Winter Solstice in St. Nacho's (St. Nacho's #5) - Z.A. Maxfield Page 0,98

he released me. “Oh my.”

His smug, happy smile broadened. “We have all the time in the world, right?”

“Mmmhmm.” I let my fingers drift over the sharp curve of his cheek. “All the time in the world.”

Epilogue

Winter Solstice, one year later

Minerva’s mechanical snowstorm quickly became a St. Nacho’s legend, prompting the St. Nacho’s city council to propose a second event the following year. Due to an unlikely attack of common sense, I wore leather combat boots and thick socks.

Thuong had volunteered to help with the audio equipment, but we were expecting him to join us. So much had changed in the single year I’d been in St. Nacho’s, I could hardly fathom it.

The biggest change? Echo and Gayle had called in their favor. Thanks to a really, really embarrassing couple of trips to their house in early January, and science, or something—I didn’t need to know—Gayle had a baby with Echo’s family’s DNA. My DNA. Oh my god.

Born on Halloween, Elvira Rose—Ellie—was on schedule to be the most frequently fought over and spoiled baby in all the land.

“Let me hold her for a while. You’ve hogged her all night.” Giving Gayle and Echo a sheepish grin, I placed the baby in my mother’s arms.

“We’d better get her back pretty soon.” Gayle’s eyes were maternally fierce. “She needs to nurse.”

“No problem,” Mom said. “I just want to make sure she knows her auntie loves her. You know that, right sweetheart? Auntie loves you.”

As if Gayle’s words had held some incantation, Ellie started to fuss. Mom sighed.

“Okay, baby.” Mom let Gayle take her. “Don’t fret. There you go.”

Echo looked on fondly as Gayle expertly slipped Ellie a boob. Echo draped a shawl over baby and nursing mother for the sake of warmth, not privacy. Gayle had no fucks to give when nursing, more power to her. Hungry babies came first in our family.

I looked up to see Thuong ambling over, more handsome than I’d ever seen him, which seemed to be a daily thing. How did he just keep getting better and better? Dressed head to toe in black—boots, jeans, turtleneck, peacoat, and beret, for God’s sake—he was a cross between a cat burglar and a member of the French resistance. He’d filled out, and the haunted pallor he’d worn for close to a year was entirely gone.

Healthy and fit, he was attending classes at the local college—which featured a school of culinary arts and hotel management—while also apprenticing with Yasha Livingston at Bêtise. I’d worried in the beginning because so much of the program necessitated an intimate knowledge of wine and spirits, but as far as I knew he hadn’t run into problems.

As far as I knew.

I smiled when he reached for me.

Did I trust him? That was a loaded question. A part of me would always maintain awareness. Life could be full of danger for someone like him. He was only one pill away, one line, one ground-up, burning bit of dust away from the cliff.

But I believed in him. I believed he’d communicate honestly, do his best, and work hard to maintain his sobriety. We both attended meetings, sometimes daily. He’d been sober for eighteen months so far. Most of the time, I was in awe of him.

“You know what?” he said. “I don’t mind missing this if you want to go home.”

I raised my brows. “Really?”

“I’m exhausted.”

I could see that. He’d done his usual shift at Bêtise and worked all afternoon to help Minerva.

“Okay.” We made our goodbyes to my family, who we were meeting for brunch the following day. “Night.”

Well-wishes followed us across the open lawn.

As we had the year before, we rode his scooter home. This year, home was one we shared—a tiny bungalow we’d asked Ken Ashton to find for us. Close to the beach, close to Minerva’s place, it had been a major fixer-upper. But I knew just what to do, and over the months that we’d owned it, we’d had the most important things repaired or replaced. The big rocks, as Thuong liked to say.

Thuong parked the scooter in the driveway. We took off our helmets and walked together to the front porch. Thuong used his key to let us inside before taking my hand and pulling me in for a scorching kiss.

“I’ve been looking forward to that all day,” he said once he let me go.

I took in a deep lungful of sea air and Thuong’s citrus and amber cologne, along with the fragrance that was only Thuong these days. Butter, sugar, vanilla,