Page 93 of Life After

“I love you, too.” Suzanne regarded Jen with an understanding smile. At one time, the slightest thing could have broken them in those weeks leading on from their breakup, but Suzanne would be forever grateful to Jen for giving her another chance. A final chance. Because Suzanne sure as hell wouldn’t mess it up again. “Your call earlier,” she said, searching Jen’s eyes. “Did you get the closure you were seeking?”

“I…yes.” Jen rolled off Suzanne and cuddled into her. “It’s something I’ve been waiting a long time for.”

“I know it doesn’t change anything in terms of Ruby’s loss, but I’m glad you got that closure.” Suzanne turned in bed, almost nose to nose with Jen. She reached for the cover and brought it up over them. “You seem different tonight.”

“I know. Ifeeldifferent. Less anxious about things.” Jen brushed her nose against Suzanne’s, smiling as they gazed at one another. “I think that I had to go through everything I went through to see the good in life again.”

“Maybe.”

“Well, if I hadn’t lost everything, I wouldn’t have worked the job I did and then met you. If I was still at Longmere Primary, I’d have no reason to be over this side of town…and I wouldn’t have knocked on your door.”

Suzanne draped an arm over Jen’s hip and stroked her fingers across the small of her back. Tonight, she wanted to stay in this position. Uninterrupted and incredibly in love. “It’s hard to believe we’re here like this, just from that simple knock at the door.”

“I think taking the courier job was the best decision of my life.” It meant a lot to Suzanne to know Jen felt that way. But more than anything, Suzanne was incredibly proud of how Jen had picked herself up and kept her head. “I thought I had it all when I was with Lizzie. And yes, I had the house and the job and those things we all desire growing up, but here with you…thisis having it all. Having you is more than anything else I could ask for in this world.”

Suzanne swallowed down the emotion in her throat. When she looked at Jen, she still saw the youthfulness. But deep down, Jen had been through so much that not having everything in terms of the tangible meant very little to her. Love was what she wanted, and between them, they had it in bucketloads. “You have a beautiful heart, and I feel privileged to be the one who holds it.”

“And it’llneverbelong to anyone else, babe. It’s all yours.” Jen kissed the tip of Suzanne’s nose and sighed. “Life is good. Don’t you think?”

“Oh, life is very good.” Suzanne squeezed Jen’s hip and closed her eyes. She just needed a few minutes, and then she should probably start dinner. “Butyouare even better.”

Epilogue

Jen stoppeddead as she walked through the door to the room Suzanne had hired for Ruby’s charity event. Even though Jen had agreed that Suzanne could decide on the venue and decorate it, she hadn’t expected…this. Thank God she was on her own right now because she was sure her eyes were bulging out of her head. Suzanne had gone above and beyond.

She moved further into the enormous room and slowly spun around, taking in every detail. The intricacy was impressive, but Jen knew Suzanne would likely pull out all the stops when it came to the design. Jen had expected something minimal yet beautiful, and that’s what she had, only it was so much more. The neutral pastel colours complemented each other, while the huge sheer drapes hanging from the ceiling and gathered in each corner gave the room a little more sophistication.

Oh, this is incredible.

Jen relaxed her shoulders and smiled as she approached the centrepiece of the night. A portrait of Ruby. It sat amongst a mass of white roses and gypsy grass, her bright white smile beaming back at Jen. She didn’t cry when she saw pictures of Ruby anymore, and that was down to the wonderful support she had received from Suzanne over the last several months. Jen was in therapy—Suzanne had put her in touch with her grief counsellor—and her headspace was so drastically different now that she found it hard to do anything other than smile when she thought about her best friend.

As she inhaled a deep breath and turned away from Ruby’s picture, Suzanne was standing in the doorway wearing the most incredible white gown.Jesus Christ. Jen’s palms became clammy as she smiled back at her girlfriend, the idea that this was her life now quite startling. “Babe, this is stunning.Youlook stunning.”

Suzanne crossed the room and took Jen’s hand. They gazed into one another’s eyes for a moment or two, and then Suzanne pulled Jen against her. “I wanted it to be perfect. Ithadto be perfect. For youandfor Ruby.”

“She’d love this. She really would.” Jen hung her arms loosely around Suzanne’s neck and grazed her nails against her skin. “No matter what you’d done here, it was always going to turn out perfect.”

“Thank you for putting your trust in me. I know how much this event means to you.” Suzanne touched her forehead to Jen’s and smiled. “Everything is ready. You don’t need to stress about anything at all.”

“Seriously?” Jen’s brows rose as she drew back a little. “Everything?”

“Mmhmm. Everything.”

“I can’t believe you’ve done all of this for me. I know I asked you to get involved, but you’ve taken care of it all and I don’t know how to thank you.”

“No thanks needed. I love you and I wanted to do this.” Suzanne dipped her head and kissed the tip of Jen’s nose. “And may I say, you look very dapper this evening.”

Jen had opted for a tailor-made suit for the event. She’d snuck off one afternoon when Suzanne was at the office and had her fitting, and now here she was…revealing it to her. “Thanks. This is the first time I’ve really looked forward to a night out like this. I wanted to treat myself and look good with you.”

Suzanne’s brows drew together. “Baby, you always look good.”

“Not this good.” Jen smirked as she lowered her arms from around Suzanne’s neck and snaked one around her waist instead. “And tonight is the night when ninety percent of the people I know will meet you for the first time.”

“Then I hope I do you proud.”

Jen’s heart swelled at that. She had been proud of Suzanne from the moment they’d got together. “I’m not worried. Neither of us have anything to prove to anyone. That in itself makes me proud to be with you.” Jen glanced around again. “Lyn is going to be beside herself when she sees what you’ve done here.”

“Catering will be here and set up by nine.”

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