“No.” He laughed. “The one where you see the world. Where you go on adventures and discover what more could be out there for you.”
“For us,” she corrected through a watery smile.
“Us,” he agreed. He reached up to her face and swiped his thumb gently along her jaw. “I think my new dream is to be with you when you see the world.”
They kissed again, not ready to let go yet, because for the first time in a long time, the world seemed so full of possibilities.
Epilogue
A Pair of Eavesdropping Willy Wonkas
226 Days after That
“I can’t believe you’rewatchingGladiatorwith me,” Elliot told her giddily from the seat next to her as they waited in front of their gate.
Lainey couldn’t believe it either, but he’d beamed the moment she’d floated the idea of finally watching his favorite movie when they arrived at JFK wretchedly early in the morning, only to find that their flight to France had been delayed three whole hours.
“Now, the question is…” He adjusted his laptop on the roller bag at their feet and faced her, his body vibrating. “Do we watch the original version or the extended director’s cut that shows the film as Ridley Scott originally intended it? Because technicallythat’smy favorite movie. But it’s seventeen minutes longer.”
Dear god.
She swallowed. “In for a penny, in for a pound. If we’re gonna watch your favorite movie, we should watch yourfavoritemovie. All seventeen extra minutes.”
Look at him. Look at how happy he is, she told herself. If enduring the next 174 minutes of Russell Crowe sweaty and screaming would guarantee Elliot just a tiny shred of joy, she’ddo it. She’d do anything for him, and she trusted that if the roles were reversed, he’d do the very same. After all, he was moving to France for her.
Though they weren’t ready to settle down just yet. After spending a few months enjoying their home together for the last time, they sold the whole thing—the lakeside resort, Forest’s Bridge, all of it—to Bree, of all people. With motherhood had come a renewed sense of self, and Bree’d found that she was ready to strike out on her own and put her fancy degrees to use.
Elliot had left his government job. With generic forms of Lainey’s medication finally available and Bree enthusiastically taking in Waffle for Elodie—no cloning necessary—it seemed as good a time as any to travel the world and get inspired by all the art and architecture they could find before planning their next steps.
“Do you have to go to the bathroom before we start?” Alarm must’ve showed on her face. He gave her leg a reassuring press. “I don’t mean it like that. Of course, we can pause the movie anytime you want to, but I know that sometimes when you lock in, you forget about things like eating and—”
She leveled him with a look. “You think I’m going to be so enthralled byGladiatoras Ridley Scott intended that I won’t notice I have to pee?”
“I can’t rule it out.” It was so earnest, she couldn’t take it. She loved him so much.
She swung her feet under her legs and curled into his side. His arm wrapped around her as they melted into their now-familiar movie-watching positions. “Okay, I’m prepared to be dazzled. Fire up this bad boy.”
With a gentle squeeze to her hip, he pressed play. Text flashed across the screen. Lots of text. A short novel, actually. She optednot to read it, turning her attention to Elliot instead. He watched the screen with such focus. He saw things so deeply. He didn’t peer out windows; he examined why they were there and the warmth they brought into the room. He looked at her like memorizing her was his sole responsibility on this planet.
So she supposed it stood to reason that he wouldn’t passively double-screen his favorite movie the way she might. He’d be engrossed, time and time again.
“I got you so wrong and so right from the very start, didn’t I?” she said, her voice quiet, like a secret.
He tore his attention from the screen. “What do you mean?”
“My first impression of you, the very first one, was spot-on. I saw you exactly right. It was the next, like, ten impressions where I went wrong.”
His mouth curled into a smile that lit his eyes from within. “I’m hoping that’s a good thing?” he inquired, flushing.
She bit back the silly grin that wanted to burst onto her face. “It’s the best thing.”
He grabbed her cheeks and planted a gentle, airport-appropriate kiss on her lips.
“We’re missing your favorite movie,” she whispered.
“I’ve seen it,” he assured her.
Over the din of airport Muzak, Lainey heard her last name on the muffled speaker.
