Page 44

Mila

Four Months Later…

T he tranquil turquoise water was mesmerizing.

Side by side, Jude and I lay in beach loungers. His hair was ruffled, his shirt tossed over a nearby chair, his skin a warm tan. We’d woken up this morning for a kayaking tour where we’d seen turtles the size of small cars. And now we were in a shaded cabana on the beach, soaking up all the beauty of this place.

Jude had made good on his promise to take me away, whisking me out of an iced-over Maine for an incredible two-week vacation.

We were safe. My brain knew that, but my nervous system was still catching up. After the arrests, I’d spent months working with law enforcement while making frequent trips to Boston to see my mother and Hugo.

Hugging her after more than a year of very little contact was one of the best moments of my life.

And Hugo? For so long I worried I’d lost him forever. I spent hours talking to him, telling him every detail of what had happened, watching on the monitors as his brain activity increased at the sound of my voice.

The specialists had made incredible progress. He’d even opened his eyes briefly a few times and would sometimes squeeze my mother’s hand while she spoke to him.

The doctors said the changes were miraculous. They were doing more tests and trying multiple types of stimulation they believed would continue to heal his brain.

Every report gave me hope. I would do anything to get him back. To give him back the life that had been stolen from him.

Jude shifted in his chair, giving me a big, sleepy smile.

“You okay?”

I nodded. “I love it here. It’s so peaceful.”

“Then I’ll bring you back every year, Trouble. It can be our special place.”

He dragged me off my lounger and onto his, pulling me on top of him and kissing me, his fingers playing with the sides of my bikini bottoms.

“Being here with you is bliss.” I kissed him again, then settled against his warm chest.

This had been a trip of a lifetime. We’d started on the big island, hiking volcanoes and snorkeling with manta rays. Every experience was more special with Jude by my side. Seeing his excitement and wonder only intensified my own. He’d even nerded out over the tree species, asking the park rangers endless questions. It was adorable.

For a relationship forged in danger and very strange circumstances, we were really enjoying the “normal honeymoon” as we were calling this period. We reveled in doing mundane tasks and running errands together.

He took me for breakfast at the diner, over to his mom’s for Sunday dinner, and to all his favorite spots. After our vacation ended, he was set on teaching me how to ski.

And we still played Scrabble. Curled up under my favorite blanket, with Ripley by our side.

I had no idea what I’d do with my life once the dust settled for good. The investigation was ongoing, and I’d given dozens of hours of interviews to every possible law enforcement agency and prosecutor. While I was content to stay in Lovewell and wake up next to Jude every day, at some point, I’d have to get back to work.

But I’d changed. Like Jude had said, I’d been through the fire. My regrowth may look different, but I’d be stronger for the pain I’d been through.

While the old Mila would have jumped on the next journalism job as a means to run away from all that had happened in the past year, the new version of me embraced the opportunity to settle and recalibrate.

Sitting on a beach in Maui on top of my hot lumberjack boyfriend was not a bad way to do it.

We’d had lunch on the beach and were debating whether we should go for a swim or head back to our villa and get naked when my phone rang.

Things had been blissfully silent since we’d left. Jude had lectured Parker and forced her to promise that she wouldn’t bother me with case details. He wanted me to relax.

But I’d refused to turn my phone off completely.

And when I fished my phone out of my bag, my heart stuttered.

It was my mom.

“Mom?” My throat was thick, making it hard to speak. “Is everything okay?”

She sobbed, and my stomach plummeted. I couldn’t form the words to ask about Hugo, but I feared the worst.

“He’s awake,” she got out between hiccupping sobs.

“What?” I was on my feet in seconds, Jude by my side, leaning close to the phone. “He woke up?”

“Yes. He can only speak a few words, but he’s awake. The doctors are doing tests and taking measurements. But he recognized me. I held his face in my hands and kissed my son.”

I had so many questions. There was so much to do.

“Mila, the doctor came in. I’ll call you back.”

When the call disconnected, all I could do was stand in place, in shock. If Jude hadn’t been holding me up, I probably would have collapsed.

“He’s awake.” The whispered words had barely passed my lips when I burst into tears of my own.

Jude held me while I shook. Relief and sadness and joy tore through my body. Awake.

I had no idea what the future would hold for him, but he was still here with us.

“Come on.” Jude scooped up my bag, then lifted me off my feet. “We’ve got to pack.”

“But—”

“We’ve got to get to Boston.”

I nodded, arms looped around his neck. He was right. I needed to see my brother. I wasn’t sure how we’d get there, but at this point, I was willing to swim.

While I packed, Jude called Owen, who helped us find flights. Apparently one of his billionaire friends had a jet on Oahu and could give us a ride to San Francisco, where we could jump on a red-eye to the East Coast.

“Trouble,” Jude said, zipping his suitcase. “Pants.”

I looked down at the leggings he’d laid out for me on the bed, still standing in my undies, losing my mind. Thank God for this man. With ease, he got us checked out of the hotel and over to the airstrip.

As we soared over the blue Pacific, I took my first full breath.

Awake .

It felt like a dream. As did the sweet lumberjack currently sitting next to me.

“I hope I have time to shower. I want to look good when I meet my future brother-in-law for the first time.”

I put my head on his shoulder. “You look great.”

“No comment about the future brother-in-law thing?” he teased, holding a hand to my forehead as if checking for a fever.

I surveyed him, so full of love and hope and certainty that I could not have made it through the last several months without him, and shrugged. “I’d marry the shit out of you.”

His eyes bulged. “Seriously?”

“Yes. But not yet. I’ve got to make you work for it.”

I was rewarded with the most beautiful smile. “I wouldn’t want it any other way, Trouble.”

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