Page 96 of Signed

“What is it?”

“A wedding gift. Open it later.” He squeezed my hand. “You’re good for him. I’m glad that he’s found happiness with you.”

He walked away before I could thank him properly, probably exactly as he’d intended.

I found Michael surrounded by his business associates, talking about things that absolutely didn’t matter at his wedding.

“Excuse me,” I said, pushing through the circle. “I need to steal my husband.”

“We were just discussing—” one of them began.

“And now you’re done discussing.” I grabbed Michael’s hand. “He’s off the clock. Forever, actually. Talk to his assistant.”

Michael let me pull him away, grinning. “Sorry, my wife first.”

Wife. I would always love the sound of that.

The envelope from Augustus contained two first-class tickets to Bali.

Michael opened it on the plane and just stared at the tickets like they were written in code.

“He booked us a second honeymoon,” I said, reading over his shoulder.

“For three weeks.”

“He even picked the nicest resort. With private beaches and those little bungalows over the water.”

“This is very nice of him.”

“He’s a good man. He just hides it behind being cranky.” I kissed Michael’s cheek. “Your grandfather loves you. Accept it.”

I woke up the next morning to a photo of Hannah Pierce on the cover, looking elegant in a cream dress, diamond ring catching light, headline announcing her marriage to billionaire tech entrepreneur Garrett Monroe.

I studied the photo while Michael watched my face like he was worried about something.

“She looks happy,” I said finally.

“She does.” He repeated slowly, cautiously like he was trying to avoid anything that would get me upset. I almost laughed at it, didn’t he know that his love was so steady that I could never be insecure about it?

“Don’t look so tense.” I glanced at him. “Besides, Hannah was kind to me at the carnival and the mall. She could have been terrible and she wasn’t. I hope her marriage is everything shewants. You also mentioned how she encouraged you to find me, I’m definitely hoping she’s happy with her husband,”

“Yeah, me too. Just like I’m happy with my wife,”

“Cringe.” I wrinkled my nose and he chuckled.

He pulled me in and kissed me hard while dinner threatened to burn and the future spread out before us and the world kept turning like it always had.

We’d survived. We’d loved each other through dying and come out alive on the other side.

This was our ever after, and it was everything.