The flight attendant came by with complimentary glasses of champagne and little squares of decadent chocolate. Without Tori having to ask, I slid my piece over and watched her devour it in a single happy bite that made me smile as I sipped my champagne.
She snuggled against me, and my heart felt full. I couldn’t wait for us to get to our final destination, where she could throw her thick scarf and winter layers into her suitcase and not touch them for weeks. There’d be no need to wear anything but bikinis in the Caymans, and I had bought her a suitcase full of very revealing suits that I couldn’t wait for her to model for me.
“Looking forward to the weather?” I asked as she leaned back in her seat. “It was nothing but sunshine and eighty degree days last time I checked.”
“Yes,” she practically moaned, letting out a sigh of relief. “I’m going toliveon the beach. I was barely able to focus during my last exam—all I could think about was this vacation.”
“How did the rest of your finals go this week?” I asked, having witnessed her round-the-clock studying over the past few weeks. I knew she hoped to end the semester on a high note.
“Good, I think,” she said. Then she shrugged. “Though I don’t know that I’ll be looking at straight As this term.”
“I’m sure you aced all the written questions,” I told her. “Don’t stress about your GPA.”
“I’ll try not to,” she said. “But I’m going to work twice as hard in the spring.”
“You’re gonna kick ass next semester,” I said. “But I don’t want you to spend the whole trip thinking about school. Your homework is to just sit back, relax, and let me take care of you.”
Raising my glass, I gestured for her to do the same. When we clinked, Tori toasted, “To a well-earned vacation. With my very sexy, very generous husband.”
We drank our champagne, and then I tilted her chin up and kissed her. I wanted to do far more than that, but I knew it would have to wait until we got to the hotel. And even then, I had a few surprises up my sleeve. For now I settled for ordering us two more glasses of bubbly.
“What a year we’ve had,” I mused, taking her hand. “Thank god it’s over now.”
“Six months,” Tori corrected me in a low murmur. “But we got through it. Together.”
“We did,” I agreed. “And now we’re stronger than ever.”
She squeezed my hand tightly, looking over me to stare out the window at the thick clouds flying beneath the plane. I could tell she was thinking about her dad again, the way the little frown line formed between her brows.
Tori had gotten closure on her relationship with her father, and I knew his final gift had gone a long way toward healing the rift that had opened up between them over the last few months, but it was going to take a lot more time for her to process the sudden loss of him. Still, I’d be with her every step of the way.
I was lucky to have gotten closure on my search for Anja and the answers I’d sought about what had happened to her. Now she would be a permanent part of our lives, and I was heartened by the fact that she and Tori had grown so close. We’d also finally sat Max down and told him that Tori was his half-sister. Even though he was confused at first, and sad to know that his biological dad was gone, he had been thrilled to learn that he had such a cool older sibling.
I loved watching the two of them play together. Tori was such a natural with him and it was clear that the affection and awe they felt for each other was mutual.
“Did your lawyer have any news, earlier?” Tori asked, nervously twisting her hands.
My father was still in jail, so I’d been receiving updates on his upcoming trial whenever there was new information. My lawyer had called just before Tori and I had boarded the flight.
“He was denied bail again,” I told her. “I was glad to hear it.”
Tori nodded. “I think it’s for the best.”
“I heard from Gavin’s brother as well,” I continued. “They were very strategic about his placement in the prison system so they could keep a close watch on him 24/7.”
“You don’t think he’ll still be able to rebuild his network?” Tori asked.
It had been a major concern that I had shared with the feds from the beginning. My father was cunning and persistent. If there was a way to manipulate the system from in jail—to command a network of criminals on the outside—he would find a way. But his power to do that had been systematically disassembled, thanks to frantic negotiations between me and the feds, as well as a team of lawyers and law enforcement working together from across the globe.
“I think the right people have been alerted about my father’s ability to make connections,” I told her. “He’s not gonna be pulling one over on anybody.”
The relief was visible on Tori’s face.
“My lawyer said it’s likely he’ll be in prison for the rest of his life,” I added.
There was too much evidence, too many witnesses for my father to get away with his crimes. We’d built an ironclad case against him, and his ability to do harm was finally at an end.
“Too bad he took the company down with him,” Tori sighed. “How is Danica Rose coming along? Have you signed any new clients?”
