Page 77 of I Love You, I Hate You

I am in hell

Epilogue

One Year Later

“Hey, have you seen my—”

“Right here,” Owen said, handing over her phone. He was distracted this morning, and unusually nervous. “What time is court for you today?”

“Early afternoon. I’ve got some stuff to finish up at the office first. You?”

Owen nearly tripped over Luke and accepted a mug of coffee from Victoria. His kitchen was no less cluttered than it had once been, but Victoria had insisted that he at least start doing his damn dishes every night and the sink was blessedly empty. “We’re scheduled first thing, which means I really need to get going.” Luke meowed loudly from around their ankles. “And I already fed him this morning so don’t let him convince you he’s starving,” he added.

Victoria bent over and scooped up Luke for a very unwilling cuddle. “Jedi Master Skywalker would never lie to me,” she said, burying her face in Luke’s fur before letting him jump down. If someone told her eighteen months ago she would one day be a cat person, she would have laughed in their face, but here she was, coddling a cat. “By the way, it would appear that Ashley’s got a plan to set my mom up with someone after the gala this weekend. How worried do we need to be about that?”

“Only that it will probably work out, since Ashley tends to be very astute about these things,” Owen said. Kimmy and Ashley had taken to each other like ducks to water the moment they met last summer, and Ashley was the one who suggested Kimmy front a band for the many charity galas the Pohls threw. It was good money—and a chance to be onstage in a fancy dress—and now Kimmy was getting booked regularly by wealthy white people from the suburbs. Kimmy had even talked the band into doing some covers of her favorite Garbage songs, which were surprisingly a huge hit with the country club crowd.

“That reminds me—can you pick up my dress from the dry cleaners on your way home?” Victoria said, rinsing out her coffee mug. She didn’t officially live at Owen’s house, but she might as well—and they had already had several conversations about ending her lease. And then there was that small box in the back of his dresser, the one he didn’t realize she knew about.

They might be done keeping secrets from each other, but Victoria felt she could let this one go.

“Yeah, of course,” he muttered.

She cupped Owen’s face in her hands and kissed his cheek. “Your opening statement is solid. Don’t let them get under your skin,” she assured him, because he always got a little jittery before a trial started. She would never have guessed that, back when he was just a cocky jackass who annoyed the living shit out of her. Now she found it endearing. She’d known this about Luke, but knowing it about Owen made her even more protective of him. She couldn’t say anything more specific to him—ethics kept her from spilling any information about Smorgasbord’s strategy. But she was grateful she wasn’t the one going up against Owen today, trying to defend the indefensible. She was much happier at RJ, fighting against unnecessary abortion regulations and generally helping people instead of helping a corporation hurt them.

For the first time in a long time, Victoria felt whole. Not just because of Owen, but because she felt settled. Fulfilled. Loved and accepted. Owen was a big part of that, but not all of it. She’d given up her secret identities but kept the people who made her feel safe, and as a result she was feeling steadier than she had in years. She’d even flown out with the rest of her group chat to celebrate Maddy’s dissertation defense last week, and the love and support of those women had wrapped around her like a hug.

Owen nuzzled his face against her palm. “Sorry, just—this is the big one for me. If I win this, no matter if Smorgasbord appeals it all the way to the Supreme Court, it would force some real change.”

“You’ve got this,” she assured him. “Besides, you’re the second-best lawyer I know.”

He grinned. “Who’s first?”

“Do you even have to ask? Be glad you came in second, because that’s not easy.”

“You’re just saying that because I went down on you twice last night.”

“Exactly,” Victoria deadpanned. “But really, you’ve got this. You’re the only one who’s ever beaten me, remember?”

Owen leaned forward to kiss her, the strain around his eyes melting away, replaced by the grin she had come to love. “How could I forget?”