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Her surprised breath made me smile, then she dived in and bunched my shirt in her clenched fingers. As our mouths moved together, she made a humming sound in her throat, her body pressing close.

When I finally pulled away, Ava dragged in a breath. “I don’t think I ever thanked you,” she said.

I ran my thumb under her lower lip where her skin still glistened. “For what?”

“Staying with me.”

“I didn’t exactly have anywhere to go.”

She rested her hand on my heart, her thumb sweeping back and forth. “You could have gone home and started over after Kirby and I were safe. That was the plan when we drove away from the airport.”

Mum’s house had been there waiting for me, with all the memories she’d left behind. Her neighbours might have been alive, too—a small dose of familiarity in our new world.

The thought of being back there didn’t cross my mind anymore. “I must have stuck around for some other reason then.”

Ava’s eyes softened. “You can say it. You chose me.”

Warmth spread through me, and I brushed her cheek with my thumb. “If I had to go back and do it again, I’d still choose you.”

She smiled up at me as we stood in the quiet together. “Remember when we left Kirby, and she told you to stick with me?”

My gaze dropped to her lips. “I remember.”

“I never heard your answer. What did you say?”

In a past life, I might have deflected and kept that part to myself, but she wanted to know all of me. “I said the only way I’m leaving is if you tell me to go.”

“Aw.” A beat of silence passed between us, and her humour disappeared. “And you claimed to be a man of action, not words.”

I dipped my head and kissed her, smiling against her mouth. “Don’t get too carried away.” Then a movement over her shoulder caught my attention, and I nodded toward the window. “Look.”

Ava turned at the waist and laughed. “Oh, that must be Ruby. How cute.”

A young girl with red hair had her nose flattened against the glass, her attention jumping from Ava to me. When she realised she’d been caught out, her eyes widened, and she froze.

Ava waved, and after a beat, Ruby smiled tentatively and waved back. A woman called her name, then she pushed off the glass, leaving smudged fingerprints behind.

Ava’s smile faded as she pulled away from me. “We should probably go inside and introduce ourselves.”

We headed back into the lounge room, and the heat after the chill under the verandah had us slipping off our jackets. I took Ava’s from her and draped them both over the end of the couch.

A woman stood near the fire, her hair the same shade as Ruby’s. She held the baby Theo had appeared with earlier, and when she broke into a smile, the resemblance to him was unmistakable. Mia.

“I need to meet this baby,” Ava said, all but bouncing on her feet. “Come with me.”

“You go. I’ll be there in a minute.”

As she moved toward them, I stood back and observed.

“Hi, I’m Ava.” She smiled at Mia, then her attention dropped to the baby on her hip. “I saw you earlier, but nobody introduced us. What’s your name?”

Mia bounced the little girl in her arms. “This is Brynn.”

Ava crouched to Brynn’s eye level. “Hi. Where did you come from?”

Mia stroked the baby’s hair. “Sadie and Theo found her on the way here.”

Ava straightened, her hand on Brynn’s arm. “What?”