Later, in the car, I told Owen about Simon’s little side whisper to me.
He shot me a surprised glance. “He asked me the same.”
“What did you say?”
“That I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
I grinned. “Then he heard the same sentence twice tonight.”
Owen weaved his fingers through mine over the console. His firm grasp and the feel of his large palm grounded me even more to the warmth spreading inside me, knowing we were driving home.
Together.
As if reading my thoughts, he lifted our entwined hands and kissed my knuckles, giving me a quick smile.
WE BROUGHT WALTER HOMEthe next day, and he immediately stepped into the yard to make sure I’d kept his flowerbeds watered.
I helped him settle—or so I thought—until he said, “Stop fussing around me, Rio. I feel fine.”
“Thought you were old and fragile,” I reminded him of his own words, from when he’d tried to guilt me and Owen.
The familiar dismissive hand wave told me he was all right.
I returned to work the next day, while Owen scheduled a few video meetings with his agent and the team’s management.
“Thanks for covering for me. And for everything,” I said, placing a box of candles I’d made the previous afternoon on the counter.
“No worries,” June said. “Dharma took a double shift in Wayford and managed to flirt Adam into next year.” She laughed, already opening the box and peeking inside.
“Better Adam than your husband,” I said, remembering how Dharma had tried to flirt with Angelo before realizing he was with June.
“Speaking of ...” June said. “When were you going to tell me?” She looked up, holding two candle jars.
“About what?”
“Angelo’s the one who told me Owen turned down offers in England.”
I smiled. “He did. And ... he’s here not just for Walter. We even told Simon.”
“You two? Oh, I’m so happy for you!” June pulled me into a hug, still holding the candles. She’d become a warm hugger since Angelo.
“He’ll be glad to have a new local pal,” she said, nodding toward the back, where Angelo’s guitar studio was.
“We’ll have to get them together. Double date maybe?”
“I’m forty and I’ve never double-dated. Well, we did with January and Oliver, but they’re family, so it doesn’t really count.”
“Another first for you.Thanks to Angelo.”
Her face turned suddenly serious. “What’s a first for you?”
I took a second to think about it. “The depth of feeling. I’ve never had that. I was on the cusp of it back when we ... but nothing like this. It’s overwhelming.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Scary, right?”
“Yeah. A bit. But amazing.”
She gave a knowing nod.
