Page 554 of End Game

Still uncertain.

“But I think I understand what you've been trying to tell me.”

I glance across the room. “They make my life better.”

She nods.

“And Macey?”

The question catches me by surprise.

“Macey fit the life everybody thought I was going to have.”

Mom looks down. “You loved her, though.”

“I did.”

“And Cami?”

I watch my wife laugh when Dex nearly drops a stack of plates and Micah catches them before they hit the floor.

I can’t help but smile. “I love her in a very different and more intense way. Cami fits the life I actually have.”

Mom follows my gaze.

Not just to Cami.

To all of them.

“Oh.” That's all she says.

It feels like enough.

Luke passes us on the way to the fridge. “For what it's worth, Mom, I think his odds are better than mine were.”

“Luke.”

“What? It's true.”

She sighs.

I laugh.

A little later, she hugs everyone goodbye.

Even Dex.

He looks absurdly pleased with himself.

When the front door closes, the house falls quiet for about three seconds.

Then Cami climbs directly into my lap on the couch. “You survived.”

“So did you.”

Micah drops onto the couch beside us.

Ronan takes his usual spot.