Page 153 of Dial L for Lawyer
"Yeah. I am." I watch through the kitchen window as Serena moves around, completely at home and humming to herself. "I know what I want now. A life, a business, a future. All of it."
"With her."
"With her. With you. With Michaela." I pause. "With whoever else comes along."
David raises an eyebrow. "Anyone in particular you're thinking of?"
I give him a half smile. "Maybe some little Michaelas of my own. Maybe you'll find a Serena of yours."
"Oh god. Don't even?—"
Serena appears in the doorway before he can bemoan the idea of dating again. "Dinner's in twenty minutes. And by dinner I mean grilled cheese and tomato soup because that's apparently all your kitchen is stocked with."
"That sounds perfect," I tell her, pulling her in for a kiss and losing myself completely.
Later, after dinner and after Michaela's been tucked into bed with promises of more swimming tomorrow, Serena and I walk down to the dock. The lake is mirror-still, reflecting the stars like scattered diamonds.
"So," she says, settling beside me on the weathered wood, "Kingsley and Kingsley. I like it."
"Think we can make it work?"
"I think you and David can do anything you set your minds to." She leans against my shoulder. "Besides, you'll have the best crisis management consultant in Chicago on retainer."
"Among other things."
She tilts her head to look at me. "What other things am I?"
"My partner. My best friend. The woman who saved my life." I wrap my arm around her, pulling her closer. "The woman I'm going to marry someday."
"Someday?"
"When you're ready. When we're ready. When the time is right."
She's quiet for a moment, her fingers tracing patterns on my chest. "You know what I realized today?"
"What?"
"The time is always right with you. Everything else—the timing, the circumstances, the practical stuff—none of it matters as much as just being with you."
"Is that your way of saying yes to a hypothetical future proposal?"
"That's my way of saying I love our life, Caleb. All of it. Your family, your dreams, your terrible cannonballs. I still hate the beach, but I love this lake." She laughs softly. "I love that we're building something together. The firm, our relationship, this future we keep talking about."
"I love it too," I tell her, kissing her lightly on the shoulder. "Just like I love you.
I kiss her properly then, soft and slow under the starlight, tasting the promise of everything we're building together. When we break apart, she's smiling that smile that still stops my heart every single time.
"Ready to go inside?" she asks.
Instead of answering, I stand and scoop her up in my arms, making her laugh as I carry her back toward the house. Her arms wind around my neck, and she presses her face into the curve of my shoulder.
"What are you doing?" she asks, but her voice is warm with laughter and something deeper.
"Taking my future wife to bed," I tell her, climbing the steps to the deck. "I have plans for you, Serena Morgan."
"Do you now?"
"I do." I pause at the sliding door, looking down at her in my arms. "Plans that involve showing you exactly how much I love this life we've built."
