VICTORIOUS (A Quantum Novel)(23)

“Of course they are. They’re related to you, aren’t they?”

She smiles at the compliment. “I missed so much with both of them, but we’ve promised to stay in close touch from now on. Livvy says she can visit next month when she has a long weekend.”

“We’ll set that up. You’ll see her soon.”

“We had fun at the hotel.”

“I hope you ran up a big room-service tab.”

“We sure did. Candace said if you were making us stay there and paying the bill, we ought to take full advantage.”

Laughing, I say, “I can see I need to be concerned about these new sisters-in-law of mine. They sound like characters.”

“They’re great girls, and they’re looking forward to meeting you. You’ll love them.”

“I have no doubt.” I take her by the hand. “Let’s go get comfy.” We carry our wineglasses and the nearly empty bottle to the sofa. When we’re snuggled under a warm blanket and Natalie is curled up in my arms, I rub my lips over her hair. “Talk to me about the job, Nat.”

She leads with a deep sigh. “I’d love to go back to my class and finish out the school year, but I don’t think I can.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The school announced that they’d offered my job back, and now my apartment, your place, the school… We’re overrun, and there’s a freaking blizzard going on. And they’re still staked out. For a while, when we were waiting to hear what would happen, I really thought I could go back if they asked me to and things would return to normal. But after the interview with Carolyn and the SAG Awards, I realized my normal has changed, and there’s no going back to who I was before I became your wife.”

Her words are like a spike to my heart, reminding me that while my life has changed for the better since we met, hers has been tipped upside down. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

“Please don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. I knew what I was getting into when I took you on. Well, I mostly knew…”

A laugh rumbles through me. I’m glad she can joke about the thing that nearly ruined us. I started this day wondering if I’d ever see her again, and now anything is possible.

“I’m mostly afraid that if I go back, things will get crazy again with the paparazzi surrounding the school, and the board will regret asking me back. If that happens and I have to leave again… I can’t do that to my kids, as much as I miss them and want to be with them. I can’t jerk them around like that.”

“I wish you could have everything you want and have me, too. Remember when we first met, and I tried to describe the downside to celebrity? This is it.”

“There’s something else…”

“What’s that?”

“The foundation. Ever since you asked me to be part of that, it’s all I seem to think about when I’m not thinking about you and everything that’s happened with us. I’m so excited to be involved with such a worthwhile cause, and as much as I wish I could return to my classroom, being part of the effort to address childhood hunger in this country is so exciting.”

“You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that. I knew I was asking the right person to head up this effort. You should also know that my management team has been overrun with inquiries as to whether you’re interested in modeling, acting and a wide variety of other offers, including interview requests from every major name you can think of.”

“No way.”

“Yes way. I told you you’d be in hot demand after the interview with Carolyn.”

“Wow. They really want me to model? What do I know about that?”

“They love your look, and I can’t say I blame them. I do, too. I can have my manager, Danielle, send over the most interesting offers, and you can take a look.”

“I don’t know about that, Flynn. Show business is your thing, not mine.”

I shrug. “It can be your business, too, if that’s what you want. You don’t have to decide anything right away. Focus on the foundation for now, and see what happens.”

“I suppose I could do that. It’s so weird that people know who I am and are interested in me. That’s going to take some getting used to.”

“You’ve got the rest of your life to get used to it. Take all the time you need.” I kiss her forehead and then her cheek. “Is it okay to say that I’m thrilled and relieved that we won’t be spending any time on opposite coasts?”