“Will you marry me?” I ask.
She leans away to glimpse my whole face. “Why do you want to marry me?”
“Because I can’t live without you.”
Malena smirks. “You can.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to. Not for another second.”
“You’re going to have to live without me for work,” Malena says.
I nod. “No more deployments. I’ve paid my dues. Bronze Bay for good.”
Raking me and the baby with her gaze, she simply says, “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
“That was an easy decision. I figured I’d have to do some carnal convincing.”
“Don’t talk like that while you’re holding the baby,” she counters. “I didn’t need to be convinced because I know what I want. I’ve known for quite some time actually. Basically, from the second I realized you weren’t going to leave me dead in a field with a toe shoved in my vagina.”
“Don’t talk like that in front of the baby, Malena,” I return. “Not a toe. A whole foot. Get it right.”
She shrugs. “Fine. Sorry. Yes. You need to get better first. Learn more about this little one.” She runs her hand over Luna’s hair, and a tiny sigh escapes. “How did I get so lucky?”
“Luck has little to do with us, Malena. We have anti-luck and destiny on our side.”
“Destiny? Isn’t that a little…cheesy?” Malena says, wrinkling her forehead. When I frown, she adds, “Anti-luck?”
My arm is tired, so I switch Luna to my other shoulder and can’t resist kissing her head. She smells so good. “The only easy thing has been bumping into one another at Bobby’s Bar. Everything from there was an uphill battle. That’s what you call anti-luck. Destiny, because every single thing that goes againstmedical diagnoses or seems impossible has happened, and we’re here—together in this bed. Do you agree?”
“I guess you are right. What if I’d never read that letter? If I hadn’t come here. If you hadn’t woken up before Monday?” Malena shudders.
“The world can’t get rid of me that easily,” I say.
“Eva. You owe your life to her stubbornness.”
Closing my eyes, I sigh. “I know. She’s going to hold it over my head for the rest of my life. I have to get something on her.”
Malena laughs. “Siblings. I’ll never understand how that works.”
“We’ve gotta try to give Luna one, though.”
She looks wistful. “I’m thankful for her, but I’d love that.”
“We could just have fun trying too. I’m okay with trying a few times per day.”
“Get better, Leif,” she replies. “We need to get you home and out of this hospital. Can I have her back? I’ll take her to Celia.”
Furrowing my brow, I say, “I just got her. No one can have her back until I’m good and ready.”
Malena crosses her arms, and I see the ring on her ring finger. It looks just as beautiful as I thought it would. “I’ve missed you, Leif.” She leans her head back on my shoulder.
Taking her hand in my free one, I spin the ring. “You’re my night sky.”
Epilogue
LEIF
Three months later
