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He walked away, and warmth spread through my chest. Maybe it was just the champagne, but I doubted it. If this didn’t fall through, I could pull myself and Dad out of the financial hole we’d been in. Maybe I could keep the Fellowship. Things might actually be comfortable. And I might finally have the recognition I’d craved for so long.
Regardless of the outcome with Apollo, I’d found a side of myself I hadn’t known I had. Not one that looked like Indiana Jones, but a woman who’d proven to the world just how capable she was.
Epilogue
“Are you excited?” I asked, bouncing up and down on my knees on Shane’s sofa. Odin bounced along with me, like he had springs in his feet.
“Not as excited as you two are, but yes,” he replied. “I’ve lived in New York for so long that it’s kind of weird to leave.” He pulled some books off his bookshelf and put them in a cardboard box.
“But it’s not forever. David said you could split your time—six months here, six months there. Seems like the best of both worlds. Then, when you decide you can’t live without me, the Hopperites, and Denver in general, you’ll stay there indefinitely.”
Shane leaned down and gave me a soft kiss. “David said you could do the six and six, too, if you wanted, so I wouldn’t have to live without you at all.”
“I know,” I said. “In the end he really came through. But I love Denver. And I couldn’t miss the monthly poker nights with my dad, Margaret, and the Fellowship.” I sat on the couch, and Odin immediately licked my face.“Plus, with Heidi and Jason getting married, they’ll need us around to help them stay out of trouble.”
“Doubt we can help with that,” he said over his shoulder. He moved a few more things on his bookcase, and something caught my eye.
“Wait a second,” I said and quickly came up behind him.
He used his bigger frame to block my view. “Go sit down. You’ll get Odin all excited again.”
“Lemme see what you’re hiding!” I exclaimed.
“No.” He folded his arms across his chest.
I tried to push him out of the way, but he was solid as a rock. Odin immediately got in between us, not sure who to protect. Then he started howling. With a big sigh, Shane admitted defeat and moved out of the way.
On the shelf was a lopsided, cracked, poorly fired statue that looked vaguely like a cat, complete with a plaque that read “SUSPICION”BYINDIANAAARON.
“No way,” I breathed.
Shane shrugged and looked away.
“You bought that piece of pottery? You paid like five hundred bucks for junk I made? You must be, like, hopelessly in love with me to waste your money like that. And you must be totally embarrassed that I found out.”
His ears turned pink, but he looked me dead in the eyes. “I don’t disagree with what you just said. And if that little punk Allen hadn’t kept outbidding me, it wouldn’t have gone that far.” Then he offered me a shy grin, and my heart flipped over. “It was for a good cause, though. A donation to the pottery studio you love so much.”
I stood on my tiptoes and put my arms around his neck, suddenlyashamed for teasing him. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make fun. It’s just, why wouldanyonewant that in their house?”
“If things go the way I’m hoping they do, it’ll be inourhouse one day.”
Warmth bubbled up inside me. “When it is, you’re going to be so sad when Odin knocks it on the floor one day and shatters it. He can’t help it; he’s only got one eye.”
“Then you can make more. New Emotions for your series.”
“I’m thinkingNauseawould be a good one to make next. And you know, if we everdohave a house together, one wall will have to be an aquarium.”
He went back to packing books. “I’m well aware. I’ve already done some calculations about how much water weighs and what floor it would have to be on.”
I stared at his back as he worked, idly stroking Odin’s fur. I never would have guessed that something as simple as a name and a misunderstanding, compounded by my choice in friends, could have ended like this. It had been an adventure, but I was so glad to be me again. Occasionally, I missed being an obstetrically trained cowboy who’d fought in a war, but in the end, I’d much rather be a kick-ass coder with a talented team to manage.
I pulled out my phone, opened my email app, and started a new message to Team Diana.To the Fellowship of the Ring, I began.It’s Frodo. We have work to do.
Check out this excerpt from Anastasia Ryan’s debut novel
