“I fought for change in my country, and I won. Not because I’m a brilliant politician, but because it was the right moment in the world. But the right thing for me, as a woman, a chemist, a perfumer, and a girlfriend, is to move to Calamity with you.”

“My girlfriend?” He grimaced. “That doesn’t sound right.”

“Lover?”

He shook his head. “You can only say that when you’re wearing red lipstick and a thong and holding a cigarette in one hand and two fingers of scotch in the other.”

“That’s true.” She tapped her chin. “Hm, then what am I to you…?”

He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “You’re the missing piece that makes me whole.” He didn’t think the English language had a word for what she meant to him. “You’re the love of my life.” Cupping her ass, he hauled her onto his lap and kissed her. He took his time, just feeling her smooth skin, breathing in her feminine scent, and tasting the minty toothpaste and heat of her mouth.

She pulled back, resting her forehead on his. “I talked to my parents tonight. My father’s going back to work tomorrow with my mother by his side. My sister will spend her summers apprenticing with them, and when she finishes school, she’ll run for a seat in parliament.” She grabbed a fistful of hair from the back of his neck and tipped his head so she could look into his eyes. “We’re going home, Brodie. My parents gave us their blessing to move back to Calamity.”

“You, princess, you’re my blessing. And I’m happy wherever you are.”

“Then we’ll be happy ever after in Calamity.”

Epilogue

Rosalina breathed in the fresh-cut wood of the recently-framed house. She’d poured over floor plans, read home design magazines, and scoured the Internet for functionality and layouts, but this was her first time crossing the threshold into the home where she’d spend the rest of her life.

Of course, Brodie had just stormed right in, his boots pounding across the floor. “Take a look at the kitchen. I told them your suggestion, and they gave us a panoramic view of the meadow.”

She didn’t want to rush it, though. She wanted to savor this moment, when everything was just beginning. After one blissful year together, they were now on the cusp of the kinds of changes that would alter the landscape of their lives completely.

In this living room, they’d watch family movies. Their children would chase each other with squirt guns. These empty rooms would be filled with laughter, bickering, and love. So much love.

Her heart…oh, my. She’d never imagined it could grow so big and full—and then keep stretching to accommodate even more.