"I love you beyond measure, Wyatt. You're my destiny, so yes, I know we'll be able to figure this out."
Wyatt jerks slightly and his eyes snap open in surprise. "What did you say?"
"That we'll figure this out."
"No … before that?"
"That you're my destiny. Don't you feel it? With everything we've been through together … how we found each other. It's supposed to be."
"Destiny," he repeats with amazement.
"You and I are supposed to be," I murmur. "It's destiny."
He leans down. Another soft kiss. Another sweet smile. "Yeah, baby. It's destiny."
Epilogue
Wyatt
Eight Months Later …
I place the last screw and, with the electric screwdriver, tighten it in. When I lean back so I can make sure the sign is straight, the ladder wobbles on me a bit but then straightens out. I eyeball my work and yup … it's perfect.
I climb down the ladder, pack up my tools, and then push the toolbox across the concrete until it hits the brick wall. Dusting my hands off my pants, I mentally calculate if there's anything else I need to do before Andrea gets here.
Furniture moved in. Check.
Computers hooked up. Check.
Sign hung up. Check.
A car horn gives a short toot behind me, causing me to practically jump out of my skin, and I turn to see Andrea pulling into the storefront parking space. Her eyes are covered by sunglasses, but her smile is big as she looks up through her windshield at the sign I just hung.
The engine shuts off and she's stepping out of the car. She pushes her sunglasses up her face to rest on top of her head and once her eyes are revealed, my heart thumps when I see them sparkling with happy tears.
"Oh, Wyatt … oh, geez … that looks amazing," she says, her voice quaking.
I look up and over my shoulder at the sign.
Andrea Somerville, Attorney at Law
Turning back to her, I say with a wink, "Some of my best work."
She shuts her car door and steps up onto the curb. Her eyes finally leave the sign and come to me, her face awash with emotion. I open my arms, and she steps into them.
"I can't believe this is actually happening," she mumbles into my chest.
I can't either, really.
It's been a long road.
Eight months ago, Andrea and I declared our love for each other. That weekend was filled with long bouts of lovemaking, followed by longer bouts of arguing about what we were going to do. Obviously, I wanted her to take the job at the BRIU, but she was just as adamant about leaving the FBI and practicing law in Nags Head.
Ultimately, what finally caused me to give in was something that she blindsided me with. I can still remember the conversation, clear as day.
"Andrea," I had implored her. "I don't want you to give up this opportunity."
She was lying next to me in her bed, her head on my chest and her hand lightly stroking the skin over my lower abdomen. She was silent for a long while, and I thought that maybe I had finally reached through to her.
I was wrong.
"Wyatt … let's not look at it in terms of what I'm giving up. I want you to consider the things I'll be getting. A new career … one that I put a lot of effort into getting a law degree. I'd be getting you, which is the biggest prize of all. But there's something else important I'm getting … something I don't have here and I won't have in Quantico either. If I come to Nags Head … I'll be getting your family and your friends. I've never had that before. Not really. Kyle's so far away, and we don't see each other. I've never had friends like Gabby, Casey, Alyssa, and Savannah. So, to me, the sacrifice doesn't seem all that much. What I would be getting is so much more."
And just like that, I rolled.
Her speech was pretty, but she had me when she said that she would be getting my family. Because she would be getting a ready-made family with a new mother and father, sisters, and a ton of nieces and nephews. That was important to her, and when I envisioned our own kids playing with my sister's kids … yeah, well … the decision was made.
She was coming to Nags Head.
The next six months were terrible. She stayed in Pittsburgh to work and studied for the North Carolina Bar. When she took it in February, she passed with flying colors. She tried for a few months to get a job, but the Outer Banks isn't very big and there aren't many law firms, so ultimately, she decided to hang out her own shingle and practice criminal law.
I loved it … she went from catching criminals to defending them. My girl was multi-versatile. And I figured … with me catching the crooks and her defending them, the system would be fairly represented and balanced.