"Come on." He opened his door. "Let's go start the rest of our lives."
I followed him into the hotel, his hand warm in mine, and told myself that wanting was enough.
Love would teach me the rest.
CHAPTER THREE
CASSIAN
PRESENT DAY
My mornings followed a reliable pattern.Wake at five-thirty. Run four miles through the park regardless of weather. Shower, coffee, arrive at the hospital by seven. I liked the predictability of it. Structure kept everything manageable.
Life was easier when you didn't leave room for surprises.
This morning, I woke to find my girlfriend Maya already up, sitting at our kitchen counter with journal articles pulled up on her tablet. The apartment was quiet except for the soft hum of the fridge and the distant sounds of traffic fourteen floors below. She looked up and smiled when I padded into the kitchen. I'd grown comfortable with our setup over the past eight months.
"Morning. Coffee's ready."
"You're a saint." I poured myself a cup and kissed the top of her head, catching the familiar scent of her coconut and vanilla shampoo. "What would I do without you?"
"Drink terrible hospital coffee and complain about it."
I clicked my tongue. "Accurate."
I leaned against the counter, cradling my mug while she scrolled through her tablet. The morning light filtered through the windows, casting soft shadows across the kitchen. Maya was beautiful like this, with her dark hair pulled back in aloose ponytail, reading glasses perched on her nose, absorbed in whatever research had caught her attention.
She looked relaxed, content, and at home in the space we'd built together.
"What time's your shift?" I asked.
"Eight. I got that cardiac bypass at ten, so I need to prep early."
She worked at St. Catherine's across town, a solid forty-minute commute, but we made it work. Different hospitals meant we never brought the same workplace drama home. It was clean. Uncomplicated.
"You?" she asked back.
"Seven. Meeting with Patel this afternoon."
"The new one Riven mentioned at dinner last week?"
I nodded. "That's the one."
"He seemed excited about it." She tilted her head, considering. "As excited as Riven gets about anything, he mentioned it without looking like he wanted to be somewhere else."
I laughed. "That's practically giddy for him."
Maya smiled and turned back to her tablet. I built a life with her over the past eight months. We fit together easily. No complicated guessing or uncomfortable silences. She laughed at my jokes, supported my career, and never demanded more than I could give.
Speaking of jokes.
"Hey. What do you call a surgeon who fails anatomy?"
She glanced up, eyebrow raised, already bracing herself. She knew my sense of humor by now.
"A lawyer,” I said, wiggling my brows.
Maya laughed, shaking her head. "That's awful, Cass. Truly terrible."
