I stood in the doorway.
Then I closed the laptop, gently. Slid the files into a neat stack. Found a blanket and draped it over her legs. She stirred when I sat down beside her, eyes blinking open.
"Hey," she murmured. "What time is it?"
"Late. How'd the piece go?"
"Published at nine. Marianne's happy. The phones haven't stopped ringing." She stretched, wincing. "I fell asleep sitting up. My neck is going to hate me tomorrow."
"Come to bed."
"In a minute." She sat up, tucking her legs beneath her. "How was dinner?"
"Good. Maya's ready to have that baby yesterday. Shane's a mess about it, but the good kind."
She smiled.
I hesitated. "Brian and Ava are going to start trying. For a baby."
Sloane's expression shifted. Surprise, then something warm spreading through it. "Really?"
"Yeah. They told us tonight."
"That's wonderful." She meant it. I could hear it in her voice, see it in the way her whole face softened. "I remember when Shane first reached out to me. He wanted to clean up his reputation so badly. Wrote me that email about the Tommy Vickers case, and I could tell he was terrified I'd say no." She shook her head, smiling at the memory. "He did all of that for Maya."
"That sounds like Shane."
"And Brian and Ava. After everything with Kevin Lang, the threats, watching her testify." She trailed off. "They deserve this. All of them. They deserve to be happy."
Something moved across Sloane's face. Soft and careful and a little bit raw.
I reached for her hand. Waited.
"Everyone's building something," she said quietly. "Shane and Maya with the baby. Brian and Ava starting their family." She looked at our joined hands. "I used to think I'd missed my chance at that. That I didn't deserve to want it anymore."
"Sloane."
"But being here with you again." She met my eyes. "I think I want that. Someday. When we're ready.
"My chest tightened. Not the old grief. Something new.
Hope. Fragile and steady.
"We don't have to rush anything." I kissed her knuckles. Held them there. "We have time."
"I know. That's why I can say it now."
I brought her hand to my mouth. Kissed her knuckles. Held it there.
"I do want to ask you something, though."
She raised an eyebrow. "Should I be nervous?"
"Terrified." I held the face for about two seconds. "Move in with me."
She blinked.
"You already have a key. Your shampoo's in my shower. Your laptop lives on my coffee table." I held her gaze. "Stop going back and forth. Just stay."
