“I do.”Mercer’s family had gotten the shock of their lives when, in response to an ultimatum, Mercer had joined the space corps.
This was different.
“It’s not an ultimatum.I’m not forcing you to choose anything.I’mchoosing.And I choose her.”
There was a gasp from the doorway.Lacy stood there, shock on her face.Behind her, Layla wore a huge smile.
“What?How?”
“I may have ‘accidentally’ turned the intercom on,” Burn said.
“You...”I had no words.“Thank you.”
I looked up at Lacy, who was still staring at me.“What do you say?Want to join me?Wherever that ends up being?”
She studied me a long,long,moment.“Yes,” she said finally, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
Relief flooded through me.
Then she was in my arms and I was holding her as if I’d never let her go.
Her lips found mine in a frantic kiss that lasted not nearly long enough, when she remembered we had an audience and pulled away.
“What about my dad?”she asked, her voice suddenly serious.
I swallowed hard.“If you promise to protect me from him, I’m totally fine with your dad.”I paused, thought about it.“But I don’t want to join his crew.”
“Neither do I.”Her arms tightened around me and her head rested against my chest.“We’ll figure it out.I still have my apartment on Elegium Station.I think.”
The nearby throat clearing surprised me.“What if you didn’t have to?”
“Didn’t have to what?”I looked at Mercer, since he’d been the one who’d spoken.
“What if you didn’t have to figure it out?You’ve got a crew and a perfectly good ship.Why would you want to leave?”Mercer asked.
“Both of us?”I asked the second-most important question of my life.
Mercer looked at Orion, then at Burn.All three nodded.“Both of you.”
I looked down at Lacy, who was gazing up at me.“What do you think?”
“I think we go for it.”
Her smile was prettier than a sunrise on Kottke.
“Um, hi.Yay,” Layla said.“Congrats and all that, but what about me?”
Lacy shifted in my arms so she could look at her sister.“What about you?I figured we’d drop you off at whatever planet you wanted.Unless you wanted us to deliver you toEternal Nocturne.Since you don’t have a ship.”
The bite Lacy put on the last word told me that she and her sister hadn’t quite worked out Layla’s loss ofMako.
Layla’s eyes widened and she frantically shook her head.“No need to drop me off at Dad’s.I’m sure I’ll figure something out.”She made a big show about looking around innocently.“What about here?Can I stay here?”
Lacy made a sound I couldn’t interpret and buried her face in my chest.
Did she want me to say yes?Or no?
59
