“I love it,” I say, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “It’s very you.”
“Chaotic and slightly nauseating?”
“Determined and memorable.”
Thatcher smiles, settling back against my chest. After a moment, his voice grows more serious. “Are you really going to quit VSE? Maybe we could just…steal moments like this in secret. I don’t want you to give up your career for me.”
“Quitting VSE isn’t just about us being together,” I explain, my hand still moving through his hair. “It’s aboutme finally doing something I love. I can’t believe I’m forty-six and starting over, but I want this. I want to build something that’s mine, something meaningful.”
“And that’s architecture?”
“Yes.”
“Pierce…”
“More importantly,” I continue, tilting his chin so I can see his eyes, “I want to be there alongside you when you get your publishing deal. When your art is in every bookstore in the country. I want to watch you become the artist you were always meant to be.”
Thatcher’s expression shifts, something vulnerable crossing his features. “Actually, the publisher I met at CANVAS pulled out.”
My heart sinks. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it’s not all bad news.” His smile returns, tentative but hopeful. “The acquisitions manager felt terrible about it, so she connected me with an agent. Her name is Rebecca, and she’s incredible. She knows the industry inside out and has connections everywhere. I get really good vibes from her.”
“That’s amazing.”
“I know it’s not a guaranteed deal or anything, but…” He takes a breath. “I know in my gut that something good is going to happen. For the first time, I actually believe something good is coming.”
The transformation in him takes my breath away. This is the same man who used to dismiss his art as “just doodles,” who couldn’t accept a compliment without deflecting. Now he’s talking about his future with confidence and certainty.
“I’m so proud of you,” I say, meaning every word.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I pull him closer, pressing a kiss to his hair. “Can I ask you for something?”
“Anything.”
“Will you draw us? Together? Something I can hang in my apartment.”
Thatcher’s face lights up. “Really? You want my art on your walls?”
“I want you everywhere in my life. Starting with my walls.”
He’s already scrambling out of bed, reaching for his sketchbook on the nightstand. “Let me just grab my pencils and?—”
The apartment door bursts open.
“Surprise!” Multiple voices chorus as footsteps thunder down the hallway.
“What the—” Thatcher barely has time to yank the sheet over both of us before his bedroom door swings wide.
Noah leads the charge, followed by Lex and Adam, then Alli with the same dog from earlier, then Emery and River, and finally?—
“Lior?” I stare at my former fiancé and futurenotboss standing in my boyfriend’s bedroom doorway, grinning like this is completely normal.
“Welcome to the family, Pierce,” Noah announces.
I pull the sheet higher, very aware that I’m naked in a room full of people. Lior warned me about this “tradition” when it happened to him and Noah, but experiencing it firsthand is something else entirely.
