Her eyebrows shot up as she glanced between us. “Oh?”
I reached across the table, taking her hands into mine. “We’re getting back together, sweetheart. Would you like that?”
When she didn’t respond right away, I began to worry. Then her eyes started to crinkle, her lip quivering, and Ireallystarted to worry. Oh, no, she wasn’t happy. Jace rounded the table and took her into his arms. “What’s wrong, angel? Are you upset?”
Tears started to roll down her cheeks, and she shook her head, still not saying a word. Zara loved spending time together as a family, so it stumped me that this news would upset her so much, but then I remembered her fourth birthday party. It was her first big party where we’d invited other kids, and I’d found her hiding under the table, hugging her knees to her chest and crying. I’d asked her what was wrong, and she’d told me she was just so happy it was her birthday and that everyone had brought her presents. I’d realised there and then that she’d been overstimulated, and the tears had been happy ones. She just hadn’t had the tools to process what she felt.
I suspected the same thing was happening now as she suddenly wrapped her arms around Jace’s neck and hugged him tight. “I’m not upset,” she whispered. “I’ve just wanted this for a really long time, but I never thought it would happen.”
Okay, now I was going to start crying. Jace’s gaze rose to meet mine, and it looked like he was experiencing a similar wave of emotion. I went to them, wrapping my arms around them both and resting my head atop Zara’s.
After a long time, we finally broke apart, but Zara still looked overwhelmed. “Is this for good?” she asked in a small voice. “Really?”
“It’s for good,” Jace told her, his eyes levelled on mine, and I knew he meant it. My heart filled with a contentment I’d only felt a few times in my life. It was the kind that came with knowing you were making the right decision.
A little while later, Zara finished her crackers, though she seemed to be intent on sticking to us like glue for the rest of the evening, like if she let us out of her sight, it would stop beingreal. Jace finally managed to convince her to go to bed, but only when she was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open. He carried her to her room, and I went to make some tea. I stood waiting for it to brew when a pair of strong arms came around my waist, Jace’s lips pressing to the shell of my ear and sending a shiver down my spine.
“She’s passed out,” he murmured as his hand pressed to my stomach, pulling me back into him.
I smiled as I lifted the teabag out of the mug. “I didn’t expect her to take the news like that. I’ve rarely seen her so overcome.”
“It means a lot to her to see us back together.”
“I know,” I paused, setting the mug aside as I turned and brought my arms around his neck. Peering up, I continued, “It means a lot to me, too.”
Jace’s eyes heated in the way they did right before he normally picked me up and carried me into the bedroom. Only he didn’t. He continued gazing down at me, then said, “Zara’s right about this apartment. It’s perfect for us. Do you think your parents would sell it to me?”
I blinked several times, stunned silent for a moment before I replied, “You want to buy this apartment?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You picked it, after all. Plus, Zara’s in love with the place. I think we could be happy here.”
“But what about my house?”
Jace shrugged. “Keep it if you like, or sell it. Rent it out. Whatever makes you comfortable.”
Wow, this wasbig. Jace wanted to buy this apartment for us to live in as a family? In all his years as a successful musician, he’d never wanted to buy a home. Even back before the divorce we’d always rented. The fact that he felt ready to put down roots had my stomach whirling with a riot of emotion.
“Is that a smile?” he asked, tilting his head. “Are you happy?”
I nodded enthusiastically before going up on my tiptoes to press a soft, grateful kiss to his lips. “I’ll call my parents in the morning.”
As Jace’s lips pressed to mine, the kiss started out soft and tender before deepening into something more needful. I marvelled at how far we’d come in just a few short months. I hadn’t realised it, but my life had become flat, routine and stable yet devoid of true happiness. With Jace back in my heart, the contrast was clear. I’d been alive but not living. Safe but not fulfilled. I didn’t know what was missing until he began patiently weaving his way back into my world, and I was grateful every day for his persistence because now we were a family again, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Epilogue
Jace
Two months later
Shannon’s parents drove a hard bargain, but in the end, they agreed to sell—on the strict condition that Shannon kept her house near the canal so that they could stay there when they came to visit. I couldn’t tell if they were happy we’d gotten back together or merely indifferent. Then again, Honor and Ivan Guerin weren’t the type to show emotion. The closest I’d ever seen was the day after Zara was born when Honor had held her in her arms, her husband standing by her side, both peering down at our infant daughter. For a short moment, they’d looked at one another and shared a small, very faint smile.
That had been the extent of their joy at meeting their granddaughter for the first time, and it had made me all the more grateful for my own parents. How big their hearts were, how they’d been there for Zara and Shannon when I couldn’t be. I was incredibly lucky to have been brought into the world by two loving people who always had my back, no matter what.
“I can’t wait for Viola to butt heads with my mother when they come to visit,” Shannon said as we made our way into the venue for my dad’s big comeback show. “She’ll have finally met her match.”
I chuckled and pulled her close, my arm around her waist as I pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that standoff.”
Shannon smiled, and I took a moment to admire the formfitting dress she wore. It was one of Mam’s designs. She’d finally accepted that Shannon was never going to be the sort of person to wear all the bright, distinctive colours that shenormally liked to work with. So she’d made a compromise and designed a dress of black lace over purple silk. The subtle hint of colour peeping through the dark lace was much more Shannon’s style.
