Her turn at the gate was next. The flight attendant glanced warily at Matt, then reached for her boarding pass. Lucy took a bracing breath, starting to hand it over.

“Gigawatts.”

“What?” She and the flight attendant said at the same time, her boarding pass frozen in midair.

Matt shifted on his feet. “You asked me that night if I could go back in time and fix one thing, what would it be. I’m changing my answer.” He took a step in her direction, then stopped, as if afraid she might bolt. “I’d go back to the last night we were together and tell you that I’ve fallen in love with you. That I’ll never let you go.”

Lucy could barely see him through the blur of tears. The horrible pain she’d had in her stomach all morning faded a little more with every word he spoke. She demanded her feet to move, to go to him, but the intensity in his voice kept her rooted in place.

“You haven’t seen persistence, Lucy. You have no idea what it looks like until you’ve seen it on me. I’ve fought for my life before and I’m doing it again now. Do not doubt that I will be on the flight behind yours. I will haunt that museum until you give me the time of day. I will live there.”

Lucy’s throat felt so tight she could barely speak, so she ripped her boarding pass in half instead. Matt fell back a step, both hands resting on top of his head, relief evident in every line of his body. She couldn’t stand there a moment longer without feeling his arms around her. Leaving her suitcase behind, she covered the distance separating them in three steps and threw herself into arms that banded around her without hesitation. Applause erupted around them, passengers who had witnessed the scene, some of them recognizing Matt from the news.

“Holy hell, Matt.” Her voice wavered. “Have I mentioned that when you talk, you really make it count?”

One of his hands tunneled through her hair, turning her head so he could kiss her mouth. “I’m sorry. Christ, I’m so sorry.”

A shiver passed through her. “I almost got on a plane.”

Matt fell back into the nearest seat, taking her with him. “Don’t remind me. Ever again, please.”

Lucy held him tighter. “I love you, too. Let’s just focus on that.”

“You love me.” His breath shuddered out at her ear. “You love me?”

She nodded into his neck, inhaling his scent like a drug. How had she thought for one second that living without him was an option?

Matt shook her a little. “Baby, sometimes what I’m thinking doesn’t translate into words. You’re going to have to badger them out of me until I get better at this, okay?”

“I can badger.”

He tipped her face up for another slow kiss, then stood, lifting her in his arms. “I love you. I’ll never keep that to myself again. That’s a promise, Lucy.”

She swallowed a fresh wave of happy tears as he walked them toward the exit. “Give me a ride home for old time’s sake?”

Matt’s laughter rumbled through her, before he turned serious. “This time, every time from here on out, we go home together.”

Epilogue

Matt sat in the back of the stretch limousine, arm draped over the black leather seat, waiting for the door of his building to open and Lucy to emerge. She’d been asking for weeks what he wanted for his birthday and he knew she’d been frustrated by his vagueness. He didn’t like seeing her irritated, but appeased himself with the knowledge that she’d find out soon enough.

Matt’s mouth lifted into a smile, as it had been doing more and more frequently lately. Specifically, the last four months. Since Lucy. She’d taken the position they’d offered her at the Met and promptly been promoted when they saw how competent and dedicated she was to the job. His favorite part of the day had become picking her up from work. Watching her practically float down the endless steps, brimming with news about her day. He still felt the urge to pinch himself every time, in disbelief that this girl could be walking toward him. Then she would throw her arms around his neck and everything in his world righted itself.

She’d made a pretense of moving into her childhood home in Queens, but after spending one too many restless nights away from him, he’d gained her agreement to move into his apartment in Tribeca. It had baffled him, at first, that he’d ever been so comfortable in his solitude. Until he realized he’d just been waiting for Lucy. Then it made perfect sense.

Drumming his fingertips impatiently on the armrest, he thought back to their first week living together. She’d still been acting like a guest, refusing to touch or move his things. One morning after she’d left for work, he’d stood in the middle of the space, looked around and realized it had all the character of a morgue. White walls, gray furniture, black…everywhere. Sort of like his life before she’d come into it. At a total loss, he’d called Daniel’s girlfriend, Story, and asked for her help. His apartment was now painted bright-ass pink.

He loved it.

Lucy walked out of the building, effectively putting an end to his concentration. She wore a tight blue sweater-dress and knee-high leather boots in deference to the cooler October temperature. Her strawberry-blond curls had grown out, swaying at her shoulders as she searched for him on the sidewalk. When she caught sight of him sitting in the limousine, her gaze narrowed, but he saw the hint of mischief in her expression. Lucy loved surprises, yet another thing he’d learned about her. Not enough, Matt thought, as she sauntered forward. He wanted to know every single thing about her. If she gave him what he wanted for his birthday, he’d have all the time in the world to do it.

Matt stepped out of the limousine and held the door open for Lucy. God, she looked beautiful. Color in her cheeks, eyes sparkling. Please let me have something to do with that.

“You rented a limo on your own birthday? I’m officially the worst girlfriend ever.”

He shrugged. “I can’t drive and keep you distracted at the same time.”

The bloom in her cheeks spread, her lips parted. “That sounds promising.”

Matt crooked his finger at her and she pushed up on her toes to kiss him softly, but it wasn’t enough. He wrapped an arm around her waist and took a deep pull off her mouth, keeping her against him until that sense of rightness slipped into place, as it always did for him when they were together.

There it is. Matt pulled back, holding her hand as she ducked through the door. He followed her in, signaling the driver to go. He hadn’t been lying that one of the reasons he’d rented the limo was to keep her distracted. From their destination.

With a flick of his wrist, he closed the panel separating them from the driver. The second reason didn’t need an explanation. Every opportunity to touch her, hold her, would be taken. If that made him selfish, so be it. It was his birthday, after all.

As they pulled away from the curb, he opened his arms and Lucy climbed onto his lap. The way her head tucked under his chin with such perfection caused his eyes to close, even as his heart rate kicked up at having her close.

“Where are we going?”

“You think I’ve kept you in the dark this long to tell you now?”

“Not even a hint?”

“No.” Matt cleared his throat. “Lucy?”

He didn’t have to say anything else. His girl knew what he needed to hear. “I love you, Matt. So much. Always.” She rubbed a hand down his chest. “I still want a hint.”