"Home is that way," I say with a laugh, nodding my head toward the direction of our building.
"We're not going home. Come on. I have a surprise for you."
I'm reluctant to travel. I'm already feeling a little sore. Still, Kase wheedles a concession out of me, assuring me that our destination isn't far away.
Up ahead I make out a semi-circle cresting over the flat-top roof of an apartment complex. It's colorful and lit up like a Christmas tree, despite the fact that the holidays are still a long way off. If I try, I can make out the soft strains of carnival music carried to us on the air. My sensitive nose is already picking up the smell of burnt popcorn and cotton candy.
A beam up at Kase, blinking back the tears I feel building.
"You remembered."
He swipes his thumb across my cheek, catching a tear that slips out before it can drip onto my collar. "Of course I do. How could I forget the moment I met my girl?"
It seems like a lifetime ago, but I've kept that memory close, using it to buoy me out of the worst of my depression in the years apart. I hold that memory of the fairground close to my heart like the snapshot of a perfect day. We'd been an unlikely pair, shoved together on a ferris wheel because there hadn't been any other cars open. We hadn't gotten off that ride for almost an hour, annoying the conductor to no end. But he'd let us stay, because Kase was a Spade and to piss off a Spade was the height of stupidity.
We held hands the entire way through the fair, ducking his brother and the friends that I'd snuck over the line with me. It was a happy blur of games and cotton candy kisses. A surprisingly innocent beginning to an illicit romance that nearly got us killed years later.
There's a lot I can't do in this carnival, given my condition. But Kase still wins me a bear and buys us both cotton candy. His kisses are as sweet now as they were back then. All my earlier fatigue is forgotten when we climb onto the ferris wheel, scooting close together on the swaying seat. There are a dozen other couples on the ride, just as cozy as we are.
I don't realize just what this is until Kase takes my hand and slides something cool onto my finger. I stare down at the silver band and glittering diamond in shock.
"I'd get down on one knee," he murmurs against the shell of my ear. "But that might be a bit dangerous at this point."
"Kase..."
Wonder steals my breath. This can't be happening, can it? I'm going to wake up and find that this is a dream. Or maybe I really did die from that gunshot and this is my version of heaven. Because it seems impossible that within the course of months we've gone from estranged ex-lovers to this.
"Marry me, Brook," he whispers. Then he chuckles. "You you'll technically be Mrs. Mendez on paper. What do you say? Can you marry a Spade?"
I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him so hard that it sends our seat swinging. There are a couple of giggles from the cars behind us, but I don't care. Let them laugh. I love this man beyond the bounds of sanity. And I want to bear his last name, even if I have to hide it beneath a false one. I want to be his in every way that counts. Brooklyn Cruz Mendez. It's all my teenage fantasies come true.
"I can marry a Spade. Do you think you can love a King?"
His answering grin melts my heart.
"Forever and ever, babe."
Epilogue
Kase
Idrag my ass into the apartment at the crack of dawn, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed.
Brooklyn and I hate working opposite shifts, and she swears she's going to find me a job I can work during the daytime. Maybe security at her building. She likes the idea of me in a uniform and the ability to fuck on hot-shot lawyer's desk when he's away.
I crawl into bed, spooning Brooklyn. She hates sleeping on her side, the growing bulge making her increasingly uncomfortable. I reach around, pressing my hand to her belly to feel my son kick. He's especially active at night, and kicks wherever I'm touching. It's a reassuring ritual I undergo most nights, counting the little taps of a foot or a fist against my palm until I nod off.
But instead of being woken by the gentle press of Brooklyn's lips before she takes off for work, I'm jarred awake by the shrill beeping of one of our burner phones. We always keep them near the bed, just in case. Penny calls every once in a while if things get really shitty in South Hollens.
My heart thumps painfully against my ribs as I reach over Brooklyn's head to seize the flip phone. She cracks her eyes open, staring at me in concern when I flip the phone open. I force a smile to assure her, though I don't feel particularly calm.
"Go back to sleep, babe," I mutter and kiss the long, pale fall of her hair.
"You call me babe again and I'm going to break something on your face."
The sound of Cruz's voice makes me go cold. I haven't heard from Cruz since leaving South Hollens months ago and we hadn't parted on good terms. We still weren't sure if our letters had made it to our family. Even if they had, it wouldn't prompt Cruz to call me. Holly maybe, but not Cruz.
I'm a hundred percent certain this isn't some joyful reconciliation call. That could at least waited until after I've had coffee and a shower.
