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The moment stretched, awkward in its sincerity, until Oslo chose that precise instant to wind around Brock’s ankles with enough force to nearly topple the older man.

“Bloody hell,” Brock laughed, catching himself. “This one’s got opinions.”

“Actually, Gage, I have a favor to ask.” Kat shifted the conversation to safer ground. “Would you mind keeping Oslo while I’m away? I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone, and he’s just gotten settled here.”

“You want me to babysit your cat?” Gage asked.

“I want you to show you can be trusted with a living thing,” Kat corrected.

Something shifted in Gage’s expression as he crouched down to address Oslo directly. “What do you say, mate?” Gage murmured as the cat bumped his knuckles. “Think you can put up with me for a while?”

Kat’s face softened as Oslo’s purr rumbled louder. “I think you’ll both be just fine.”

“Right then,” Brock announced. “I should get back. Got a field marshal to check on, and he gets tetchy when I’m away too long.”

“I’ll drive you,” Gage stood. “My bike’s outside.”

They moved toward the door, Brock giving Oslo one final scratch while muttering something about a proper little soldier.

At the threshold, Gage turned back. “Remember, Viking.” He paused, finger tapping his temple. “If I find out you so much as raise your voice at her?—”

“Remote place. No phones. Big hole. Got it.” Leo nodded, recognizing the threat for what it was—a brother’s love expressed in the only way he knew how. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“See that you do.” Gage’s grin flashed bright and dangerous before he followed Brock into the hallway.

Their voices faded, leaving the house suddenly spacious and quiet. Leo turned to find Kat watching him with an expression he couldn’t quite read, but the weight of possibility hung between them.

“So,” he said, his voice rough. “Six months.”

“Six months,” she confirmed, stepping closer until he could feel her warmth. “Any suggestions for how I should spend them?”

His hands found her waist, pulling her against him with deliberate slowness.

The plans he’d been forming since Norway crystallized into certainty, but saying them aloud felt monumental. The cabin had been his solitary refuge for years—the one place where Leo Bychkov the operative didn’t exist. Where he could just be Leonid, sitting by the water, letting the silence wash away the weight of the past.

“I might have a few ideas.” His thumb traced the curve of her lower lip. “I have a tiny cabin in the fjords. Private. No cell service for miles. Just us and the northern lights.”

He’d built the place as a fortress against connection, a space so private even his brothers had never seen it. Now he was offering it to her like a gift, wanting her footprints on his dock, her laughter echoing off his walls. “I’ve never wanted to share it with anyone before.”

The admission felt like stepping off a cliff. “I want to cook for you.” He smoothed the hair from her forehead. “Show you where I learned to fish. Wake up with you in the morning.”

The offer hung between them—not just places, but pieces of himself he’d never given anyone. The parts of his life he’d kept separate from the blood and violence. Parts that might be worthy of a woman like her.

“Six months might not be enough,” she whispered.

“Then we’ll take longer.”

When his lips met hers, the kiss tasted like a new beginning. Like the possibility that a man with his history might actually deserve a future this bright.

Her hands slid under his collar, pulling him closer, and he let himself fall into the certainty of her.

“Norway first,” she murmured against his mouth.

“Norway first,” he agreed, already planning how he’d show her the life he never thought he could share.

He drew back, a little breathless, and slipped a hand into his jacket pocket. “Okay, this might be overkill…”

Two airline tickets appeared between his fingers, and boyish excitement burned through him. “But I figured—after Norway, maybe the Maldives. Overwater villa. Private beach. Somewhere it doesn’t rain every bloody day.”

She laughed softly. “Leo, this is?—”

“Too much? Alright.” He grinned. “We’ll start smaller.Tonight.Waffles and ice cream.”

Oslo’s purr rumbled near their feet.

“Perfect,” she whispered.