"You complained the entire time according to Jace."
"I complained about the food. The food was terrible."
Marlee laughs. Biscuit steals a piece of bread from her plate. The evening light slants through the windows, painting everything gold.
"Thiago sends his regards," Marlee adds. "He's been in Dubai, cleaning up the last of Oswald's operations. Should be back next month."
"Good." Jinx reaches for the wine. "It'll be good to have everyone together again."
"Everyone?"
"The whole team. Jace and Elliot. Jonah. Thiago. Jagger, if he can pull himself away from work." Jinx glances at me. "I was thinking a gathering. Here. Celebrate what we've built."
"A party?" Lily perks up. "Can I invite friends from school?"
"Maybe not that kind of party." I ruffle her hair. "More of a family thing."
Lily pumps her fist. Biscuit barks. The kitchen fills with noise and laughter and the particular warmth of people who love each other. “I can’t wait to see my uncles.”
The rest of the afternoon passes far too quickly, but after Marlee leaves and Lily goes to bed, Jinx and I sit on the porch. The night is warm, stars scattered across a sky that goes on forever. The fields stretch dark around us, crickets singing, the occasional bark from Biscuit's dreams floating down from Lily's window.
"You're quiet," I say.
"Thinking."
"About?"
He's silent. His hand finds mine in the dark, fingers interlacing.
"A year ago, I didn't believe any of this was possible." His voice is rough, stripped bare. "I was so certain I was going to die. That the violence would catch up eventually. That I'd end on someone's blade or in someone's crosshairs."
"And now?"
"Now I'm thinking about tomato sauce. And homework. And whether we should get another dog." He laughs, quiet and wondering. "I'm thinking about growing old. Actually growing old. With you. With Lily. With this ridiculous life we've built."
"Is that scary?"
"It’s enough to bring me to my knees." He turns to face me, and even in the dark, I can see his eyes shining. "But I want it. I wantall of it. The boring days and the hard days and the days where the bacon burns and Lily won't do her homework and Biscuit eats something he shouldn't."
"He ate a sock last week."
"He did. It was disgusting pulling it from his ass." Jinx grins. "I want that. I want every disgusting moment. I want a lifetime of mundane disasters with you."
"That's very romantic."
"I'm a romantic guy."
"You're really not."
"Hey, I’m trying here, let a man try for fucks sake." He cups my face, kisses me soft and slow.
I kiss him back. Let it deepen and let my hands find the hem of his shirt, the warm skin underneath.
"Inside," I murmur against his mouth. "Bedroom."
"Bossy."
"You love it."
