. I heaved a sigh. “I told you. The man is nothing but trouble.”

Hannah giggled. “But he’s great, and we owe him. You need to get up.”

Spencer raised an eyebrow. “She’s your daughter.”

I held his gaze and dropped my voice back to a whisper. “She loves you too, you know.”

Spencer froze, his eyes brimming. “She... really? She told you that?”

I cupped his cheek. “Not in so many words, but I know my daughter. She’ll tell you when she’s ready.” I raised my voice. “Okay, we hear you, my love button. The whole street hears you. Even Judah probably hears you. So, to answer your questions, yes, you can feed Miller. And yes, if you start breakfast, that would be great. I’ll think about the pastries, and you need to decide what you want to do. Fish or stay at the station.”

“At the station,” she shot back. “Zach has new puppies.”

I grinned. “All right. We’ll shower and be out soon. Judah will cope if we’re late. But no more shouting... please.”

“Cool bananas,” Hannah answered breezily, and the hall fell quiet.

I shook my head and fell back on the bed. “Teenage girls. Who knows how their brains work?”

Spencer nuzzled into my neck, then nipped me with his teeth. “Come closer so I can tell you again how much I love you.”

Like I was going to argue with that.

I turned into his arms and he kissed me, slow and tender, his fingers threading through my hair, a soft hum of pleasure in his throat—like I meant the world to him, like he’d been waiting for me forever. “I think we were always going to find each other,” he murmured. “Even if you’d never come to the Mackenzie. Somehow, some way it would’ve happened. I have to believe that because the idea of living without you and Hannah feels like a special kind of lonely hell. I went through a lot of people before you walked into my life, so I know what a rare find you are—” He ran his nose through my hair. “—and how fucking luckyweare. You taught me that.”

I pulled his face around so I could see his eyes. “And you taught me thatImatter. Every time I needed you, you were there, for both of us. But at leastshehas an idea what she wants to do with her life, unlike her father.”

Spencer’s eyes sparkled with humour. “Plenty of time for that.” He kissed me softly. “We have our own path to forge, right?”

I nodded, my heart pounding full in my throat. “We do,finally.”

He grinned and took both of my hands, bringing my knuckles to his lips. “And so it begins. The brand-new story of you and me and Hannah. Are you ready for it?” He raised a brow, hiseyes swimming with an emotion I’d waited my whole life to see directed at me.

I didn’t think I could love him any more than I did in that moment, and I leaned in and planted a fierce kiss on his lips to let him know. “I can’t fucking wait.”

THE END