Epilogue
THREE MONTHS LATER
“Think Dana will mind if I bring you with me?” Laurel eyed the brown dog at her feet.
She already knew the answer to her question, though.
Dana always loved to see Luna, and a jogging date was the perfect time to bring her along.
Luna’s leg was fully recovered now, as was the rest of her.
In fact, Luna had recently received a clean bill of health from Dr. Roth herself.
No owners had shown up to claim her, so when the time came, Laurel brought her home rather than letting the little dog go to the shelter.
She’d called it a trial run that first week, to see if she liked having a dog and if the dog was a good fit for her life.
After all, Laurel had known absolutely nothing about her before she’d found her crumpled in the street.
Luna might have been a house-destroying monster for all she knew.
But she wasn’t. Luna was quiet, a little bit clingy, but a perfectly well-mannered member of the household.
Laurel had hired a dog walking service to visit every few hours while she was at work so Luna wouldn’t spend too long cooped up in the condo alone.
So far, things were working out well, both with the dog and with the woman that dog had brought into her life. Laurel and Dana had been together for three months now, and things had progressed from casual to…less casual.
Neither of them seemed in a hurry to put a label on what they were doing, but whatever this was, Laurel couldn’t get enough.
Case in point, she was already rushing out the door, even though she wasn’t due to meet Dana for another half hour.
But she couldn’t wait to see her. Lately, she always felt this way.
She clipped Luna’s leash to her collar and led the way toward the door.
Yes, the dog’s name was an homage to Laurel and Dana’s first date.
They did it once a month or so now…meeting at midnight after Dana’s shift.
It was their thing. So Laurel named the dog that brought them together Luna, after the moon that hung overhead as they shared their first kiss.
Cheesy, maybe. Not exactly her style? Well, what was Laurel’s style these days anyway? She liked to think it was a little brown rescue dog and a blonde veterinarian with a spine of steel and a tongue that…well, it was very talented.
And Laurel loved her.
She stopped halfway to the stairwell in her building, nearly tripping over her own feet. Love. Did she? Luna cocked her head, staring at Laurel as if to ask why they’d stopped walking.
“Do I love Dana?” she asked the dog.
It was a silly question, as unnecessary as “Think Dana will mind if I bring you with me?” because of course Laurel loved her. She hadn’t meant to fall in love again this quickly, but then again, she hadn’t loved Brian in years, so maybe this wasn’t so surprising after all.
Dana fit perfectly into her life. Dana brightened every day they spent together.
Yeah, she loved her.
Laurel led Luna downstairs and out into the crisp September morning. Overhead, the sun shone brightly, but after a long, hot summer, today’s cool breeze felt refreshing. Also, the city smelled a hell of a lot better in September than it did in June.
She led Luna to the tree in front of her building where she preferred to do her business, then continued down the block toward Central Park, where they’d meet up with Dana to go for a leisurely jog.
Not that leisurely was either of their usual pace, but Luna was still building up stamina, and they were both happy to accommodate her.
Dana was nearly as fond of Luna as Laurel was.
“Hey, stranger.”
Laurel looked up at the familiar voice, surprised to see Dana walking toward her. “Hi yourself. Impatient this morning?”
“I’m always impatient where you’re concerned.” Dana shrugged. “And in general. I got to the park a few minutes early and just kept walking, figured I’d run into you along the way. I also figured you’d have her with you. Hi, Luna.”
The dog bounced against Dana’s legs, tail wagging wildly. It was hard to say who loved Dana more, Laurel or her dog. Her heart galloped in her chest, because now that she’d realized it, she couldn’t stop thinking about how much she loved her.
“You okay? You look a little…shellshocked. Bad news about a patient?” Dana placed a hand on her arm, and Laurel’s heart sped even faster.
“No, it’s good news. At least I think it is.” She gripped Dana’s hand and tugged her in for a kiss. “It’s just…I realized…I love you.”
Dana blinked, and her free hand pressed over her mouth as tears rose in her eyes. That wasn’t the reaction Laurel had been expecting.
“I’m sorry,” she backpedaled. “Was it too soon? I shouldn’t have just blurted—”
“Stop,” Dana interrupted, and she was grinning now, even as tears streaked her cheeks. “They’re happy tears. I love you too. I’d been looking for the right time to say it, but leave it to you to just blurt it out the moment you realized it.”
“I mean, subtlety has never been my strong suit.”
“No, it hasn’t, and I love that about you.” Dana leaned in for another kiss. “I love everything about you. I’ve been waiting a long time for this…to fall in love.”
“Well,” Laurel drawled, “I hope I was worth the wait.”
“Oh, you were.” Dana touched her cheek, her expression tender. “You definitely were.”