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He pawed at the tissue paper and uncovered another ornament. No, two. These were cursive beaded letters, one an ‘L’ shape, and the other a ‘P.’ “More ornaments?”
She nodded, and suddenly she looked almost embarrassed. Or vulnerable. “I made those. For you. I guess…Ornaments are kind of a tradition in my family. We always get at least one new one each year, usually related to something we did that year. And then you have a little memory to put on your tree every year after that.”
She always traced the words of his tattoo, any time he had his shirt off, but he hadn’t known how much she’d taken the idea of making memories to heart, how she’d connected it to her own traditions. “So you have a tree full of memories.”
“Yeah. And love.” She met his gaze and held it. Then she blinked, and the moment was gone. “Okay, open the other one. It’s just silly.”
He ripped the paper off the second gift, and inside was a stuffed jar-shaped toy with an opening in the top from which three stuffed pickles jutted. He must’ve looked perplexed.
“It’s a cat toy. A pickle jar for Pickle, with catnip stuffed pickles.”
He laughed then. “She’s going to love this.” What he loved was that she’d thought of his cat, not just him.
“My turn?”
He nodded, his mouth dry as dust.
She carefully undid the tape, then slowly peeled away the paper, completely the opposite of how he’d shredded the paper she’d wrapped his gifts in. She opened the box inside even more slowly, then pulled out the keychain in the shape of Australia. From it dangled a single key.
“What’s this?” It was her turn to look confused.
“It’s a key. To this place. I’ve leased it from Heath for myself, but I thought you might want a place of your own, to give the newlyweds over there some space.”
“They’re not married yet!”
“But they will be. And I thought—it doesn’t make sense for you to only have a room over there, when you could stay here. If you want it to be just yours, Heath said that was fine, and you could sign the lease and I’ll give it over to you. Or we can both sign it—” He hadn’t thought out what he’d meant to say well at all. What he’d thought was so simple suddenly seemed so convoluted. “What I’m saying is, if you don’t want this to be our place, it doesn’t have to be. It can just be yours. I have a pet passport for Pickle, so she can travel with me.”
Carissa stared at him. “Why wouldn’t I want it to be our place?”
“I don’t know, I just thought, you might think it was too soon for that.”
“It probably is…” Her words made his insides feel floaty, the way they sometimes did when he was flying and hit a pocket of turbulence. “But I like your crazy idea.”
“You do?” It was the best gift he could’ve gotten.Shewas the best gift.
“Yeah. I like being your home base. But—” She bit her lower lip. “Are you sure it won’t make you feel too… settled?”
“No. I think I’m ready to feel a little settled.”
The way she looked at him then—he wished he could bottle it up and take it with him when he had to go away. But luckily he wouldn’t be travelling far. He hadn’t told Carissa yet, but he’d managed to swap assignments with one of his younger colleagues, and it meant he’d only have to travel so far Sydney a few times a month. The rest of the time, he could work remotely. Before he told her that, though, he needed to know if she was going to move in with him.
“Okay. I say yes. It’s ours. Yours, mine, and Pickle’s.”
And then she kissed him to seal the deal.
13
EPILOGUE: VALENTINE’S DAY
ONE YEAR, ONE MONTH, AND THREE WEEKS LATER
She still hated it, but she’d made a promise, or a deal, depending on who you talked to, and she meant to uphold her part of it, even if she was a bit late.
Plus she loved the man sitting beside her. Which was the only reason she was in Lachlan’s plane, counting switches and toggles and dials while he did his preflight check.
“You ready, Ladybug?” His warm, low voice coming through her headset still soothed her, and she loved that he always asked her that question, every time he was about to spring some adventurous thing on her.
She nodded her head and let out what she hoped was a cleansing breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She flashed him a smile at the same moment that music filled her ears.
