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“You didn’t,” she said, letting herself fall into him, overwhelmed with relief.Thiswas the way they were supposed to be. “I thought it was the other way around. I thought you didn’t really want to be with me.”
She felt his laugh in her chest. “I’ve felt like I’ve beendyingthe last few days.”
She laughed with him. “Me too. That was horrible.”
He pulled his head back to look at her. “We’re not doing that again,” he said.
“No,” she agreed. “Fighting doesn’t suit us.”
He got a strange smile on his face, thinking, as she was, about how they started. “It really doesn’t. Fighting, hiding stuff from each other. That’s not us.”
“We’re done with it.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, and then he kissed her.
After a few moments they heard Cassiel call out, “Are you guys coming, or what?”
Rafe ended the kiss and made a frustrated sound. “My family,” he said quietly, layering the word with reams of meaning. “What did Cassiel say to you?”
Abbe shrugged, knowing that managing Rafe’s family was going to become a huge part of her life from now on. She also knew that Rafe was worth it.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Abbe said.
Rafe put an arm over her shoulder, keeping her right up against his side as they started back toward the main house. “Oh really?” he said, his eyes narrowed. “He didn’t say anything to get under your skin?”
She put one arm around Rafe’s back and rested her other hand on his chest, leaning against him as she walked. One look at the way Cassiel was watching her with his big brother, hyper-alert and always poised to handle an incoming threat, and she understood the dynamic. She’d taken in lots of guard dogs in her time.
“Your brother and I are going to get along just fine,” she said.
Epilogue
Abbe stood in the closet wearing nothing but a towel while Bianca flipped through clothes.
“It’s not a costume party, it’s a Halloween party,” Bianca said, sorting through dresses that were just as new to her as they were to Abbe. “You know, my brother’s shopper is quite good,” she mused. “I should steal her.”
“Butyou’rewearing a costume,” Abbe argued, gesturing to Bianca, who was dressed as Pris from the originalBlade Runner. She looked fantastic.
“Because I’m meeting my friend Eden as soon as I can get away. Trust me, most of my family will not be dressed up.” She burst out laughing. “Can you imagine Rafe wearing face paint?”
Abbe could, actually. If he had a daughter, and she wanted to paint his face and dress him up like a fairy, Abbe could imagine Rafe doing anything to please her.
“What are you smiling about?” Bianca asked.
“Nothing,” Abbe said, keeping that possible distant future to herself.
Abbe and Rafe had only been reconciled for two days, but in typical all-or-nothing Rafe fashion, he’d already asked her if she wanted kids. She’d told him she did, and he’d started casually nudging her in the direction of moving in with him. Not that that guy did anything casually.
“Here. This will be perfect,” Bianca said, taking down a slinky cocktail-length dress and holding it up to Abbe to check that the color didn’t overpower her complexion. “Lovely. Let me see you in it.”
“Are you sure it’s okay if I borrow this?” Abbe asked, noticing the couture label, and imagining the exorbitant price tag that must have accompanied it.
“I think we can safely assume that everything in this closet is just as much yours as it is mine,” Bianca said assuredly. “Until his shopper starts stalking your stuff into Rafe’s room,” she added knowingly.
“I haven’t agreed to that yet,” Abbe said, moving behind the changing screen.
Bianca laughed ruefully. “Yet. Have you met my brother? Resistance is futile.”
Abbe put the dress on, and knew immediately it was going to be a little tight across the bust. “What do you think,” she said, frowning and pointing at her cleavage. “Too much?”
