Page 76 of Ruining His Smirk

When he spoke, his voice was so rough that it was worse than when he had swallowed seawater. “I didn’t know anybody could like all of me.”

The confession entered me with a force I couldn’t have anticipated.

My thumb rested against the roughness of his cheek. Beneath my other hand, his chest continued its uneven rise and fall.

“I always thought there’d be some part of me I’d have to apologize for.” He swallowed. “The way I am. The way I…” His breath caught, forcing him to begin again. “I’ve spent years thinking I was always going to be too much for somebody.”

“Oh, love.” I pulled him flush against me.

His next words were quiet. “I think I finally found a home in you.”

Everything inside me melted. There was no other word for it. My heart, my bones, every last part of me that had survived all the ugliness in the world, seemed to soften at once.

After a long moment, Garrett asked, “How much time until the probe returns?”

I checked the readouts. “About fifteen minutes. Why?”

He shifted, and that’s when I noticed he was rock hard. “Was wonderin’ if you still wanted to go through with your idea of a second duel with different swords.”

My mouth fell open in shock and delight. “Oh, you’re absolutely the man of my dreams.”

20

Epilogue - Part 1

Three months later

March 9th

It was the end of the Antarctic summer season and with it came the end of all research projects. Every year research stations bustled with life at the start of austral summer, filling with scientists, engineers, tradespeople, pilots, medics, and support crews. For a few brief months, isolated buildings became crowded communities full of active projects and people.

Then the season closed before austral winter could begin.

As a continent that had no native population, Antarctica was unique in that every year, the majority of the people returned home, leaving behind only a skeleton crew at the research station—the brave men and women who would weather the harsh winter and keep the buildings running.

Our ship was heading back to the continental States, but first we were making a stop at Waypoint to collect the skeleton of the humpback I had discovered, and to collect the man who had become the center of my universe.

Light snow drifted across the deck, where I stood near the bow with my gloved hands wrapped around the railing and watched Waypoint Research Station grow larger as our ship approached the shoreline. The wind caught the flurries and swept them sideways over the rail, where they vanished into the dark water below.

A full-size ship was already docked beside the station. My gaze swept over the cluster of orange corrugated buildings Garrett had called home for years. There was a flurry of activity underway. People dressed in the signature heavy red parkas known as Big Reds crossed between the station and the ship, looking like little red ants scurrying about amidst the white expanse.

“Is that the barge that will carry your skeleton?” Keith asked from beside me, pointing his gloved hand towards the big ship.

A broad, low platform floated alongside the vessel. A crane moved cargo from the land onto the ship’s deck, but the platform was empty, and nothing was currently being loaded onto it.

“I think so.”

“I didn’t realize what a logistics nightmare it would be to transport the skeleton back to the States.”

“Neither did I.” I brushed the snow from my face. “I feel so stupid now. I was so focused on getting it to the surface. When Garrett explained the scope of the task—transporting an eighty-foot skeleton, without disturbing it, over thousands of miles across the ocean, I thought we would never be able to take it back. Even towing it to Waypoint seemed herculean.”

“Your boyfriend has truly impressive skills. That container he designed was a genius move.” I felt pride sweep through meas he continued talking. “I’d pictured the skeleton being raised on some kind of platform. I thought we would all get to see it emerge from the depths.”

I chuckled. “So did I. When Garrett explained that he planned to cover up the whole thing, sediment and all, inside his custom container, right there on the ocean bed, I was shocked. But then I realized it was the only way to make sure it doesn’t get damaged.”

“Yeah. At that time, though, we were bummed. Instead of seeing the skeleton exposed, what we saw was like raising a coffin. We didn’t even get to see what it looked like before it got sealed away.”

“You will, though, once it’s cleaned up, thoroughly studied, and ready for display.”