Epilogue 1
NEW YEAR’S EVE
brIDGET
When I blinked my eyes open, my head was nestled into Cole’s warm shoulder, and my grandmother’s soft zigzag blanket was pulled up to my chin. But the hard sofa digging into my hip reminded me we were at Cole’s place. I shifted to find a more comfortable spot on his rock of a couch.
“Hey there,” he rumbled. The television over the fireplace played a sports recap show.
“I guess I fell asleep.” My chin felt suspiciously cool when I lifted it from his shoulder. I swiped the wetness from my skin, but there was nothing I could do about the spot on his T-shirt. “Sorry I drooled on you.”
“Don’t worry about it. You needed your rest after I kept you up all night.” He stroked his hand down my arm and twined his fingers with mine.
When I recalled what we’d gotten up to last night after Caitlyn went home to Zara’s, electricity buzzed across my skin. I turned my face away to hide my blush. “What time is it?”
“Almost time for the ball drop in New York. Want to watch it?”
“Really?” I nodded toward the TV. “You don’t have a game you want to watch?”
“I’ll catch the highlights tomorrow. I bet you’ve watched the ball drop every New Year’s Eve since you were a kid.”
“How’d you know?” I plucked the remote from his hand and flicked through the channels.
“You’re all about traditions. And nostalgia,” he added when I stopped on Tony Danza’s face.
I sat up straight to give the show my full attention. “God, I loved Who’s the Boss? Look at how confident Judith Light is.”
He snorted. “Look at those shoulder pads.”
“Sure, it’s a time capsule, but Angela was a fantastic role model. I’d never seen a woman boss before.”
“Never?”
Solemnly, I shook my head. “It was rare back in the ’80s.
Like, even the title is a joke. A man and a woman are living together, and she’s the one with the big job, while he’s the caregiver.
Ha ha.” I set down the remote. “My parents followed the traditional gender roles, and that worked for them, but watching Angela was eye-opening. She had a job and a house. She was a great mom, but she didn’t feel obligated to try to do it all.
She hired Tony to help with her son and the house so she could kick ass at work. ”
“Seems like a no-brainer to hire a housekeeper and a nanny.”
“To a guy, sure. But women, even today, feel so much guilt about the trade-offs of motherhood. Like my sisters. They want to advance at work, but they also want to be the ones to stay home and care for the kids when they’re sick.
That’s why I…” I bit my lip and stared at Cole’s face, clocking his neutral expression.
“Why you didn’t have kids of your own?” he finished for me. Gently, he asked, “Did you want kids?”
My chest tightened. There was no right answer to that one. How many guys had argued with me about how I should prioritize having a family, especially as my fertility ticked down like the enormous digital clock in New York? “Yes. But not more than I wanted to succeed at my job.” I held my breath.
“Fair.” He nodded. “I might have made a similar decision if Zara hadn’t wanted a baby.”
“What about now? Do you want more kids?” I scanned his expression for any hint of how he felt about it.
“I love Caitlyn, and she’s plenty for me. She’s a big fan of yours.” He stroked my hair. “You could be the Angela to her Alyssa Milano, if you want the job.”
My insides went all gooey. “I’d love to be her role model.”
“Someday, when you’re ready, we can talk about you becoming her stepmom.”
My heart rate kicked up. “What?”
He squeezed my hand. “When you’re ready.”
“O-okay.” A few days ago, I’d hated Cole’s guts. Hell, for the better part of a year, I’d despised him. And now we were talking about marriage?
“I can see this is moving a little too fast for you.” He stroked my cheek. “We’ve got time. And if you want a baby…”
“No, I’m good.” Pretty soon, I was going to need to find a paper bag to breathe into.
“Okay.” Gently, he kissed me. “Whatever you want. All I want is for you to be happy. With me.”
Oxygen eased back into my lungs. It was like slipping into one of those ’80s-style oversized sweaters and tucking my fingers into the baggy sleeves. “I think I can manage that.” I tipped my face up and kissed him. My kiss was firm. A promise.
But Cole Campion always had to one-up me. He deepened the kiss, delving with his tongue, nipping with his teeth, and reminding me of the kisses he’d planted across my skin last night that left me gasping. When we were both breathless, I pulled back, panting. “What was that for?”
One corner of his mouth tilted up. “I don’t want there to be any question. I love you, and you’re the boss.”
Power flooded my body. I swung my leg across his lap and straddled him. “I love you too. And I’m willing to negotiate a power-sharing agreement.”
“God, I love a woman who knows what she wants.”
“And I love a man who can give it to me. All night.”
It was a few hours after midnight when I finally dropped, exhausted, onto Cole’s soft sheets. And as his arms tightened around me and I drifted off to sleep, I sent up a prayer of gratitude to be starting the new year with my new love, knowing it would be the first of many.