“I still can’t believe he was behind everything.” Alex shook his head. “I knew he was a bad dude, but I kind of didn’t think he was smart enough to orchestrate something like this.”
“I should have guessed.” Grace shook her head too. “I feel silly for not figuring it out. The offer to help me with the lawsuit was just too convenient. And he knew too much about me being fired—stuff that probably wasn’t public knowledge.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Alex said gently, taking her hand. “We’ve spent enough time letting that fool dictate the terms of our lives. It’s time to make our own choices now.”
“And the first choice is moving in together,” Grace added.
“That would be my preference,” Alex agreed.
“Then let’s go. I think I remember where your apartment is. I’ll need a tour, though. I’ve only seen parts of it.”
They drove through San Valentino to Alex’s apartment. Again, the drive was spent sneaking smiles at each other. Grace parked outside, and they headed upstairs, where Alex showed Grace through the house. She’d already seen the living room, where they’d met once to talk about baby furniture, and the bedroom, where they’d met once to make the babies in question, but the other rooms were brand new to her. He showed her the kitchen, the spare bedrooms, the study, and the home gym. When theypassed his bedroom, her eyes landed on something sitting on one of the side tables.
“Is that the duck you gave me?”
Alex followed her gaze to the small rubber duck. He grinned. “It is.”
“And now it’s here.” Grace glanced at him. “Why?”
“Well, you didn’t take it with you when you left, so I took it.” Alex paused. “I think I wanted to remind myself of the good times we shared. Even when everything seemed to be going wrong, I didn’t want to forget that.”
“I like that.” Grace nudged his shoulder with her own. “You’re a sentimental guy, aren’t you?”
“Maybe a little.”
“Good. I hope I get to see more of that.”
They continued down the hallway to the next bedroom.
“I thought this could be a nursery,” Alex said, opening the door. It was a bright, sunlit room with plenty of space for two cribs and lots of baby toys.
“It’s beautiful.” Grace leaned in the doorway, smiling distantly. Then she turned to him. “But we spent so much time on the other nursery.”
“We can do it all again,” Alex said.
“Hey, I’m coming up on six months pregnant.” Grace smoothed her hand over the curve of her baby bump. “Youcan do it all again. I’ll be watching from a comfortable chair with a box of mints and a mug of tea.”
“Fair enough,” Alex agreed. “And then I’ll give you a foot rub and make you some dinner.”
Grace grinned. “I’m definitely starting to feel like I made the right call here by moving in with you. How long will the pampering continue?”
“For the rest of our lives, if I have any say,” Alex said.
Grace’s cheeks flushed, and she met his eyes. “Is that so?”
“It is. Now, come on. I have more rooms to show you.”
“More? How bigisthis house?”
Her question was answered when Alex showed her the formal dining room, the family room, the storage room, and the balcony. They ended there, standing by the railing and looking down at the city of San Valentino in the soft late afternoon light.
“You have too many rooms,” Grace said.
“Maybe,” Alex agreed. “But they’ll come in handy now. We can have a playroom for the kids, home offices for both of us, and separate rooms for the twins once they’re old enough.”
Grace smiled and leaned against the railing to look up at him. “We might need to redecorate a little, though. Your apartment looks like a bachelor lives here. Or a monk.”
“A monk?”
