Page 131 of Snow

Her cheeks pinkened as she realized what he was talking about. She cleared her throat. “Umm…You heard all that?”

He grinned. “I did.”

Nova looked away for a moment. He could see she was nervous, and she had no reason to be.

She looked back up at him and smiled. “Yeah. I did.”

“Good,” he replied.

“Good?” Nova asked.

Snow’s smile deepened, and he kissed her forehead. “Yeah, because I felt it all too. This thing we have going on between us is real. And I want to see where it goes. I know we have to work out some things like the distance, but…” he paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. “But I’m willing to make it work if you are.”

Nova’s lips parted slightly, as if trying to process what she was hearing. He could see all the emotions passing through her in her eyes and expression.

“Gabe…”

He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “You don’t have to say anything right now. Just know that I’m not going anywhere.”

Her eyes glistened. She lifted her head a little higher and kissed him softly. “Neither am I,” she whispered against his lips.

They shared a long look before Nova lay her head back onto his chest. And for the first time since everything had gone to hell on that rig, a sense of peace settled in Snow’s chest. She was safe, he was alive, and together they had a future to work on.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Two weeks after the nightmare on Platform Three, Nova was finally starting to feel like herself again.

Or maybe that wasn’t entirely true. The woman who had returned to Salt Lake City wasn’t quite the same one who had left.

The past two weeks had been a blur of medical appointments, interviews with federal investigators, and more phone calls than she cared to count. In between all of that, she, Sophia, Rob, and Wallace had been quietly working behind the scenes to untangle the mess their father had created. There had been documents to review, meetings with accountants and attorneys, and more than one late-night conversation that ended with one of them asking how in the hell their family had gotten this screwed up.

Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, Rick had joined them.

Which was how Nova found herself standing beside her ex-boyfriend outside the conference room at Hart and Associates, about to deliver one final surprise to both of their families.

She looked over at him. “Ready?”

Rick grinned. “I've been looking forward to this all morning.”

“That’s slightly disturbing.”

“Says the woman carrying the folder that’s about to ruin your father’s day.”

“Fair point.”

Rick reached for the door. “Shall we?”

Nova drew in a breath and nodded.

The conversation inside stopped almost immediately when they entered. Her parents were seated near the head of the conference table, with Merrick and his wife across from them. Sophia, Rob, and Wallace had claimed seats farther down, all three insisting they weren’t missing this for anything.

Her father’s reaction was exactly what Nova had expected.

Leonard smiled. Not one that said he was happy to see his daughter after she had nearly died two weeks earlier. Not that he even knew about that. No, the smug satisfaction on his face came entirely from seeing her walk into the room beside Rick.

“Well.” He leaned back in his chair. “It appears the two of you finally came to your senses.”

Rick glanced sideways at Nova.