Unbreakable (City Lights, #2)(116)

“I think your mommy is looking for something that she lost a long time ago.”

“What did she lose?”

“Only she knows that. It’s something inside her that we can’t see. But it’s very important to her that she find it, and no one can come with her while she looks. Not her friends, not your daddy, and…not you.”

Tears leaked from Callie’s dark eyes but she was listening intently, desperately.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s something she has to do by herself. For a long time, she wanted to go and look, but she didn’t want to leave you. She tried to stay to take care of you because she loves you so very much, but the need to find what she had lost was too strong. She had to go, no matter how much it hurt her. Or you.”

“It does hurt,” Callie said, looking away. “They all know her at my school. All the kids are going to make fun of me when they find out. They’ll laugh at me for having a mom who left.”

“No one is going to make fun of you,” I said with sudden fierceness, pain squeezing my heart. “You’re going to live here from now on and that means you get to go to a brand new school.”

“I’m going to live here? A…a new school?”

“That’s right. No one has to know anything but what you tell them. That will be up to you.”

“Are you going to be my new mommy, Alex?” she asked, so hopeful, so guileless.

I sucked in a breath, willing myself not to cry, afraid she’d mistake my tears for sadness instead of joy. “I’m going to be here for you, Callie, however you need me to be. How’s that sound?”

“Really good,” Callie said. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but her eyes were getting heavy. “That sounds really good.”

I sat with her, stroking her hair, until her breathing was deep and even. When I was sure she was asleep I slipped out, left the door cracked, and joined Cory in the living room.

He leaned against the couch, his eyes full as he watched me move to him. “It’s not the same, you know. Having a little kid around all the time. Not just weekends or over a holiday…It’s a big change. And God, Alex, you’ve already given me so much.”

I slipped into his arms. “Not everything. Not enough. And I want her here. I want you here. I want all of it.”

“You do?”

I nodded. “You saved my life…”

“Alex—”

“No, I’m not talking about the bank. You saved my life there, true, but then you did it again. And again. Over and over. Every day since, you saved my life, rescued me from my old one, and I…” My voice cracked, and I clutched him tightly. “I love you. I love you so much. I tried to tell myself it was anything and everything else because I was scared, because what I feel for you has no end. I didn’t fall in love with you, Cory, I’m still falling, deeper and deeper, every day. So thank you. Thank you for saving my life and giving me a new one that is so rich. So full of love.”

He brushed the hair from my eyes. “Of all your speeches, that one is my favorite.”

I laughed through a sob, and then his lips were warm and sweet on mine and I melted against him, and that sense of pure contentment washed over me. And to think I almost lost this.

Cory gently broke our kiss. “You look so beautiful tonight.”

“Oh, this dress?” I smoothed down the red satin. “Yeah, it’s a bit much—”

“Not the dress. When you were talking to my girl, comforting her, easing her pain. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.”

He kissed me again and a sweeping joy filled me with the realization that he was my life now, and I could kiss him any time I wanted, with no guilt, no doubt. Just love.

We settled on the couch, in case Callie needed us. He lay down and pulled me to him, engulfing me in his strong arms. My head rested on his chest, the steady rhythm of his heart beat in my ear, counting the moments of his life. I wanted to sleep every night with that steady pulse in my ear, and wake up every morning to his beautiful face, and kiss him, and tell him I loved him. Him and no one else.

He stroked my hair and took my hand in his. Our fingers entwined in a bond of fragile flesh and bone, so easily torn apart. Only we knew otherwise.

He and I, we were unbreakable.





Epilogue Part I


Cory, three weeks later…



I answered the front door on a September afternoon, and a woman flew into my arms.

“Cory!”

I stumbled back as Amita Patel threw her arms around me in a cloud of expensive perfume, and kissed me noisily on the cheek. For a moment, the robbery came back to me like a huge slap in the face, but it faded quickly. It was losing its power over Alex and me both.

“What are you doing here?”

Over Amita’s shoulder I saw a plump Indian man in a suit that probably cost more than my truck. Two men flanked him, earpieces in their ears and dark sunglasses, and a black sedan was parked at the curb in front of the bungalow.

“Cory, this is my father, Indra Patel.”

The man stepped forward and extended a bejeweled hand. “Mr. Bishop,” he said, his accent thick, “you are a difficult man to track down.”

“I am? Uh, please, sorry. Come in.” I ushered them inside. “Would you like a drink, or something to eat?”