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“That’s saying something.”

“Can I stay? I have three months to spare.”

“Hmm, I wonder what can happen in three months, Elizabeth?” I roll her newest name off my tongue, and it fits. She’s beaming, gorgeous, a mess—and she’s mine.

“I’ve heard that after three months, the rest of your life can be charted out and planned.”

“But only if you’re willing to see it through.” I let her go and walk towards the door to go downstairs. I outstretch my hand and say, “Shall we?”

She takes it and we leap away from the pain and towards our home, together. We head downstairs and she crawls on my back like a spider monkey. I grab her and keep going. She’s kissing my neck and keeps muttering softly, “Mine.”

I reply, “Yours. And I always have been.”

The end

Epilogue

A bit later

ELIZABETH

I roll off him and flop down on the bed. I’m covered in sweat and we’re breathing heavily.

“Jesus, you just fucked me like Bette.”

I laugh and smack his bicep with little force. He rolls over onto his elbow and traces little circles on my stomach. I sigh.

“Hot or iced?” It’s not Starbucks every day because we live in Paris and there’s a place down the street that’s our go-to café but he grabs my coffee every morning. Before I can answer, he kisses me deeply while thrusting an unexpected finger back inside of me to give me one last shiver of pleasure before we face our day.

I gasp and say on his lips, “Iced.”

It’s been warm lately and air conditioning in this giant old house isn’t a thing that works well. We have window units, but currently our ‘tenants’ have them all. He kisses me again.

“I don’t need it today if you want to stay here and do that tongue thing again.”

He jumps from the bed. “Temptress. I have to stop on the first floor and fix the disposal in their kitchen.”

My only job is to make sure he stops by unit Two before he leaves the building.

I spread my legs and he moans. “Elizabeth. You need to stop it.”

I love that he calls me Elizabeth. I’m whole, so it feels right not to be pieces of my name. He’s Hayden to me. He’s the man he had to reinvent to save himself. He’s overcome so much, and I love him more than both Lizzie and Bette combined.

We opened a small boutique agency over here with Eva and Rinaldi’s blessing called Danzie. Danny and Lizzie combined. They sent a shaman as a present and it took us three weeks to get rid of the man. And a month to get rid of the smell.

We’ve populated this house with love and his art. He paints every day and I’m thinking about writing something other than local ad copy. If I find time between orgasms.

He throws on a Boston College t-shirt and running shorts. I’m always a little sad when his abs disappear. I hop up, too.

He puts his arms up. “No jumping. I can’t see those perfect bouncy breasts and not want to fuck them.”

I lift them up and thumb my own nipples and groan. “These well-used tits?” I shake them at him.

“Ouch. The sexy flair of that alone will cripple me. Or blind me.”

I toss on a bra, a Flyers shirt, and yoga pants.

“Where are you going? You stay in bed.”