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“Sonia!So. Good.”Diana came running up, with Ian at her side. “I’m dying over this show. And the last number?Twins?! Itshook me to my core. I have no idea where you got the inspiration for that.”
Laughing, Sonia hugged Diana, then Ian. “Was it worth the drive down here?”
“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t miss it.” Ian tweaked Diana’s ponytail. “Diana was getting a little hot and bothered, though. She’s got it bad for all your dancers. Couldn’t decide which one she wanted to see naked the…mmmph,” he mumbled, as Diana clapped her hand over his mouth.
“You were saying, Ian?” Brendan asked innocently. “Let him talk, Di.”
Sonia shrugged. “Most of them would go for it. I’m happy to tell them how freaky Di can get.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Diana said primly, removing her hand. “I’d rather hear about your ecstatic reunion now that Brendan’s back in town again.”
Sonia took a deep breath as Brendan’s fingers twined with hers. “It’s been good. You know I love my time alone, but with Bren on the road campaigning in Connecticut — it can get pretty rough.”
“Hey, it’s nice to be appreciated,” Brendan said lightly, tickling her back. “I was wondering if Sonia would really miss me.”
Diana and Ian laughed, but Sonia knew the truth. Being long-distance had its perks — time and space to do her own thing and dwell completely in the world of dance — but she’d missed Brendan more than she’d thought possible.
Yet they made it work. He sent regular weekly deliveries of stargazer lilies, and Sonia put them all around the apartment they now shared. Pink and white lilies bloomed in the kitchen, where she cooked for them, on the nightstand beside Brendan’s pillow, and on the bathroom counter, where his toothbrush would be. She sent him videos of her dancing, clean enough to keep on his phone, but personal enough that he could feel her close to him.
She knew Brendan ached for her just as much as she did for him. But he’d been unfailingly positive. He’d reassured her with funny stories about the ups and downs of campaigning for Congress, and descriptions of how great it would be when they saw each other again.
Some of those descriptions had gotten pretty fucking dirty. It didn’t take long for Brendan to get her wet, panting, and scurrying to fetch whatever toys he ordered from her chest. Other nights, he’d been the one obeying Sonia’s commands, and she teased him until he begged to come.
“I did miss him,” she said softly to Ian and Di. “But it just means the reunions are even better.”
Ian grinned. “Does making things official also help?”
“We haven’t decided whether you’re making an honest man out of Brendan, or he’s making an honest woman out of you,” Diana added.
Sonia glanced down at the garnet and pearl ring on her finger. She and Brendan had gone back and forth about whether there should be a ring, and what it would look like.
Brendan chuckled. “Sonia’s made an honest man of me, for sure. No question.” His hazel eyes held hers, dimples flickering in his cheeks.
Ian coughed noisily. “How’d my brother get so sappy? Where’s the guy who said people in love make him want to puke?”
“Ian, that was years ago,” Diana protested.
“Oh, he said that just last week,” Sonia teased. “Present company excepted. But I have to say, Brendan’s made me more honest too.”
Vulnerable, really. Open to trust. Willing to show her softer side.
Some days, Sonia couldn’t believe she’d said yes when Brendan had asked her to marry him. Or that he’d asked her at all. He’d seemed surprised himself by her answer.
All she could say was that she’d always operated by her instincts, and her instincts said yes. She and Brendan fit together, and the trust they’d forged felt unbreakable.
When Grandma Adrienne had offered her a ring from her own collection, “just to tide you over until you pick something,” Sonia knew they didn’t need to look any further.
Ian thumped Brendan’s shoulder. “We gotta get you out of this suit.”
“I’m wearing it for both of us,” Brendan assured him. “Since you haven’t put one on since your wedding.” He looked over his brother and sister-in-law, shaking his head in mock impatience. “So when are you guys going to give us a cute little niece or nephew? Sonia and I are getting impatient. We need a kid to spoil rotten.”
“Are you seriously baby-pressuring us?” Diana shook her head. “You’ll get to be Uncle Brendan eventually. We’re not in any rush.”
The four of them walked away from the theater, talking and laughing. Brendan slung his arm around Sonia’s shoulders, Sonia took Diana’s hand, and Ian slipped his palm into Di’s back pocket. They went forward into the city that glittered with promise, their future bright ahead of them.
THE END
