"I'm sorry," she manages between shaky breaths. "I don't know why I'm falling apart now when it's finally over?—"
"Don't apologize," I interrupt gently. "Your body held it together when you needed it to. Now it's letting go. It's normal."
She nods, leaning forward until her forehead rests against mine. I can feel her breath against my face, the slight hitch as she tries to steady herself.
"I've never seen anyone as brave as you were tonight," I tell her, one hand moving to cup her cheek. "Standing up to him like that. Taking back your power."
Her eyes close at my words, more tears slipping free. I brush them away with my thumb, my heart aching at everything she's endured.
"I meant what I said in the parking lot," I whisper. "I love you, Sadie. Have for a while now."
Her eyes open, meeting mine with a vulnerability that steals my breath. "Say it again," she whispers.
"I love you." The words come easily, naturally. "Every stubborn, brave, beautiful part of you."
She makes a small sound, half laugh, half sob, and suddenly her arms are around my neck, her face buried against myshoulder. I hold her tightly, one hand cradling the back of her head as she clings to me.
"I love you too," she says against my neck, her voice muffled but clear. "God, I love you so much it scares me."
I pull back just enough to see her face, to make sure she sees mine when I say, "Nothing about us should scare you. Not ever."
Her hands frame my face, trembling slightly as her thumbs trace my cheekbones.
"I didn't think I'd ever feel safe with someone again," she admits. "Didn't think I could trust anyone enough to love them."
"I know." I turn my head slightly to press a kiss to her palm. "That makes it all the more precious that you trust me."
She leans forward, pressing her lips to mine in a kiss that's gentle at first, almost hesitant. But when I respond, one hand sliding into her hair to cradle her head, something shifts. The kiss deepens, turns desperate, like she's trying to pour everything she can't say into the connection between us.
She kisses me like she’s drowning, fingers clawing at my shirt, her body pressed so tight against mine I can feel every frantic beat of her heart. It’s needy, wild, and it slams straight into my gut. When she pulls back, her eyes are wide, filled with a different kind of fear.
"What if they still try to take her from me?" she whispers, her voice breaking on the words.
I don't launch into reassurances or promises I can't guarantee. Instead, I take her hands in mine, my thumbs stroking over her knuckles.
"Elliot signed the papers," I say quietly. "We have the recording of his plans to kidnap Poppy. We have the evidence of his fraud in three states." I keep my voice steady, factual.
"The security team is right outside that door—and they'll stay there all night."
I press my forehead against hers, creating a small, private space just for us. Her breathing is still too fast, too shallow.
"You're a good mother, Sadie. You've done nothing wrong." I move one hand to her back, rubbing slow circles between her shoulder blades. "Everything you've done has been to protect Poppy."
Her shoulders remain rigid under my touch, her body still locked in fight-or-flight mode. I don't push, don't rush. Just keep that steady, gentle pressure on her back, our foreheads touching, our breath mingling.
"What happens tomorrow?" she asks, her voice small but steadier.
"Whatever you decide," I tell her. "We can stay in Portland and file the papers with the court. We can go straight to the airport and fly home. We can drive to the coast and watch the ocean for a day. Your choice. All of it."
Something in her loosens at that, the tiniest release of tension. I feel it under my palm, the slight softening of rigid muscle.
"I want to go home," she whispers. "Back to Virginia Dale. Back to the café. Back to normal."
"Then that's what we'll do."
I pull her gently against my chest, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other still making those slow, steady circles on her back. Her arms wrap around my waist, hesitant at first, then tightening as she melts into the embrace.
We stay like that for long minutes, the only sound in the room our breathing and Poppy's soft snores from the travel crib. Gradually, Sadie's breathing slows to match mine. Her shoulders drop from their defensive hunch. The trembling in her limbs subsides.
