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She smiles at that.
I run my hands over the soft flannel. “I like them.”
“They’re cute,” she agrees. “But they’re really hot. I mean temperature hot. I’m sweating.”
I laugh. This woman always makes me happy, lighter, better. “Let’s go.” I stretch to my feet and let her slide down my body. “I’ll help you out of those pajamas on the plane.”
“I don’t know if that will help me cool off.” She grins up at me. “I’m not wearing panties underneath them.”
“Let’s go say goodbye to your sister and niece,” I say, practically dragging her out of the office.
“I thought you already said goodbye to them.”
“I did. But don’t you need to?”
She shakes her head. “They don’t even know I’m here. I didn’t see them. They were still asleep when I snuck into the house to find you, and I snuck back out when I realized where you were.”
I stop and look at her. “You really want to just leave town? Not see Scarlett and Cian? Just leave them on their own?”
She grins. “Kind of? What about you?”
I think about it. Then nod. “Yeah. They’ll be fine.”
“I agree.”
We stand just looking at each other. Then we look out at the bar.
Everyone is sitting around the tables, drinking coffee. The game shows have started, and no one is paying us any attention.
April is laughing with the ladies at the end of the bar.
I do not want to have to say goodbye to Elliot. I plan to send him cool postcards from New Orleans, including some with jets and old planes from the World War II Museum. He’ll love that, and we can talk about them when I come back and visit him.
“We’ll see them all later,” Ruby finally says.
I smile. “Of course we will. They’re our family.”
“Exactly. And I know a guy with access to a private plane, so traveling back and forth is no big deal.”
“He sounds amazing.”
“He is. Best brother-in-law I’ve ever had.”
She giggles as I sweep her up into my arms with a growl and stride for the door. “Shhh,” I tell her. “They might notice us and need something.”
“We wouldn’t want that,” she whispers with a softer giggle.
And, for the first time in either of our lives, we actually do sneak off without telling anyone where we’re going or how to get ahold of us for the next several hours.
I even fuck her on the plane and in half the rooms of our new house before we turn our phones back on.
Which is a mistake that keeps me from fucking her ineveryroom.
Still, we’re both happy when we snuggle on our new sofa and look out at the view of New Orleans from our new apartment windows, with the AC turned way up so Ruby can wear her new pajamas, and answer dozens of texts and emails to all the other people we love most in the world, together.
Epilogue
RUBY