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“Oh, no, Jane,” she says, then stands and hurries over. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. He’s awake. He’s going to be okay.”
“He’s awake?” I almost yell as she sits beside me, taking my other hand.
“Yes, it’s such a shock. He will have to go through a lot of rehab, but he’s awake. He can speak. He’ll be ready for visitors soon.”
“Thank God,” I say.
It’s like Luke said… a happy ending for everyone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Luke
Two days later, we’re sitting on my mom’s balcony in Malta. Kenny met us since it’s roughly halfway between us and Australia. Neil, Mom’s husband, is here too.
The sky is a dark, steely blue, the stars pressing through, and the air is warm. The harbor of Valetta glistens in the starlight.
Mom waves her hand as she tells her story, explaining the first time I got into a fight, but she leaves out the part where her boyfriend dragged me into the house and yelled at me, disgusted that I couldn’t defend myself. I smile and laugh with her. She’s my mom and will soon be a grandmother if I have my way.
Kenny grins at me from across the table, his long hair tied up, bracelets rattling against his glass as he sips his juice. Mom finishes her story, then stands, grinning down at me. She’s filled out as she’s gotten older, fuller, and happier.
“Does anybody want anything else to drink? And where has Jane disappeared to?”
“She’s still working on the problem,” I say, smiling.
“Ah, the mystery box,” Kenny says, his eyes gleaming.
“I just hope she likes what she finds.”
Kenny leans forward. “Bro, we may have only spent a day together, but even I can see how perfect this is. You hit the jackpot, Luke, and found a lady just as crazy as you.”
I chuckle, nodding. “You can say that again. Love at first sight. It’s real.”
“I’ll toast to that,” Neil says, finishing his beer. “Let me help you with the drinks, Isla.”
“You good?” Kenny asks once they’re gone.
“I saw her a few minutes ago. She’s in the living room, wearing that beautiful blue dress.”
I trail off as I think of her in that dress, the material settling like smoke against her skin, outlining her shape with her curly hair tied up, her fingers tapping across the keys.
“It’s a high-level problem,” I go on. “If she cracks it, I’ll bring her on to shadow me half the day and work in the trenches the other half. She can learn the business from the inside out. In the beginning, I joked I was looking for a right-hand man since, you know, you’re living the blessed life down under.”
He grins.
“But seeing her work these past couple of days, it’s not a joke anymore. She’s got serious talent.”
“Still, if it’s high-level, do you have a Plan B?”
I smirk. “I won’t need one. Jane will do it.”
“I’m just saying, if you have to go a couple more days without asking the question, I think that frown’s going to become a tattoo on your face.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “I’m not frowning.”
“You are, but you won’t be soon.”
“Let’s hope.”
My mind goes back home when he falls silent. The police were fine with me leaving since I’m not a suspect in anything I was involved in. My shoulder, still pulsing now and then, is mostly okay. Christopher is awake, doing well, and slowly getting back on his feet. I spoke to him just before I left. He sat up in bed, looking at me like he always does, ready for anything.
“I’ll be back to work soon, sir,” he said.
I replied, “I’ll be waiting for you… with a raise.”
My thoughts move to what Jane said just before we caught the private jet. She clasped my hands and looked up into my eyes, serious and determined.
“No more lies, I promise,” she said. “The crush, the time of the month thing… from now on, just the truth, okay?”
“The truth,” I repeated, and we kissed.
Jane yells, jolting me from my thoughts.
Kenny chuckles. “That’s your cue.”
I run into the house, down the marble hallway, the stairs, and into the living room. Jane has put the laptop on the desk and is on her feet, staring at the letters spelled out on the screen in zeroes and ones. Lines of binary shaping the words, flashing her prize for solving a genuinely complex problem.
She turns, and I fall to my knee. The ring box is already in my hand. I don’t remember taking it out, but my instincts guide me, as they always will with my Jane.
“Jane Stevens,” I say, opening the box.
She stumbles toward me, tears forming in her eyes, clinging to her lashes before sliding down her cheeks. Her hands shake as she raises them to her face, clasped together like she can’t quite believe what’s happening… like she’s praying for it to be real.
