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EPILOGUE
AUSTIN
Six Months Later
Boots windsherself around my legs as I enter the apartment, meowing up at me. I bend down and pick her up, kissing the top of her head. “What? Tessa didn’t pay attention to you all night?”
I glance over at the couch where Tessa’s hunched over, staring at something on her computer screen while biting at her thumbnail.
“Everything okay?” I ask, locking the door behind me.
She looks up, blinking a few times before she focuses on me. “When did you come home?”
“Just now.” I sit beside her, placing Boots on the cushion next to me. “What are you so absorbed in?”
She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, and gestures to her laptop. “The psychology journal I submitted to didn’t accept my paper. They said my study is too similar to something they published this month.”
“Ah, shit. I’m sorry.” She was so stressed out about that, especially since she had to do it by herself. “Can you resubmit it in a few months?” She’s explained the process to me before, but sometimes her explanations are a little… technical.
“I could. But I want it all squared away before I apply to grad schools so I can put it on my applications. And that was the same journal Mia got published in, so I always had this idea that I would, too.”
I stroke a hand down her arm in comfort. “Are there other journals you can submit to?”
“Yeah, there are. Probably better ones, actually.”
“Well, there you go. And let them know it was your part of the study that won. That should help you get in.”
Her lips quirk to the side. “Just because the relaxation group outperformed the meditation group doesn’t mean I won.”
“Well, I was part of that group, so I consider it winning.”
She laughs lightly, but the tension doesn’t ease from her.
“What else is going on?” I ask, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
She leans toward me, resting her head against the side of my chest. “I have to finalize my list soon of which grad programs I’m applying for, but I also still have to figure out what my study for this semester should be. I’m supposed to pitch it to Dr. Price in two weeks. I haven’t even decided on a topic yet.”
“Why are you worried about that? Weren’t you telling me last week about all the ideas you have?”
“Yeah, but if I choose one, then I can’t do any of the others.”
I keep my grin to myself, loving how ambitious she is. “You have a lifetime to do all those studies. Save them for grad school.”
She blows out a breath. “Yeah. You’re right.”
I tug her further into my side. “You want to talk about grad school? You’re applying in a few months, right?”
She nods. “There are three good schools within a thirty-minute drive of here I’m considering. But I need to cast a wider net in case they reject me.”
Why does she always assume the worst? “Any school would be lucky to have you.”
A small smile escapes her before she sobers again. “That’s nice of you to say, but I also have to think realistically. I’m worried… Well, what if I have to relocate? We just moved in together a month ago, and your job at Marty’s is going so well.”
Her hands twist in front of her and I lay a hand on them to stop her from freaking out. “If you have to move, I’m right there with you. Apply wherever you want.”
She bites at her bottom lip. “But what about taking over for your uncle in a couple of years? And your family here—”
“Tessa.” I release her and turn on the couch to face her, giving her a long, slow kiss until some of the tension leaves her. “You’re my family, too. I’ll go wherever you do, no questions asked.” Yeah, things have been going great working for Uncle Marty, but he’d understand if I had to leave. “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it once you know where you got in.”
