And finally, she looks at the sign hung above the fireplace—the one that says in black and gold lettering,Senior Ball.
“Nico.” She turns to me with tears in her eyes. “What?—”
“We never got our senior ball,” I explain. “And I know it’s late, but I thought… maybe we could still have it. Together.”
Sofia blinks. Sniffles.
“I remember you wanted a green dress,” I add, “but I didn’t think you’d want the exact same one. So I picked this one out. I thought it would look beautiful on you. And it does.”
“Nico.” Her voice wobbles. “Our senior ball. I was so excited for it.”
“Did I mess up? Was this a bad idea? I didn’t want to make you sad.”
“Sad?” She steps forward and wraps her arms around me. “Maybe a little. For what we lost. But it makes me happy, knowing that we found our way back to each other.”
“Are you sure?” I brush a tear from her cheek. “You’re crying.”
Sofia makes an annoyed face. “I need to stop doing that. But.” She puts her hand on my cheek. “If I am crying, which I’mnotadmitting to, they would be happy tears. Not sad ones.”
“So you like it? The dress? And I thought we could dance, and have dinner, and then maybe we could try that wall thing again?”
“I love it. All of it.” She touches her earrings, and then her necklace. “But, Nico. You didn’t have to buy this, too.”
“I wanted to. And the necklace… Well, it’s not just jewelry.”
“It’s not?”
“Not quite.” I flip the S over and lightly tap the tiny indentation on the back. “This necklace has a GPS tracker in it. And this button, you can push it if you’re ever in trouble. It’ll set off an alert at Fox & Falcon, and notify me. So I—we—can find you right away.”
Her brow furrows as she looks down at the necklace. “A tracker?”
“Not that I’d track you all the time. That’s not what it’s for. Just emergencies. I’m not saying there will be, but?—”
“Better safe than sorry,” Sofia finishes. Then she looks up at me and smiles. “I’m not upset. I think it’s a great idea. And it’ll definitely make me feel safer.”
“Good.” I cup her cheek. “Anything I can do to help, I will.”
“Nico.” Her hand covers mine. “You do.” She stops to look around the room again. “And this… it’s perfect. I’d rather have our senior ball this way. Just you and me.”
“Ah, Soph. That’s how I want it, too.”
As the song changes, I pull Sofia to me, resting one hand on her hip and taking her hand in my other. Then I start moving to the music. After a beat, Sofia leans against me and follows my lead.
“I love you, Nico,” she says softly. “So much. And no matter what it took to get here, it was worth it.”
Love surges through me, so powerful it steals my breath.
“I love you, too, Soph.” I kiss the top of her head. “And I promise, I’m never letting you go again.”
Epilogue
2 Months Later
SOFIA
“I promise we won’t be gone that long.”
Gus gives me the sad puppy-dog eyes he’s perfected. His tail gives a mournful half-wag. Then he flops down dramatically and turns his head away from me.
