Great. Did she have to choose the one place in DC that reminded me of Noah?

Me: Okay. I’ll be there in 20.

On the cab over to the memorial, I wondered how different things would have been if he had kissed me that day. But no matter how I tried to see our story play out another way, I couldn’t. Our timing wasn’t the problem. His feelings were.

But I paid the driver, promising myself there would be no tears today. As I walked toward the fountain, I vowed to put Noah McCormick out of my head, even if it was only for twenty-four hours. Stepping onto the stone plaza bordered by granite pillars and book-ended by two victory arches, I took a deep breath and looked around for my sister.

Since it was a weekend, the memorial was fairly crowded. It was a little chilly today, so I tightened my scarf and stuck my hands in my coat pockets to get them out of the wind. Searching the groups of tourists from one end of the memorial to the other, I didn’t see anyone resembling April. I was about to pull out my phone and call her when I saw a man about ten feet away who reminded me of Noah. The same short, dark hair. The same broad shoulders. The same solid stance.

My breath caught as the similarities piled up.

The same chiseled jaw covered in scruff.

The same fire in his eyes as he moved toward me.

The same deep voice as he spoke my name.

My jaw dropped. “Noah?”

“God, I almost forgot how beautiful you are.” Without another word, he took my head in his hands, and kissed me full on the lips.

Someone in the crowd whistled.

I pulled back. “What are you doing here?” My heart was beating so fast.

“I came to slay a dragon.”

“What?”

“I came to fight for you, Meg. I never should have let you go in the first place.”

Tears filled my eyes.

His thumbs brushed across my cheekbones as he spoke quietly but forcefully. “Years ago when we stood right here, I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to tell you what you meant to me and take you in my arms. I wanted to tell you to wait for me, that I’d come back for you.”

“You said—you said you couldn’t be sure you’d even come back. I remember.” The tears started to fall.

“I was scared. And stupid. I didn’t think you wanted me, and I knew I didn’t deserve you.”

“Oh, Noah.” I shivered, but I wasn’t cold anymore. “I did want you.”

“Let me tell you what I want.” He spoke quietly but forcefully. “I want the chance to make you happy. I want to be the only one you’ll ever love. And I will fight like hell every single day of my life to deserve it.”

“Really?”

“Really.” He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I love you, Meg. I want to be your hero again.”

“You were always my hero, Noah.” I looked up at him. “And you always will be.”

He crushed his mouth to mine as we wrapped our arms around each other, oblivious to the howl of the wind or the hoots of the crowd or the rush of the fountains bedside us.

It was just Noah and me, starting our forever.

Finally.

“I still can’t believe you’re really here.” I was lying next to Noah in his hotel bed, an arm and a leg thrown over his torso, our skin warm and damp.

“I’m here.”

“Tell me again how you managed this.”

He laughed. “I’ve told you like ten times.”

“I know, but I love the story. And I need to memorize it to tell our grandchildren.”

“Christ, I’ve got grandchildren already?”

I giggled. “Not yet. Relax. And tell me again.”

“Well, I didn’t manage it all on my own. I had help.” He kissed the top of my head.

“From who?”

“April was a key player. I called her and explained the situation, and she was more than happy to help me plot and plan.”

“I love April,” I said with a sigh. “Although I can’t believe she kept the secret from me.”

“And then there was Nina. A conversation with her—in which she basically kicked my ass for being a stubborn jerk—prompted me to reach out to April. Also, Nina gave me her number.”

“Sisters are the best.”

“And Asher. Seeing him assert more control over his life has been amazing. He’s the strongest, bravest person I know. I realized I want to be more like him.”

“That might be my favorite part. I think we can all learn from Asher.”

“Definitely. And what’s crazy is that as much as I’ve tried all my life to protect and defend him, I’ve done a shitty job of really listening to him. Of treating him like I would any other brother. Which is really what he wants—not to be pitied or babied or so protected that he can’t fail. He wants the chance to make mistakes, to fall down sometimes. Who are we to keep that from him?”

I kissed his chest. “And your mom is on board?”

“She has to be. Asher is a grown man capable of making his own decisions. He’s conflict-averse, and he needed my help to get the conversation started, but they’ve been discussing it more. He showed her all the research he did, and apparently there are some new places that have opened up within an hour’s drive of where he works. They’re going to check them out this week.”

“That’s awesome.”

“I can’t say she’s excited about it, but I do think she’s coming around.”

“Has she talked about traveling?”

“Still working on that.”

I squeezed him. “Give her time. Things are okay between you and her? Sounds like it was a pretty big fight.”

“Oh yeah. We’re fine. She and I are a lot alike—we’ve got a temper, and we can blow up, but we don’t hold on to being mad too long. It took us about a week to cool off and see things from one another’s point of view, and we needed Nina to sort of mediate things at first, but we hugged it out. She’s even watching Renzo for me while I’m here.”

“Good.”

“It helped that I was coming here to try and win you back. She was beside herself.”

I laughed. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, I believe her exact words were something like, ‘O most gracious Virgin Mary, thank you for not forsaking me.’”

“She prayed to the Virgin Mary for this?” I winced, looking down at our nakedness. “Doesn’t seem right.”

“Whatever. If she sees this as the answer to her prayers, so be it.” He rolled on top of me, his hips over mine. “It’s definitely the answer to mine.”

I grinned, wrapping my arms and legs around him. “Mine too. Think Asher can help me find a place to live?”

“I think he’d love that.” He lowered his lips to mine. “And you know you can stay with me while you look. Don’t feel like you have to have everything perfectly in place before you come home.”

“Thanks. I am working on trying to loosen my attachment to perfectionism.”

“As someone who is definitely far from perfect, I fully support that effort.”

“And I do want to move back sooner rather than later.” I kissed his jaw, rubbing my lips along his scruffy chin. “I missed you so much.”