Page 94 of Against the Clock

“It’s the real deal, man.I love them.I would do anything to protect them.”

He leaned back and smiled the first genuine smile I had seen from him in months.

“I’m happy for you,” he said.“Just don’t break her heart, or I’ll break your legs.”

“You’d have to catch me first,” I joked, knowing neither of us was in any condition to be chasing anyone for a while.

Mike and I sat and talked for a while, bullshitting just like we used to before everything happened.Anastasia was busy with the doctor and stayed out of his way, even though he still groaned and bellyached every time she walked by.He could deny it all he wanted, but Quinn was right—he had a thing for her.The chemistry between them reminded me of what Quinn and I had fought against until we finally gave in.

By dinner, Quinn and Rosie had cooked and made a delicious meal that just happened to be Mike’s favorite.I knew that Quinn felt guilty about Mike being shot, even though he told her repeatedly not to.Cooking seemed to be her language of love, which explained the feast before us.

Anastasia had offered to make herself a sandwich and eat outside until Quinn insisted that not only she join us for dinner but that she also sit next to Mike.I knew what she was up to and tried to bite back my laughter when Mike scowled at the suggestion.

“To friends and family,” Quinn said, lifting her glass of water in the air.Everyone raised their glasses in response before we dove into the delicious meal in front of us.It felt good to relax and know that there was no longer anything to worry about.

Epilogue

Quinn

4 Weeks Later

“Is all of this stuffgoing to fit in here?”I asked with my hand on my hip as I looked around at the boxes scattered throughout the room.

“We’ll make it,” Roman said, slipping his arm around my waist and planting a kiss on my forehead as he walked past me.

I studied all of the boxes, wondering how we had accumulated so much stuff, then remembered that not all of it was ours.Some were Roman’s, which made me feel somewhat better.Still, we had a ton of stuff we didn’t need, and now was a great time to get rid of it.

“Where do you want us to get started?”my mom asked as she walked through the front door with my sister Sonia.

“You guys didn’t have to come help us unpack.”I hugged them and looked helplessly at the mess around us.

“I live next door; it’s not like I had to go far,” my mom laughed.“Plus, we’re family, and we help out.Now, where do you want us?”

Roman and I had barely started entertaining the idea of moving in together when the house next to my mom went up for sale.It was easier than going back and forth between apartments all the time, and Rosie didn’t seem to love the constant shuffling about.Not only that, I didn’t feel comfortable in either apartment anymore, and that bothered me more than I was willing to let on.

As soon as my mom mentioned that it was on the market, we didn’t waste any time making an offer.Before we knew it, it was ours, and we were moving in.Neither of us had any issues saying goodbye to our apartments and were able to get out of our leases reasonably easily.It was New York City and there were dozens of people looking for a place to live after moving to the big city and chasing after their dreams.

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