He grasped her chin and put his arm around her waist—just like he had in the garden at Quinn and Mercer’s wedding—and covered her mouth with his.
“I was so afraid you wouldn’t feel the same way about me as I felt about you,” he told her. “I guess that’s how I knew it was love. Anything but spending the rest of my life with you wasn’t something I’d let myself think about.”
“I felt the same way, although it seemed like too much of a dream.”
“I love you so much, Avarie.”
“I love you too, Tabon.”
Epilogue
Three months later
“Doc just sent this.” Razor handed Ava his phone. “He and Merrigan named him Laird.”
“He’s beautiful,” she gushed. “Do you want to wait to find out whether we’re having a boy or girl, like they did?”
“I don’t know. What about you?”
“I keep changing my mind.”
Razor looked out at the moonlit waves crashing against the shore. It had been two months and sixteen days since he’d heard from Gunner, the man who was as close to a brother as he’d ever have. Reports coming in from the team searching for Ava’s father were sporadic at best, but it was Gunner who had gone completely dark, even to them.
He and Doc had talked about it last week. “It’s like when you were gone. For every smile, there were ten tears, twenty moments of sadness, and even more of fear and uncertainty,” Razor had said.
“I know he wouldn’t want us to feel that way. I certainly didn’t want that.”
“I knew you were still alive; I just couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud. I didn’t want to be wrong.”
“How are you feeling now, about Gunner?”
“If he weren’t alive, I’d know it.”
“Me too.”
“Are you thinking about Gunner?” Ava asked.
“Yeah. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I think about him a lot too. You should talk to him.”
Razor smiled. “Yeah?”
Ava nodded.
“He’ll just give me a smart-ass response.”
Ava walked over, sat on his lap, and kissed him. Nothing in the world felt better than having her next to him.
“Tabon, what was your grandmother’s name?”
“Which one?”
“Both.”
“My mom’s mother’s name was Adelaide. And my father’s was Louisa.”
“Perfect. Adelaide Louisa Sharp. I love it.”