Ross pulled away, scrutinizing her features. “What?”
“None of the apartments I looked at had the one amenity I really wanted. You.”
A slow, beautiful smile spread across his face as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Happiness radiated from his eyes. “You’re going to live here?”
Mia nodded in response, her own joy setting her soul aflame.
“With me?”
“Well, unless you’re planning on moving out because of what I did to this kitchen. Although Hermes seems okay with managing the cleanup.” The small dog’s tongue was making quick progress at the mess on the floor.
“What about your plans?”
She slipped her arms around his neck, her fingers drifting through his hair. “That isn’t going anywhere for the time being. And I’m curious about what kind of a life I could have here while I try to figure everything out. I realized I was trying way too hard to convince myself I had only one path. I’ve been tryingmost likely to succeedwithout much success, so maybe it’s time I try most-likely-to-be-happy. You’ll still hold my hand in that dark room, Ross?”
“Always. You’ll never be alone. And let’s face it, most-likely-to-be-happy will probably turn into success because you’ve always been an eager beaver overachiever.” He dropped delicate kisses along her jawline. “What I want to know is why you insist on filling my stomach with all this food when you know exactly what I want to do to you after.”
“Huh. I guess I didn’t think this through very well. Maybe while the food simmers, we can do our own simmering.” She ran a light finger down the length of his chest.
“You always have all the answers, don’t you, nerd-girl? What about your bastard salt-and-pepper shaker soulmate?”
“I’ve evolved my salt-and-pepper shaker philosophy. Why base it on nothing more than a dimple? Maybe the guy I want is quite different from me, yet complements me perfectly. What else could a salt shaker hope for?”
“Does that make me pepper?”
Mia gave him a bright smile. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“No. I’ll be your pepper.”
They each tightened their arms, bringing themselves closer together, connecting gaze to gaze, the bright, unknown future of possibilities glittering between them like diamonds.
“I love your dimple. I love you. Welcome home, Mia Russo,” he whispered.
“And I love you, Ross Rumpelstiltskin Manasse.”
He grinned. “That’s not my middle name.”
“Dammit,” she proclaimed on a breath, before drawing his lips to hers in a deep, loving kiss.
Epilogue
“Come here, Hermes,”Mia called, trying to capture the dog’s attention by waving her hands. Hermes ignored her as he continued to expand his exploratory perimeter around their campsite, his nose glued to the forest floor. She went to him and attached a staked leash to his collar.
“You don’t have to worry about him,” Ross informed her while setting up the portable grill. “He never wanders far.”
“There could be bears. And I don’t want anything to happen to him after he’s beaten cancer. He really is a lucky-penny, miracle dog.” Mia provided Hermes with head scratches as he propped on her knee. His aggressive tongue slathered the underside of her chin as though she bathed earlier in bacon grease. “Yes, you’re a good boy, but we don’t want you to become a bear appetizer.”
Ross gave her an affectionate look. “Alright, finish up with that dog. Maybe I also want to lick you.”
Mia laughed. “Quit trying to seduce me, Ross. This isn’t just a vacation. I have work to do here. Playtime is going to have to wait until later.”
Mia retrieved her backpack from his truck. She located her camera, slipping the strap over her head.
“Mia, we just got here. There’s plenty of time to take photos. You can relax first.”
“No, you’ve been asking for these photos for a while, and I feel bad it’s taken me so long to get to it. Besides, the sooner I can get these taken care of, the faster I’ll be on vacation.”
While Mia did take a Pony Expresso shift every once in a while when Natalie needed her, she was mostly busy helping other local businesses. Her main bread-and-butter, these days, came from providing photography for websites. Her latest customer was a family restaurant that needed new images for the menu. On a whim, Mia also put in a bid with the city of Placerville to provide new photos for the overhaul of the city’s website. It may have been a long shot, but Mia allowed herself to feel optimistic, as she did with much of her future.
