He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and kissed her, and as their lips met, a joy like nothing Stephanie had ever felt in her life exploded within her.
She was getting her second chance—and so was he.
And she knew from the bottom of her heart that they would guard the trust—and the love—they had built between them for the rest of their days.
EPILOGUE
EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER: STEPHANIE
“Where’s my grandson?” Oliver Norcross demanded as he stepped across the threshold.
Smiling, Stephanie held a finger to her lips. “Rory’s still napping,” she said. “But he’ll be up in about half an hour, and he’s so excited to see you. He’s been laughing and clapping all day, every time Elijah or I mention that Grandpa is coming over tonight.”
Bruno let out a happy bark, and Oliver bent down to scratch him behind the ears. “I’m happy to see you too, sport.” He straightened up and smiled at Stephanie. “You’re looking very well,” he said.
“Thanks,” she grinned. “So are you.”
She had grown close to Oliver, surprisingly and wonderfully. The fact that he had gone out of his way to tell Elijah the truth about their arrangement, the fact that he had taken accountability for his part in it, had gone a long way toward healing things. Oliver had also taken an active interest in Rory’s life since his birth, and Stephanie couldn’t resist anyone who loved her son.
But what had really pushed things over the edge from animosity into family was the fact that Elijah and Oliver had grown closer. He had given up his role in his father’s business. What was especially wonderful was that Oliver had made Elijah a legal partner in the business years before, and though Elijah had offered to sign over his share at a nominal cost, Oliver had insisted on buying him out. “After all,” he’d said, “you gave a lot to this company over the years, and I did talk you into spending a lot of your life preparing to run it. You should be compensated for that.”
The buyout had been substantial, and Elijah had immediately turned around and invested a huge chunk of it into SilkSoft. Stephanie had been able to take on a bunch of new staff, which meant that even though she was still devoted to her role as CEO of the company, she had time to spend at home with Rory.
But she also had a coparent—the best she could possibly have asked for. And now he appeared in the kitchen with Rory on his hip. “I thought I heard your voice, Dad,” he said.
“What are you two doing?” Stephanie asked, moving forward to take her son. “I thought he was still napping.”
Rory leaned eagerly into her arms. Stephanie had worried, when they had decided that Elijah would be the stay-at-home parent and she would go on working, that it might diminish the bond she was able to form with her son. But that hadn’t happened. She and Rory were incredibly close, and he was always eager to be with her whenever he could. He flung his arms around her neck. Stephanie closed her eyes for a moment, relishing his baby embrace.
“He really does look exactly like Elijah did at that age,” Oliver remarked. “Well, except for the hair, of course.”
The three of them laughed. From the moment he was born, Rory had shared Stephanie’s distinctive red curls. His eyes were blue like his father’s, but there could be no question as to where that hair had come from.
“Are you ready to spend the night with Grandpa?” Stephanie asked Rory.
He didn’t answer. He had only begun speaking at all very recently, and he was still shy around everyone besides his parents. Still, when Stephanie gave him one last hug and then passed him over to Oliver, he didn’t protest.
“All right, you two,” Oliver said. “When am I expecting you back home?”
“We’ll be back by eleven, I’d think,” Elijah said. “We’re just going to have dinner to celebrate the quarter. This one still doesn’t like being away from Rory any more than she has to.” He nudged Stephanie’s shoulder and gave her a fond smile.
“You wouldn’t like it either if you were away from him for eight hours most days.” She missed working from home sometimes, but business was booming these days, and being in the office had become almost a necessity. She went to her son and kissed his forehead. “You be good for Grandpa, now.”
“Come on,” Elijah said, taking her by the hand. “We don’t want to miss our reservation.”
They were dining at the restaurant where they’d had their first date—or perhaps it was their second. They had never worked out the solution to that argument, but it was a fun thing to laughabout now. They made their way to their usual table and placed their orders—they came here often enough that there was no need for a menu.
“We should get the really nice wine tonight,” Elijah said. “Since we’re celebrating.”
“It wasn’t that big a deal.” Stephanie blushed. The truth was that it very much was a big deal. This quarter had been the most profitable in the history of her company, and that was exciting, but much more important than the money was the fact that she was able to point to actual mile markers of success in a way she never had before. Nowadays, she could walk into a store and find SilkSoft products on the shelf. Not only that, but they could often be found at the very front of the skincare rack, where people would be able to find them easily—because store owners knew that people were likely to be looking for them.
She had achieved the goals she had set out for herself, and business was only continuing to get better. She had deals with distributors in New York and even Paris. SilkSoft was becoming a household name around the world.
The wine was definitely called for, and they both knew it.
Elijah had the waiter bring the bottle to the table and poured out some for each of them. After they had taken their first sips, he set his glass down and reached across the table to take Stephanie’s hand.
“Sometimes,” he said quietly, “I can’t believe how far we’ve come, you and me. Sometimes I can’t believe you’re the woman I put the moves on at that awards night.”
