Page 74 of Taken from Her
"Shared living arrangements?"
"Your apartment or my houseboat. Or something new that belongs to both of us." Lavender felt excitement building as possibility took shape. "The houseboat is too small for two people long-term, but I love living on the water. Your apartment's practical but doesn't quite feel like home."
Diana leaned forward. "What would feel like home?"
"Space for both of us to work. A kitchen where we can cook together. Room for Saffron and Basil to claim their territory. Views of the harbor but also the community." Lavender's voice carried growing certainty. "Somewhere that feels like an extension of what we've built together instead of a compromise between what we had separately."
"That sounds..." Diana paused, testing the words. "That sounds like planning a future."
"Isn’t that what we're doing?"
"I think so." Diana's smile was tentative but genuine. "I want to wake up next to you more mornings than not. I want to solve cases with your insights and facilitate community meetings with your emotional intelligence. I want to build something that makes both of us better."
Lavender felt tears threaten from overwhelming recognition that they were choosing each other, not just for now but for whatever came next.
"What about the work? Your department, my café, and the collaborative approach we've developed?"
"We keep building on it." Diana's voice carried professional excitement alongside personal commitment.
"Even when it's complicated?"
"Especially when it's complicated." Diana leaned closer, her free hand finding Lavender's cheek. "Simple never taught us anything worth knowing."
"The community will have expectations. About us, about what our relationship means for Phoenix Ridge's future."
"Let them. We'll exceed every expectation because we're stronger together than apart." Diana's certainty was absolute. "Whatever comes next, we face it as partners."
Lavender leaned into Diana's touch, feeling the last of her emotional walls dissolve. Not the protective barriers that kept her safe during community crises, but the personal defenses that had prevented her from believing she could have both meaningful work and deep love.
"I'm in love with you," she said, the words carrying weight beyond previous declarations. "Not just attracted, not just grateful for what we've built. I'm completely, permanently, build-a-life-together in love with you."
"I'm in love with you too." Diana's voice was steady, certain. "I want everything. Shared mornings, collaborative work, community that accepts us as family, and a future that honors both our commitments."
Lavender closed her eyes, absorbing the certainty in Diana's voice and the recognition that they'd survived not just external threats but internal fears about their compatibility and sustainability.
When she opened her eyes, Diana was studying her face with an expression that carried both tenderness and determination.
"What are you thinking?" Lavender asked.
"That I've never wanted anything the way I want this. A shared purpose and life that serves something larger than my own achievements." Diana's smile was soft but fierce. "I want to love you and serve this community for the next thirty years."
"Thirty years?"
"At least. Maybe forty if we take good care of ourselves."
Lavender laughed, the sound carrying joy and possibility. "That sounds like a plan worth making."
"Then let's make it."
Outside the hospital windows, Phoenix Ridge stretched toward the harbor where their life together waited. Not just resumed routines, but new territory built on everything they'd discovered about partnership, collaboration, and the courage required to love someone completely while serving something larger than themselves.
The monitoring equipment continued its steady beeping, but Lavender barely heard it anymore. All her attention focused on the woman beside her and the future they were finally ready to build together.
The evening shift brought unexpected visitors. Lavender heard familiar voices in the hallway—not just community members this time, but the distinct cadence of police radio chatter and the efficient footsteps of people accustomed to tactical coordination.
Diana looked up from her tablet where she'd been reviewing discharge paperwork. "Sounds like my team."
"And mine," Lavender added, recognizing Georgia's authoritative tone directing what sounded like an impromptu logistics operation.
