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Logan turned to face her fully, his hands coming up to frame her face. Gently, he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, the gesture feeling both natural and precious after everything they’d been through.

“But we didn’t lose it.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “We’re here. We’re alive.”

Morgan’s hands covered his, holding them against her cheeks. “Logan, I need you to know—these past few days, thinking I might never see you again, never get to tell you how I really feel . . .”

“I know.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

They stood like that for a moment, foreheads touching, breathing the same air, surrounded by the vast Alaskan wilderness that had nearly claimed their lives.

“We’ve wasted so much time,” Morgan whispered. “All those months of tiptoeing around each other, all those conversations we should have had but didn’t.”

“We were both scared.” Logan’s thumb raced along her cheekbone. “I was terrified of losing you.”

A tear slid down her cheek. “And I was scared of losing you.”

Logan’s heart swelled with an emotion so profound it took his breath away.

Morgan smiled through her tears. “You know what I kept thinking about when we were tied to those ice columns?”

“What?”

Logan started to pull back, but Morgan held his hands firmly in place. “No, listen. I kept thinking that Bobby would have liked the idea of the two of us together.”

Logan’s throat tightened with emotion. “I agree.”

“We’re going to honor his memory,” she continued. “By not wasting any more time, by not letting fear keep us apart. We’re going to build something beautiful together.”

Logan searched her eyes, seeing not just love but a future—their future—reflected there. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Morgan’s voice broke with the weight of everything those words carried. “I want to build a life with you, Logan. All of it—the messy parts, the beautiful parts, the ordinary parts.”

Tears stung Logan’s eyes as he pulled her closer. “Are you sure? Because once we do this, once we really commit to each other, I’m not letting you go again.”

“I’m counting on it.” Morgan rose up on her tiptoes.

When their lips met, it was with all the tenderness and passion and promise of two people who had almost lost everything yet found their way back to each other.

The kiss tasted of tears and hope and second chances, framed by the stars dancing overhead like a blessing from God himself.

When they finally broke apart, Logan rested his forehead against hers again, both of them breathing heavily.

“Ready to face the world?” he asked.

Morgan smiled, her hand finding his. “As long as you’re with me.”

Hand in hand, they walked back toward the lights and voices of the rescue team, toward the beginning of whatever came next. Above them, the stars continued to shine, a reminder that even in the darkest moments, there was always light to be found.

CHAPTER

SIXTY-SEVEN

Two days later,everyone in the Arctic Circle Murder Club was invited to Morgan’s house. She’d insisted on fixing them dinner as a way of saying thanks for everything they’d done to help her. Reeves and Yazzie had also been invited.

Reeves had passed on the invitation. She was going to stay home to recuperate after her leg break. Her mother had flown in from California to help her. Though recovery would take a while, overall she was doing well.

Logan was helping Morgan cook some fish and roasted potatoes and making a salad. The grand finale? Baked Alaska.

The two of them had nearly been inseparable since she’d been rescued. Or since she’d rescued him.