Page 119 of The Prime-Time Experiment

And then, without thinking about it, she leaned slightly into Declan’s side. The movement was small enough it likely would have gone unnoticed by anyone else in the room. Just a subtle adjustment of weight, her shoulder settling more firmly against him.

But to Riley, it felt strangely significant, instinctive, like some part of her had stopped searching for where it belonged because it had already found it.

Declan’s hand tightened lightly around hers in immediate response. No hesitation or acknowledgement that it was unusual or noteworthy. Just quiet acceptance like this, too, had become instinctive for him.

Riley exhaled slowly, feeling herself settle further into the contact, noticing only distantly that the tension she once would have carried in a moment like this simply… wasn’t there anymore.

Six months, that was what the segment had originally been, a hypothesis designed to prove a point. And somehow, somewhere between the data collection and the lived experience of it all, the experiment had stopped being about proving anything at all.

The results were valid. The research would be published, the framework they had built together applied far beyond the scope of their original experiment. By every measurable standard they established at the beginning, the outcome was successful.

And yet, Riley found herself caring less about the publication itself than the life that had formed around it. Her gaze drifted away from the television, settling instead on the room around her.

On Leanne, who had fully turned toward Charlie now, speaking with animated hands and easy warmth that somehow filled the space without overwhelming it. On Dee, who had clearly abandoned factual accuracy ten minutes ago and was now arguing purely for entertainment value, her grin sharp with satisfaction every time Tyler reacted. On Tyler himself, still attempting to restore order despite the fact nobody else seemed interested in having any, though there was less resistance in him now, more familiarity in the way he remained part of the chaos anyway. On Ebony, who was still quietly watching her.

Her people. The thought settled into place naturally.

There had been a time Riley would have examined it immediately, dissected the emotional implication, tested it for exaggeration or misinterpretation. Now, it simply existed, steady and certain. Something warm expanded quietly beneath her ribs as she looked at them, familiar enough now that she no longer felt compelled to reduce it into something easier to quantify.

Agreeing to that segment had altered the trajectory of her life in ways no model could have reasonably predicted.

The research itself had changed, too. It was no longer theoretical or clinically distant, it had become something lived, shaped through experience rather than detached observation. The framework worked because they had lived inside it. Because she had.

And because of him.

The thought arrived cleanly now. Her fingers shifted slightly in Declan’s hand, the movement deliberate enough to pull his attention immediately. He looked down at her at once, like he always did, as though her smallest movement instinctively redirected him back toward her.

Riley turned her head slightly to meet his gaze. There was no instinct to over-prepare the moment anymore, no need to refine the feeling into something safer before allowing it to exist aloud.

“I love you,” she said. The words settled between them easily.

Declan’s expression softened instantly, warmth moving across his face so openly it made something inside her chest tighten again. His hand closed slightly around hers, thumb brushing once against her skin in a quiet acknowledgement that somehow carried more weight than anything louder could have.

Riley held his gaze for another second, letting herself stay there fully instead of retreating inward the way she once would have. Then, softer this time, she spoke again.

“Hey, Declan?”

“Yeah, Riles?” His answer came instinctively, easy and familiar.

Riley looked at him for a moment longer, something quiet and complete settling fully into place inside her.

“I’m really glad you made that bet.”

Epilogue

Dee

The conversation in the living room carried on behind her, warm and easy, voices overlapping beneath bursts of laughter that rose without restraint and settled just as naturally again. It filled Declan’s house in a way that felt lived-in.

Dee let the sound fade slightly as she stepped into the hallway, the noise softening just enough to give her room to breathe around everything she was feeling.

It had been really nice, in fact far better than she’d expected. The kind of good that left this strange joyful ache behind it, her chest not quite knowing what to do with the weight of seeing someone she loved finally receive something they spent their whole life going without.

Riley had been happy in there, steady in a way Dee rarely saw from her, sitting amongst Declan’s family like there had always been a space waiting for her there. She clearly belonged in the middle of that family, which made Dee so genuinely happy for her that she could barely stand it.

But beneath that happiness sat something sharper. Some ugly, quiet part of her couldn’t stop noticing how easily Riley had become part of that family, leaving Dee partially behind.

“Hey.”