"I'll help clean up," he offers.
"Tomorrow." I'm too tired and content to care about the mess. "Let's just go to bed."
We brush our teeth side by side at the bathroom sink. He makes faces at me in the mirror and I flick water at him. It's domestic and silly and perfect.
In bed, Silas pulls me against his chest. His heartbeat is steady under my ear.
"Today was good," he says.
"It really was."
"I like having everyone here. Felt like family."
"It felt like home." I press a kiss to his chest. "Our home."
"Yeah." His arms tighten around me. "Our home. Our family. Our life."
I think about Enzo in a jail cell somewhere, finally facing consequences for his actions. I think about the girl I used to be, trapped in a marriage that was slowly killing her spirit. I think about how far I've come, how much I've built, how happy I am.
"I have everything I want," I whisper into the darkness.
"Me too, Pretty Girl." Silas kisses the top of my head. "Me too."
We fall asleep tangled together, surrounded by the evidence of a life well-lived. Good friends. Meaningful work. A love that doesn't require me to disappear.
Enzo's arrest doesn't change anything about my life. That's the most beautiful part.
I already won. I've been winning for months now.
And I'm never looking back.
Chapter Forty
Scout
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
The sign above the door readsSage & Stone Yogain clean, modern lettering. I stand on the sidewalk staring at it, still not quite believing this is real. It took Silas’s financial backing, Ivy’s connections in the real estate world, and a signed contract from the Seattle Havoc for Mobility Mondays for the next two years. But with all of that, I managed to get the perfect location, mere minutes away from the Rainier Bank Center where the guys play.
It’s been a stressful six months, getting this project off the ground. But now it’s all come together. I suck in a breath, swearing to myself that I won’t cry.
"Are you going to go in or just stand there all day?" Silas asks from behind me. His hand rests warm on the small of my back.
"I'm going in. I'm just..." I trail off, not sure how to finish that sentence.
"Proud? Excited? Terrified?"
"All of the above." I turn to look at him. "What if nobody shows up?"
"Baby, half the team is already inside. Hunter texted me ten minutes ago asking where the coffee is."
"There's no coffee. Why would there be coffee at a mobility studio?"
Silas grins. "Exactly what I told him. He called me a monster."
That makes me laugh, which was probably his intention. Taking a deep breath, I push open the door.
The space is perfect. Better than I imagined when Ivy first texted me about this location four months ago. Hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, cubbies for personal belongings along one wall. Yoga mats rolled and waiting in neat rows. Resistance bands hanging from hooks. Foam rollers stacked in the corner.
