Nathan buckled me into the passenger side seat of his car and closed the door for me. Even though he was obviously excited to show me something he was treating me like I was made of glass, which was smart, because I felt like I might shatter if anything else happened today. Overwhelmed didn’t even begin to cover it. This week was turning me into the sort of person that can deal with all kinds of weird, stressful situations I’d never thought I’d encounter.

Yet even though I felt fragile and vulnerable, it also felt good in a fucked-up way to realize that I was growing into the sort of person who could deal with this level of stress. I was getting stronger. Maybe by this time next week I’d be eating fried tarantulas and laughing while I juggled fire on a unicycle.

Nathan slid into the driver’s seat and let the car drive itself back to his apartment. Ordinarily, I would have complained about the car driving itself—I hadn’t realized his sleek, fancy sedan could even do that—but at this moment I was beyond such trivial worries as basic vehicular safety. Nathan was alive. I was alive. No matter what, we’d survived and were together again.

Whatever the future brought, I could content myself that I’d helped to keep him safe. We drove in silence, but I kept stealing glances over at his handsome profile. He wasn’t going to be mine for long, but I could love him anyway. I now knew that I’d love him forever.

The drive wasn’t long, and before I knew it, Nathan was leading me by the hand into the elevator and then out into his penthouse. He’d been quiet for a long time now, and I couldn’t tell if it was anticipation or nervousness that had him so silent and careful. He brought me into his office, sat me down behind his desk, and set a manila folder in front of me.

“This is your surprise,” he said gently, smiling finally and gesturing at the folder.

“A folder?” I asked tartly, my personality returning in a rush, “oh, just what I’ve always wanted. Does it come with some highlighters too?”

Nathan smirked, then reached over to turn the cover of the folder, revealing a legal agreement of some sort within.

I started reading, looked up at him in shock to see him grinning, and then snapped my attention back down to keep reading.

A section immediately stood out:

This Stock Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made among Durant Industries, a Pennsylvania corporation (“Buyer”), Eric Sorenson of GBH Media (the “Shareholder”), and The Philadelphia Monitor, Inc., a Philadelphia corporation (the “Company”).

The Shareholder owns all of the presently outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company (the “Shares”) and desires and intends to sell the Shares to Buyer at the price and on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth below.

The Buyer desires and intends to acquire the Shares from the Shareholder at the price and on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth below…

“What is this?” I asked Nathan, stunned, “you’re buying the Philadelphia Monitor back from GBH?”

Nathan nodded, a shy smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.

“Keep on reading,” he urged. I didn’t really need the prompting.

I continued to read through the dry legal agreement. I noted that the price that Durant Industries was acquiring the Monitor at was higher than the what GBH had been rumored to have paid for it. Why Nathan would purchase the paper for more than it was worth was a mystery to me until I reached the sixth page where a highlighted paragraph annotated with a little red heart out to the side caught my attention.

APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS.

RESOLVED, that the following persons are elected to the office(s) indicated next

to their names to serve until their successor(s) shall be duly elected, unless he or she resigns, is removed from office or is otherwise disqualified from serving as an officer of this corporation, to take their respective office(s) immediately upon such appointment:

Office Name

President and Chief Executive Officer: Nathan Breyer

Senior Vice President and Executive Editor: Zoey Atkinson

RESOLVED, that the officers of this corporation are, and each acting alone is, hereby authorized to do and perform any and all such acts, including execution of any and all documents and certificates, as such officers shall deem necessary or advisable, to carry out the purposes and intent of the foregoing resolutions.

“Holy motherfucking shit,” my mouth swore foully before my brain caught up, “Nathan?”

My gaze darted up to his face. He was grinning broadly now. His brilliant blue-green eyes sparkled mischievously in his face.

“Nathan,” I repeated slowly, nearly dumbstruck, “Is this a joke?”

He shook his head happily, brushing my hair back from my face with a gentle hand. My heart was banging out my pulse in my ears like a timpani drum. I’d thought that I’d reached my limit of emotion today, but again, my ability to continue to absorb change expanded just slightly to accommodate this. It wasn’t quite enough.

“This—this is real?” I repeated, looking at the legal document that practically gave me my own damn newspaper in awe and disbelief.

“It’s real,” Nathan confirmed confidently, continuing to run his fingers along the side of my face and tame my wild hair that had escaped my ponytail in the last few hours, “it’s one hundred percent real. And one hundred percent done. If you want it. This is my surprise for you, and why I insisted on delayed gratification. I have to keep you in my life, Zoey. Will this keep you here?”

My mind was positively spinning. I looked down at the agreement and saw the paper becoming dotted by my tears as they flowed out of my eyes with abandon. They were tears of joy.

“Yes,” my mouth said, again just babbling ahead of my conscious mind, “of course it will. Jesus Christ. Of course, it will. I love you.”

This was about thirty years ahead of schedule but being the executive editor of a paper was my dream. I didn’t deserve this job, not by any stretch of the imagination, but Nathan had just given me a gift that most reporters never even got close to. More and more, real papers were a rare commodity. Even the Tallahassee Picayune was in financial trouble, I knew that when I’d accepted the job. How could I refuse such an opportunity, even if I hadn’t earned it? I’d just have to strive to be worthy of what I’d been given.

A thousand thoughts competed in my brain for attention. What would I tell the Picayune? What would I tell Nika? My parents were so excited to have me back in my home town, I’d be disappointing them tremendously if I stayed in Philadelphia. What about my apartment? I’d already given notice. How would I manage to run a newspaper? Would the staff even respect me? What if I failed? The thoughts kept coming and coming, but then Nathan looked at me and they all fled back to the dark corners of my mind where I could deal with them later.

Nathan scooped me up and set me on his lap in the chair instead of standing behind me. The moment he started holding me, I could feel my tears dry up. I was safe in his arms, safer than anywhere else in the whole world. He buried his face in my hair, and I could hear his heart pounding in his chest. He’d been nervous? Had he thought there was a chance I would refuse? As if I even could.

My heart felt like it was going to break with joy. Then, a sudden fear surfaced and clawed its way through my happiness. This one couldn’t be beaten back down. It needed an immediate answer. I forced myself to voice it.

“Nathan,” I whispered into his neck, doubt warring with my hope, “what if you change your mind about me? What if you stop wanting me?”

“Never,” he whispered back, slanting his mouth over mine.