My breath catches. “Jack?—”
“I’m falling for you,” he says, blunt as a confession. “And I don’t have the energy to pretend I’m not.”
My heart stutters.
He studies my face, like he’s bracing for rejection. Like the world taught him to expect it.
I reach up and cup his jaw, thumb brushing the edge of his cheek. “Good,” I whisper. “Because I’m falling too.”
Something shifts in his expression—relief, heat, something like wonder.
He kisses me then, slow and deep, like he’s sealing the promise into my mouth. His hand slides to the back of my neck, holding me close, making sure I feel the truth of him.
When he pulls back, his forehead rests against mine.
“HEA?” I whisper, half-laughing through my tears.
Jack’s mouth curves, just slightly. “Yeah, Stella.”
His voice drops lower. “Happily. Ever. After.”
And for the first time in days, I believe it.
EPILOGUE
JACK
I can tell I’m home before I even cut the engine.
It’s not the porch light—though it’s on, warm and steady like a beacon. It’s not the wind chime Stella insisted was “whimsical” and I insisted was “a tactical noise hazard.”
It’s the smell.
Something sweet drifting out into the night air—vanilla, cinnamon, maybe that caramel stuff she swears is “for the kids” but somehow never makes it to school.
And the fact that my chest loosens the second my tires hit our gravel driveway.
Our.
That word still feels like a weapon and a miracle all at once.
I kill the truck, scan out of habit, and then immediately hate myself for scanning because nothing is wrong. Nothing is threatening. Nothing is waiting in the dark except the quiet country night and the dog next door that barks at literally everything like it’s his sworn duty.
I’m halfway up the porch steps when the front door swings open.
Stella stands there barefoot, hair down, wearing my Lone Star Security shirt like it belongs to her. It’s too big, hanging off one shoulder, the hem grazing mid-thigh.
Her eyes meet mine.
And my entire day disappears.
“Hi,” she says, voice sweet as sugar.
I stop on the top step, keys still in my hand, boots still on my feet. “Hi.”
She smiles like she knows exactly what she’s doing.
And she does.
