She laughed, amazed that this could feel so easy, so simple, soright.
Reality rushed back like an icy wave and she stepped back, looking up into Travis’s eyes with regret.
“But maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all, Travis. You live in London, I live here, and…”
“Actually, I live here now, too.”
Courtney blinked. “What?”
Travis dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a key ring. “I’m moving back into the house down the road, for a while at least. The owners decided they loved their motorhome travels around Europe so much, they’ve decided to set off on another big adventure. They’ll be gone for at least six months and asked if I was interested in renting the house while they’re gone. I wanted to jump at the chance, not just because I wrote the best book I’ve ever written while I was staying there, but because being here would bring me closer to you.”
He waved a hand and gave her a serious look. “But before I moved in, I wanted to come here and find out if there was a chance for something between us. Now that I know there is, I can’t wait to come back.”
He glanced at the packed bags sitting around the room. “You said you’re moving in with your aunt and uncle. They live in Hamblehurst, right?”
Courtney nodded.
“And you don’t mind me moving back here, do you?”
“How could I?”
“I don’t want to scare you off by rushing into things.”
“You’re not.”
The idea of him returning to Hamblehurst filled her with joy. The idea that he was coming back here to find out if there might be a future for them both together made her heart almost burst with happiness.
“We’ll have a perfect summer here together, Courtney,” he said. “And I’ll start writing another book. My editor loves the oneI already wrote here and wants more, and I’m excited about the new direction the series is going in. I think being here, in this town and living here on this street, is a big part of why the books are now going in this new direction.”
Courtney saw the excitement on his face, saw how much it meant to him to feel satisfied with the work he did and the books he wrote.
“But what I want most of all is to spend time with you,” he said. “With you and with Hope.”
“We’ve got a lot to find out about each other.”
Travis raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I already know everything I need to know.”
The swooning smile almost cracked her face in two. “Have you ever thought about switching genres from mystery to romance, Travis? Because if you can come up with stuff like that, then I think you’d be pretty great at writing love stories.”
“Why would I want to write a love story when I can live one instead?”
“Now you’re just showing off.”
With a bubble of laughter, she let him pull her closer into his arms and kiss her until her head was spinning, and her entire world, too.
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
The evening sunshinecast golden light across the lawn as songbirds filled the air with a sweet evening chorus.
Courtney sat on a garden bench beneath the shade of a cherry tree, watching Hope squirm and giggle on the picnic mat spread out on the grass while Travis gently bopped her on the nose with her teddy bear. It was one of their favourite games, and she wasn’t sure who was enjoying the fun more, her sweet daughter or her besotted boyfriend. A smile curved her lips at the sight of them both, amusing each other in the dappled sunlight in the shade of the tree, and she wondered if it was possible to be any happier than she was right now.
As if sensing her thoughts, Travis looked up and smiled, making her heartbeat race, just like it always did whenever he smiled at her. After a year together, she was still falling in love with him more each day.
Travis pressed a kiss to Hope’s little nose, making her giggle, and then got up from the picnic mat and joined Courtney on the bench.
“Everything okay?” he asked her, kissing her nose too. “You look a little wistful.”
