And he's going to learn exactly what it costs to take something from a man who will burn down the world to get it back.
FIFTY
KEIRA
For the first time in years, I let myself daydream about tomorrow.
An actual future. Me and Hale and Tristan.
A life I never imagined could be mine.
It's beautiful and terrifying in equal measure, but I let my thoughts wander anyway while a stylist pins another section of my hair and a makeup artist blends color onto my cheekbones.
A house with a garden. A backyard where Hale can run through the grass, shrieking with laughter the way children are supposed to. Tristan standing in the doorway, watching with that soft expression he wears when he thinks I'm not looking.
Friday night pizza. Board games spread across the coffee table. Hale falling asleep between us on the couch.
And later, after bedtime, all the ways we'd make up for lost time.
I hope Tristan is ready for the life I'm already building in my head.
"Chin up, Mrs. Calder."
I tilt my chin while the artist dusts powder across my nose.
Butterflies swarm my stomach, nerves and excitement tangledtogether. I bite my lip to stop the smile threatening to break through.
Can't be grinning like an idiot.
By tomorrow, everything will be different. A beginning so fresh it flashes in my mind like something precious and new.
There's a chance it could all go to shit, but Tristan has thought about every possibility. I push the doubts down, bury them beneath the image of my two boys.
We're almost there.
The bathroom door opens and closes. One of the stylists excusing herself, probably. I don't really notice it until I catch a pair of striking eyes watching me in the mirror.
Right on cue, my heart flutters at the sight of Tristan, leaning against the doorframe of the walk-in closet, hidden from the main room's sightline.
"Could you grab the setting spray from my bag?" I ask the makeup artist, gesturing vaguely toward the bedroom. "The rose gold bottle. I think I left it by the window."
"I have one."
I glance at the bottle on the table. "That one will make me break out."
She gives me a look but turns and disappears.
The moment she's gone, I'm out of the chair.
He catches me halfway across the room, pulling me into the closet and pressing me against a rack of dresses I've never even worn.
"Zoe has eyes on the Langham." He kisses me between every word. "Hale's fine. Watching cartoons. Asking when he can see you."
The relief is overwhelming. "Thank god."
"Cat's in position. Service boat's ready. By midnight, you'll be in Connecticut with our son."
Our son.
