“Jake? Lila’s back with Jake?”
“New Jake. Different guy. She’s giving dating another try.”
“Good for her.”
They drove to the restaurant separately—Nora coming from a client meeting, Carson from the station—and met Lila and her new boyfriend for a double date that felt wonderfully normal.
This was life now. Not running from danger. Not consumed by cases. Just living. Dating friends. Building businesses. Making plans.
And at the center of it all—love. Real, sustainable, hard-won love.
The kind worth fighting for. The kind that lasted.
The kind they’d built together from the ashes of trauma and fear and broken promises.
It wasn’t perfect. It would never be perfect. But it was theirs.
And that was enough.
More than enough.
It was everything.
Chapter 26
Six months later, Carson stood in the station parking lot at five-thirty PM and didn’t feel guilty about leaving.
That alone was progress.
“Heading out?” Finn called from across the lot.
“Yeah. Nora’s making dinner. Some new recipe she’s been wanting to try.”
“Look at you. Leaving on time. Going home to your girlfriend. Being a normal person.” Finn grinned. “Who are you and what have you done with Carson Black?”
“Funny,” Carson deadpanned, but then he smiled. Because Finn was right. Six months ago, he would have stayed until eight or nine, would have found reasons to work through dinner, would have put the job before everything else.
Now? Now he had a life. A real one. With dinner dates and weekend plans and a woman waiting at home who actually wanted to see him.
“Say hi to Nora for me,” Finn said. “Tell her the whole department is grateful she domesticated you.”
“I’m not domesticated. I’m...evolved.”
“Same thing.”
Carson drove home—their home now, truly theirs—and found Nora in the kitchen surrounded by ingredients, her laptop open to a recipe, concentration written across her face.
“Hey,” he said, dropping his keys in the bowl by the door. “Need help?”
“Please. I’m attempting coq au vin and I think I’m in over my head.” She gestured to the chicken and vegetables. “Can you chop while I deal with the sauce?”
They worked together in the kitchen, moving around each other with the ease of six months’ practice. Carson chopped vegetables while Nora stirred, both talking about their days.
“I signed two new clients today,” Nora said. “Both referrals from existing clients. My business is actually growing.”
“That’s amazing. How many does that make total?”
“Seven active contracts. Plus three more in the pipeline. I might need to hire an assistant soon.”
