Page 113

A month later

I sit on the edge of the bed waiting for Luna to come out of the bathroom. We’re at her place tonight, but we’re in the process of moving. My lease was month-to-month so I’ll be out of there by the end of the week. We’ll live here until I can sell my house in the Keys. That should bring in enough money for a hefty down payment on either a condo or house somewhere in Sage Canyon, but we’re fine for the moment.

It’s been a busy few weeks since everything went down in L.A., and it seems like we’ve come out of it mostly unscathed. Luna’s foot has been healing more slowly than she’d like, but it’s finally to a point now where she can put a shoe on it.

The biggest thing is that Daniil worked his magic. He didn’t give us any details—said it was safer that way—but he essentially worked out a deal just the way I thought he would. They’ll leave Luna alone as long as that list stays locked up tight. It’s not a perfect solution, because they should pay for what they’ve done, but that’s a fight for another day.

Today, Luna is safe, we don’t have to leave California, and we’re surrounded by the family we chose to build our life with.

And we’re about to find out if our family is going to grow by one.

Except I have a surprise for her before we find out.

I look up when she comes out of the bathroom. She has a small white piece of plastic in her hand, and her eyes are locked on mine. I hold out my hand and she puts the pregnancy test in it.

“One more minute,” she says quietly, sinking down beside me.

“Either way, we’ll be fine.”

She nods.

We decided to take a test because she’s been tired lately. More than usual. And yesterday she woke up puking. It didn’t happen today, but we decided to buy a couple of tests anyway.

Before I look at the test, I pull the ring out of my pocket and get on one knee.

She stares in confusion. “Elliott? What are you…”

“Will you marry me, princess?”

“I…” She appears to be speechless. “Oh, Elliott.” Her eyes fill with tears. “It’s beautiful—yes!” She drops down to her knees in front of me and presses her lips to mine. “A million times yes.”

I smile, sliding the ring on her finger. “Allora helped me pick it. You sure you like it? We can change it.”

“It’s what…two carats?”

I cough lightly. “Three.”

“Elliott!” She shakes her head. “I don’t need a diamond this big!”

“My princess needs a diamond worthy of her—and this was the ring.”

“I love it,” she admits, staring down at it. “But not as much as I love you.”

Luna

“I love you too,” he says. “Whether we’re pregnant or not, you’re all I need, Luna.”

“You make me so happy, Elliott Rageis.”

“That’s the plan.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder. “You ready?”

I shake my head. “No. But you should probably look anyway. I don’t think I can.”

“All right, honey.” He reaches for the test and stares down at it. It’s the kind that actually shows the words, either “Pregnant” or “Not Pregnant,” so there’s no way for him to be confused.

But he doesn’t move and I begin to get a sinking feeling in my gut

He turns his hand and shows me the results: NOT PREGNANT.