Page 119 of Earned Husband

EPILOGUE

DEJA

Chicago in the winter was like living in a photograph of a winter wonderland. Every morning, I sat in front of our windows at home with a cup of tea, just watching snowflakes drift into the yard.

Colin didn’t even bother asking what I was doing anymore. He’d simply accepted that to me, any snowfall was magical. Around here, the locals were so used to it that it was more of a nuisance to them than anything else, but not to me.

This was the first real winter I was ever experiencing and the snow was such an integral part of that. I loved it, the peaceful quiet it brought and the picturesque beauty it could give to even the most ordinary street.

It’d been a few months, and soon, winter would give way to spring. I planned on soaking up as much of this kind of weather as I could before things returned to my kind of normal.

Well, close to my kind of normal, anyway. No matter what, my normal over here would still be a lot quieter.

I loved that, too.

The townhouse was always peaceful. Even when I was working from here to design the new White Water Lily officespace or planning scent launches in Egypt from afar. Even when Colin’s siblings or his mom came over.

There was still no barging in or shouting my name from three stories up. It was usually just me and him, and that was magical too. Maybe it was just this newlywed phase, but God, I couldn’t get enough of it.

While Colin and I had gone home to Egypt once over the last few months, I was genuinely happy here. It felt like the life we were building was all our own and I was so desperately in love with him and with our life together that I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

As foreign as I’d found this place at first, I’d fallen into a routine in Chicago, and while I missed Cairo at times, this was home now too. Most mornings I worked from our townhouse, curled up on the couch with my tablet, but other days, like today, I came to Thayer Steelworks to get some work done whilealsospending time with my husband.

I’d never expected to enjoy being in an office building, but somehow, this one became another little home. In time, White Water Lily would have its own offices in Chicago. I was already planning our launch event, but I liked being close to Colin.

I also liked being close to his family. Jane, Isaac, Alex, or the kids popped into his office often, and while I enjoyed the privacy we had at the townhouse, I also enjoyed their version of family time. It wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as my own, but there was almost as much banter, teasing, and laughter.

I adjusted my grip on the bag of takeout I was carrying, and I waved to Jane across Thayer’s lobby, smiling when she waved back. She seemed to be in the middle of something with a whole group of powerful-looking men, but as always, she was completely in her element, clearly in control as she marched them into a conference room.

God, I love her.

Strangely, I’d grown to love all the other Westwood women too. They were becoming good friends, almost like family even if it wasn’t by blood or marriage. They treated Colin like he was one of their own, and I’d quickly learned that extended to me.

After riding the elevator up to his floor, I pushed Colin’s office door open without knocking. He looked up when I walked in, smiling immediately. “Wife! This is a surprise.”

I laughed. “How long are you going to call me that?”

He winked. “For as long as it’s true.”

“I brought lunch.” I held up the bag of Vietnamese food, a recent favorite of ours after we’d discovered a little spot right near his office.

He inhaled deeply and groaned. “I married exceptionally well.”

“I’d like to think so,” I joked. My phone started ringing just as I set down my bag and the food on his desk. “Crap. That might be my mom. I’m expecting her feedback on some elements of the new office design.”

“Tell her I said hello.” Colin chuckled and turned his attention back to his laptop while I fished my phone out of my handbag, smiling when I saw that I’d been right.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, snow drifted across downtown Chicago, and before I took the call, I snapped a quick picture to send so she’d be able to see what I was talking about.

“Hi, Mom,” I said. “You should see the weather today. It looks like the picture on a box of chocolates. Hang on. I’m going to send you a photo.”

I pulled the phone away, quickly clicking into our message thread and attaching the photo, speaking again even before I’d brought the device back to my ear. “Look at that! Isn’t it gorgeous?”

“It looks cold. You’re not freezing to death, are you?”

“Not yet. Colin got me a few pairs of proper boots. I’d recommend them if you’re planning a visit anytime soon.”

Ignoring the fact that he was trying to type something on a boring Excel spreadsheet, I sat down on his lap, settled against his chest, and hummed along to her worries about how I definitely hadn’t brought along enough appropriate clothing for the weather we’d been having.