Page 39 of Falling for the Recluse

My throat is so tight it hurts. “Ours?”

“I bought her for you.” He finally closes the distance between us and reaches out to take my hands, crushing the paper. “Forus.I want you to be able to do whatever you want, visit any penguin colony in the Antarctic or the world. I’ll move up here to be with you when you’re in school, and when you have a break, we can either join a polar expedition on the ship, or we can plan one of our own. We can go back to Needle Island or any of the other penguin colonies. If you do an independent study semester next fall, we can live either on the island or the ship. Maybe both. And after you graduate, wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, I’ll be there. I need you to…tosurvive.Like fire needs oxygen.”

He grips my hands harder. Faint desperation darkens his beautiful eyes.

“Say yes.” His throat works with a swallow. “I love you, Josie. I’m sorry I was such an ass. I’ll spend my life making it up to you.”

I blink back the tears. My entire soul floods with warmth and unbearable, aching love. “Gavin. I love you too.” I untangle my hand from his and press my palm to his chest. “I’ve loved you from the minute I saw you stomping down the dock toward me like a big, angry bear. And every day since then, I’ve loved you more. Yes. Of course.Yes.”

A smile breaks over his face, filling his eyes with light and hope. With a laugh, he hauls me into his arms and kisses me hard, our lips fitting together seamlessly, our bodies attaching like magnets. It’s a warm, long kiss, submerging us both in the promise and happiness of our shared future. When we finally separate, it’s as if the summer sun is washing over us, banishing all shadows and darkness.

I unclench my hand from the paper and smooth it out, then notice a list of stats on the back—the length, weight, cargo volume, endurance…and the ship’s name.

The Josie Rose.

My breath catches. “You named the ship after me?”

“I wasn’t going to name her anything else.” He picks up Oswald and shoots me a grin. “I talked to your parents under strict secrecy. They told me your middle name and invited us to visit them over the holidays. Your mother is already planning to make your favorite cookies.”

“Oh, Gavin.” Fresh tears fill my eyes. “I never want to be without you.”

“You never will be.” He lowers his head to kiss me again. “After all, your wish is my command.”

Epilogue One

JOSIE

One year later

The ship breaksthrough the ice belt covering the surface of the sea, the steel-reinforced hull carving a path toward the continent. Icebergs float like huge sculptures on either side of it, and the sun shines through a thick layer of fog and mist.

I focus the binoculars on three penguins waddling across an ice floe. Flapping their wings, they dive one by one into the white-capped water while skuas soar overhead against the ash-gray sky. In the distance, a massive glacier looms like the gateway to an enchanted kingdom.

Despite the freezing wind, a rush of warmth fills me. I lower the binoculars and move closer to Gavin as he comes up beside me at the railing. He puts his arm across my shoulders, hugging me to his side.

“One more day.” He presses his lips to my temple. “Ready?”

“Always.” I smile and set the binoculars down so I can wrap both arms around his waist. Even through the layers of our clothes and thick parkas, his body heat flows into me.

I’m both excited and nervous about our next adventure—a two-month trip with a group of other researchers to the continental glacier. After unloading all the equipment and cargo, the crew and scientists will stay at a research base located on anunatak,a flat-topped ridge protruding from the glacier.

Gavin will be teaming up with geologists and physicists to study ice samples and cores, while I’ll work on an independent study with two marine biologists studying emperor and chinstrap penguin colonies.

Before we launchedThe Josie Rosefrom New Zealand two weeks ago, Gavin and I were a little cautious about living and working with thirty other people. But as it turns out, we both enjoy the camaraderie and collaboration.

Between the labs, common areas, rec rooms, sauna, gym, offices, and cabins, the ship is large enough to allow for plenty of personal space. Plus, we have our own private cabin, which affords us a retreat away from others when we need it.

The Rimrock Research Station on the Antarctic continent is much bigger than the ship, so I’m no longer worried about things being crowded. And after the glacier trip, Gavin and I are going back to Needle Island…alone.

“Come on.” He wraps his other arm around me and nuzzles my hair. “Dinner’s ready.”

We walk to the dining room, where our fellow seafaring scientists are lining up for a serve-yourself meal of multiple kinds of pasta, bread, vegetables, and desserts. Gavin was adamant that the food should be of the highest quality, and the chefs onboardThe Josie Rosealready have a reputation for being among the best.

We eat at long communal tables where the conversation ranges from recent research topics to theories about UFOs to debates about Star Wars vs. Star Trek. After dinner, we play a few games of pool and watch an Indiana Jones movie that a grad student brought on DVD. It’s close to midnight before Gavin and I return to our cabin.

“C’mere, Mrs. Stark,” he mutters gruffly, pulling me into his arms almost before the door closes fully.

With a smile, I wrap my arms around his neck and stand on my tiptoes to accept his kiss. Right before launching the ship, we were married by the ship’s captain in a ceremony that included everyone onboard as well as a whole slate of researchers and scientists from the New Zealand Antarctic Research Center.

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