Although she’s pale, I take solace in her alertness.
“Don’t apologize, sweet pea.You saved me.Again.I owe you my life.”
“Good.You can start repaying me by giving me a kiss,” she mumbles.
“You’re just trying to distract me from applying pressure, aren’t you?”I joke.
A tired smile flits across her face.
“I can’t get anything over your head even though you’re, like, two feet taller than me,” she says.
I temper my chuckle when she winces from the movement.
“So, knife throwing, huh?Is there a certification for that?”I ask.
“Only if you want to become a certified coach,” she responds.
“Let me guess, you took the class and got certified even though you had no intention of using it.”
“Precisely.”
“Fucking hell, sweet pea, is there anything you can’t do?”
“Yes.I can’t live without you.I need and love you, Sebastian.”
Joy overflows my heart and seeps down my face in the form of tears.As the paramedics take over compression, I frame her face in my hands and pour my sincerity into my words.
“I love you, too, Penelope.I’ll be by your side for the rest of your life.I need you, too.Understand?”
She nods.I steal a quick kiss and run beside her stretcher as they rush her toward the ambulance.
Almost two days later, with all the police reports filed and medical adventures sorted, I lead her into my family’s home and marvel at my ma and Nana’s warm welcome.They fret over us both for a while.I allow them to take Penelope away for a few minutes for a quick sponge bath but grumble to relay my grumpiness at missing her when they return.
She cuddles in beside me on the couch, but I lift her onto my lap and ensure she’s as comfortable as she can be with the wound on her shoulder.
With my sweet pea in my arms and the familiar, happy sounds of my nana and Ma moving around the apartment, I slip into the deep, restorative sleep my body so desperately craves.
I found my muse.I saved my pipsqueak.
My sweet pea saved me.She owns me, now and forever.
I can’t wait to marry her.
She’s mine and I’m hers.
No matter what we face in the future, we’ll do it together.Side by side.Arm in arm.In each other’s hearts and minds.
Penelope Miles will soon be Penelope Sterling.She’s mine.My future wife.My sweet pea.My love.
Mine.
Always.
Epilogue
Penelope Miles
I worry my lip ringbetween my teeth as I follow the attendant down the hall.Sebastian’s hand on my back prevents me from darting back out into the street.
