Page 69 of New Rules
She looked at me like she didn’t believe me, but she also clearly wasn’t going to call me out on it. She knew we’d likely chat about whatever was up later—and we would. I’d tell her all about the offer Archer and Vince had made me once I’d had some time to think it over myself.
“If you say so.” She shrugged.
“Hey, man,” Corey said next to her. “Heard you’re moving here permanently.”
“You heard correct,” I replied, taking a seat at the bar.
He nodded and gave me a half grin. “Good, I was gonna see if you wanted to come visit me at the gym, check out my situation there.”
“Oooh yes, you should,” Tammy chimed in. “He’ll kick your ass, but you’ll thank him for it later.”
Corey and I both chuckled at that.
“Sounds like a plan,” I told him.
He gave a knowing nod, and it appeared I might have a second job opportunity available. Likely not in any official capacity, but an opportunity at least to help repay the favor he’d done for me these past few weeks.
“Now, Stella…back to you,” Tammy said, pointing her finger at her in a motherly way. “You’ve got this, believe me. I know you can do it.”
“Ugh. Tammy, I’m not sure I can do it, though,” Stella’s frustrated voice carried as I took a seat at the end. “I don’t have your confidence.”
“Stella, the first time you try something, it likely won’t be your best, but it's a step in the right direction to whatever goal you have. That’s all you need to know and all you need to focus on.”
This woman never failed to amaze me. One minute she was teasing, and the next she was handing out insightful, solid advice like it was second nature—and somehow making it look easy.
It hit me then, watching her like that. Moving here, staying, continuing to build something with her—it was the right call. And for the first time, I wasn’t thinking about the logistics of things or the risks…just how damn lucky I’d be if I got more years of this.
EPILOGUE
TAMMY
Four Months Later
This was my first time on a cruise, and so far, I was thoroughly enjoying it. Ten days cruising the Mediterranean Sea—Italy, Greece, and Croatia. Three countries I’d never been to, and so far, I’d loved all of them.
We’d been on the ship for a week now, having started in Italy before crossing over to Croatia, and were now hopping from one Greek island to the next. I had never seen water so many colors before. On some islands, the water was a deep turquoise hue; others it was like a dark navy suit. But my favorite was the bold and bright cobalt blue that surrounded the shores of Santorini.
Ray and I were quite the traveling pair. Some days, I was content to sit on the beach all day, and he was content watching me walk around in a bathing suit. Other days, I wanted to go explore and see it all—every museum, every little shop, and every corner café and restaurant—and Ray was content to hold my hand and go with me.
His only request on most of our days was that if there was a castle or fortress, he wanted to see it.
“They all sit up high and give you the best views of everything below,” he said, and he wasn’t wrong.
For a few days, we never stopped and just sailed at sea all day. I enjoyed those just as much. Ray had splurged and upgraded us to a suite, complete with our own balcony. It had a lounger that was part hammock, part chaise, and it was big enough for both of us to fit comfortably together on.
If there was one thing I’d learned about Ray over these last few months, it was that he was officially a snuggler.
We were between islands today and taking advantage of a day at sea by enjoying our balcony. Ray had me curled into his side, snuggled against him in our lounger-hammock thing, and I realized I could get used to this.
“What should we do for dinner tonight?” he asked, his fingers loosely combing through my hair as the breeze floated around us.
“We still haven’t tried the hibachi place,” I offered lazily.
“Do we have to get dressed up for that one?”
“I don’t think it’s required, but I’m not sure.”
“Bummer,” he said, softly kissing the top of my head. “I was looking forward to seeing you in that new dress you bought yesterday.”
