Epilogue 1
Six Months Later
“Mrs. Walker! I have Mr. Cross here to see you!” Alyssa said, poking her head into my office. “Ugh. I’m in a rush. What does he want?” I asked brusquely as I stuffed my laptop into my Chanel bag.
“I’ll only be a sec.”
I scowled as Nolan’s voice rolled through the room. I straightened up and turned to find that, as usual, he’d let himself in without waiting for Alyssa to invite him through.
“Are you ever going to follow proper meeting protocol?” I sighed, and he grinned.
“Well, I’m hoping that if you hear me out, we can make our own protocol. I elect to make it clear that exceptions will always be made for me, considering I’m your bestie and all.”
“Nolan, I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about, and I was being serious. I’m in a rush. It’s my wife’s grand opening today, and I’m already running late.”
“No shit? That’s today? Hold up, let me grab my stuff. I’ll come with you. Meet me at the elevators?”
He didn’t wait for me to agree before rushing back out past Alyssa, who was smothering a giggle behind her hand.
I rolled my eyes.
“Fucking men,” I grumbled, and Alyssa nodded, stepping back to give me room as I made my way out.
I told Alyssa she could leave early, considering I was leaving early too, and she was adorably grateful for the afternoon off, which made me smile.
Nolan was already jogging to catch up with me by the time I’d made it to the elevator block, and he reached past me to press the button before I got to it.
“Don’t you have work to do?” I snipped, and he laughed as the doors almost immediately opened before ushering me inside.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually.”
I frowned, shooting him a suspicious look.
“What are you babbling about?”
“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, Ed and Viv still haven’t made either of us partner. I’m starting to wonder if they just like hanging it over our heads because they think it makes us work harder when we compete.”
I considered what he was saying and nodded.
“It’s entirely possible. I’ve wondered the same thing, too, but figured I was just being cunty about it.”
He rolled his eyes.
“You’re not being cunty, Cass. You deserve to make partner. Especially after what you did to expose that fucking snake.”
“Thanks, Nolan,” I said, finding that I genuinely meant it.
He smiled.
“So, that brings me to my next point. How much money do you have?”
I nearly choked on literally nothing as his question barreled through my brain.
“Nolan! You can’t just ask people how much money they have. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
He just laughed as the doors opened up to the main floor, and he hurried after me as I clipped across the marble floor toward the Uber I already had waiting outside.
I slipped in the back, and he followed me in, which caused my scowl to deepen.
“Sure, come on in, I guess,” I grumbled as he settled back and did up his seatbelt.
“What about clients? Do you think they’re loyal to you, or the firm?”
This caught my attention. Less annoyed now and more curious, I glanced over at him.
“Are you asking me what I think you’re asking?” He beamed at me, flashing his straight, professionally whitened teeth. I could feel the excitement buzzing off him in waves, and I realized, yes, he was asking me exactly what I thought he was.
“Listen, I was thinking, maybe you and I could start our own thing? Fuck this place. They’re dicking us around over making partner, and frankly, I’m still not over the fact that they took that case on and forced us to work it without telling us they were essentially being coerced. That’s not why I became a lawyer.”
I smirked, cocking my head to the side.
“I thought you became a lawyer because your dad’s a big corporate attorney and you wanted an easy ride.”
He shrugged.
“I mean, that helps. But the goal was always to end up in a position where I could help defend people who needed it. I actually wanted to be a public defender, but my dad told me I would probably burn out in the first year.”
“Really? How did I not know that about you?”
He gave me an amused look.
“I don’t know. When the fuck would that have come up? We’re usually either working on something or you’re telling me to get out of your office. We don’t exactly braid each other’s hair and talk about our hopes and dreams, Cassandra.”
“Fair enough. So… I’m assuming you’re asking me if I want to leave Sinclair and Morrissy to start our own firm?”
He brightened, and I swear if he had a tail, it would have been thumping against the upholstery.
“Yeah! It would be great. We’ll start small so we can be more selective about the cases we take on, then once the overhead for the startup is covered and we’re feeling comfortable, we start a pro bono program for cases we feel super passionate about.”
I stared at him as I thought it over.
On the one hand, I loved the idea of doing something like that… but it was risky.
Running our own firm would be a shit ton more work than it would be if we stayed where we were. Not to mention, there was always a risk that the business wouldn’t be successful.
I had financial stability at Sinclair and Morrissy, which is something I couldn’t ever take for granted. Not the way I’d been brought up.
But…
Fuck, it was tempting.
“Let me think about it,” I said carefully, though I knew once I’d had time to sit down and crunch some numbers, I would probably say yes.
The thought of running my own firm and having absolute, one hundred percent control over every aspect of my life was extremely appealing.
“And just think! Then we’ll be besties forever! Attached at the hip. Walker and Cross, saving the world one case at a time!”
“That’s not the sales pitch you think it is,” I mumbled under my breath.
Nolan laughed easily and punched my arm.
“Shut up. You love me.”
I wrinkled my nose.
“I tolerate you.”
“Close enough. Hey! Is this it? It looks awesome!” Nolan exclaimed as the Uber pulled up to Theo’s new gym.
I had to agree.
It looked great.
The tasteful black sign was stretched wide and proud over the front of the small commercial space she’d rented.
It said: Theo’s Gym: Self-defense for the Girls, Gays, and Theys.
Her unit sat in a row of old brick mixed-use storefronts that lined one of the streets of downtown Silent Hollow. It was a great location. There was parking in the back for anyone who needed to drive, but also a lot of curb appeal for people who might just be wandering by as they shopped.
After we’d killed the reverend, Theo had told me about her idea to open a self-defense gym.
At first, I’d assumed she was asking me to help her invest in it… but it turns out that Theo was kinda loaded.
It made my eye twitch when I found out exactly how much money she had just sitting around doing nothing in a fucking checking account… but that was neither here nor there.
What mattered was that she had more than enough to get this gym of hers started. Between Theo, Jerry, and me, we’d been able to secure this small commercial building for her, and today was her big opening day.
Gnomes had helped with getting social media channels set up for her, and she’d helped Theo film a few tutorials and demonstrations for her to post as reels. A couple of them had really popped off, and before we knew it, the bookings had started rolling in.
So, to my delight, she and Jerry already had a pretty full schedule.
Thanking the driver, I stepped out of the Uber and entered the gym to find Theo and Jerry already setting up for their first-ever lesson.
Theo turned to see who’d come in as the bell on the door rang, announcing my arrival, and my breath caught in my chest.
The smile on her face made me weak in the knees, and I felt my throat close up with emotion at how excited and happy she looked.
“Hey, princess!” she called, jogging over to greet me. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be at work for another few hours.”
I couldn’t help the goofy, love-sick smile that spread across my face as she leaned in to kiss me. Wrapping my hand around her nape, I melted into her, nipping at her lips as the whole world faded away.
For a long moment, it was just the two of us, standing there in each other’s arms, safe, happy, and finally home.
“I couldn’t miss your big day. I wanted to wish you luck with your first class in person.”
Theo’s smile curved against mine, and she dropped one more kiss on my mouth before pulling away.
“Well, thanks, baby. I’m really excited. Everyone should start showing up soon. I hope it’s a good crowd.”
She wrung her hands together nervously, but she still had that big, gorgeous grin on her face.
“I’m sure it will be.” I laughed as Nolan rolled up to say hi.
He let out a low, appreciative whistle as he reached out to clap hands with my wife.
“Theo! This place looks awesome! Love the sign.”
“Thanks, man, Cass’s sister helped with all the marketing shit. She’s a little creative genius.”
“No kidding. This looks hella professional. Look at you go! You have a whole ass brand now!”
Theo’s cheeks flushed, and I fought off the sudden aggressive urge I had to pinch her face between my fingers.
God, she was so fucking cute.
I didn’t think I would ever get over how in love with her I was.
“Think your sister can help us out with branding for the firm?” Nolan asked, and Theo cocked her head to the side in confusion.
“Your firm is rebranding?”
I laughed and shook my head. “No. Nolan’s trying to convince me to quit and open a new firm with him.”
Theo’s eyes grew wide, and if it was even possible, she grew even more excited.
“No way! That’s an awesome idea!”
“Right! I thought so.” Nolan grinned, and I rolled my eyes as they clapped their hands together again.
“Yeah, we’ll see. I need to crunch some numbers.”
But Theo was suddenly all over me, peppering my face and throat with kisses until I was squirming and giggling in her arms.
“You crunch those numbers, baby girl, then once you have it all figured out, I can’t wait to watch you take over the fucking world.”
I laughed, rubbing my nose against hers as I crushed her as tightly against me as I could.
“I already have the world, Theodora. I have you.”
Theo pulled back to look at me, her dark eyes shining with happiness, and I thought… This is it.
This is what life is supposed to be like.
This is what it feels like to be happy.
“Kiddos are starting to show up,” Jerry said gruffly, just as the bell chimed and several young girls and their respective parents came in.
I watched them look around the space with wide, excited eyes, and I forced myself to let go of my wife.
“Looks like you’re on, baby.” I smiled, and she grinned, dropping one last kiss on my forehead.
“Sure am. See you at home?”
I nodded.
“Of course baby. See you at home.”
Though I already felt like I was home, because just like she’d promised when she’d married me, my home was anywhere she was.