“But we almost weren’t,” I say, muffled against her neck. “I almost lost you. And Hazel. And everything.”
She pulls back enough to cup my face, her eyes fierce. “I’m not going anywhere, Katie. You’re stuck with me now.”
I smile through my watery eyes and nestle back into her, letting her solid presence anchor me. We stay like that, breathing together, until Ethel jumps on our heads and ruins the moment.
“Ow! Seriously?” I push her onto the pillows. “Someone’s still riding the high of that adventure she had to Sophia’s place.”
Ethel meows before settling on a cushion like the princess she is, her tail twitching.
I sit up, my gaze falling to my open suitcase in the corner. Its contents have exploded across the room since I arrived, clothes spilling out and textbooks piled precariously beside it—a harsh reminder of the normal life I’ve been neglecting.
“God damn, I have a lot of studying to catch up on.” I run a hand through my tangled hair and pull out a leaf. “And I guess I should unpack instead of living out of a suitcase.”
Natalie sits up, a sudden nervousness crossing her face. “Wait. I want to show you something. I…” She hesitates, fixing her twisted T-shirt. “I saw this the other night. The timing wasn’t right to show you, but…”
She goes to her desk and returns with her laptop. I lean in as she opens it, curious about what could make the fearless Natalie Zacharias look so uncertain.
“I—I’ve been thinking more about moving out of here,” she says, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. “Separating work and life. It would be good for me. For us.”
My heart stumbles as she pulls up a real estate listing. It’s a small cottage with weathered cedar siding and a sagging slate roof, surrounded by bushy trees and open fields. The photos show a rustic interior with exposed wooden beams, a stone fireplace with a cracked hearth, and windows that would flood the rooms with light if they weren’t so grimy.
“It’s outside Vancouver,” Natalie says, scrolling through the images. “About forty minutes from the city. There’s space for a chicken coop, a garden plot, and—” She clicks to the next photo, which shows a magnificent willow tree beside a pond, its branches creating a green curtain. “Your dream. It’s a fixer-upper, I know, but with a little magic and elbow grease…”
My breath catches. “It’s perfect.”
I reach over to click through the pictures again—a kitchen with crooked open shelves, a reading nook built into a bay window with peeling paint, a bedroom with skylights above where a bed would go. The possibilities zip through my mind like bees in a hive. I can imagine brewing tea in that kitchen while Natalie reads by the fireplace… We could paint the walls and plant vegetables in the garden, and Natalie could use magic to fix the roof while I hang curtains.
“I was thinking we could go see it this weekend,” Natalie says, watching my face carefully. “If you want. And if you like it, I’d put in an offer.”
I turn to her, hardly daring to believe what she’s suggesting. “You want to buy it?”
She nods, her eyes never leaving mine. “And I want you to live there with me.”
The idea hangs between us, breathtaking in its simplicity and enormity. A home away from here. A project that would be just ours. Moving in together. After everything we’ve been through, this feels more exhilarating than all of it combined.
“I could still attend classes from there,” I say, my mind racing ahead. “I’d need to get a car, but—”
“We’d figure it out,” Natalie says, hope brightening her eyes in a way that makes my heart swell. “So is that a yes?”
“Absolutely,” I say, giddy with emotion. “Yes, yes, yes.”
Natalie’s face lights up, and she leans over to kiss me so fiercely that we fall back onto the bed, laughing.
“I love you,” she says, the words still new enough to make my heart dance.
“I love you too,” I reply. It feels more natural each time I say it, settling into my soul.
We kiss again, letting it deepen, and I lose myself in her—in the promise of all the days stretching before us.
When we finally break apart, breathless and smiling, I bite my lip, a thought forming.
“What?” she asks.
“Since we’re thinking of, you know, moving into a house together…” I go get my phone and sit back down next to her. “You should meet my parents. It’s only fair now that I’ve met both your dad and sister.”
Natalie swallows hard, her eyes widening slightly. “Oh—um. Yeah. Sure.”
I wait for her to raise an argument—and when she doesn’t, I grin. “They’re going to love you. But just a heads-up, they’re kind of a lot.”
