Lilli…

Victoria had been arrested and booked into the Indigo City jail. She was still awaiting trial and refusing to take a plea. Yale said he was confident he could and would get a conviction on attempted murder charges; we would just have to wait and see, though. I didn’t take anything for granted anymore. Especially not one single moment with Backdraft.

There was extensive damage to the brownstone, enough that Backdraft and I talked it over. With the discoveries that I made about the building, we decided it was just better and easier, to let the professionals handle it and with Veronica’s help, her dad being in real estate, I became an official investor on that end. The neighbors who were in the other two occupied brownstones were more than happy with my generous offer to relocate them to a hotel for the duration of the remodel to open up the basements and garages. All the work on our unit would take months, but when it came to opening those basements and garages, we started with theirs so it would only be a matter of a few weeks until they were able to come back in.

In the meantime, Backdraft moved in with me, full time at the Echelon. In the intervening weeks between then and now, I never did run into Mark, and I could only assume his fiancée took the right course of action and kicked his ass to the curb.

Now, it was Christmas Eve, and Backdraft’s parents and brother were due to arrive any minute. We’d unfortunately missed Thanksgiving with them this year, partially because Backdraft had drawn the short straw and had to work that night and partially because I just wasn’t ready to meet them.

“They’re downstairs,” he told me and kissed me quickly.

I dusted off my hands even though there was nothing on them and smoothed them down the front of my sweater dress.

“Okay, I’ll see you all in a few.”

“I love you, don’t be nervous, they’ll love you too.”

I gave him a look that said he wasn’t helping my nerves at all saying something like that and said, “I love you, too.”

“Us. Always,” he said, walking backwards to the door.

“Us. Always,” I said back, gravely.

I took the plate of appetizers I’d been plating over to the table and set it down.

“Don’t even think about it, you two,” I said to Jaspar and Marigold, who eyed the table speculatively, one from the back, the other from the arm of our couch.

The front door opened right as I took a fortifying sip of wine and Backdraft piled in with his parents and brother in tow, calling, “Babe, come on over here.”

I swallowed my sip of wine carefully, tried valiantly to shove my shyness to the side, and turned to face the music.

I had no idea what I had to worry about. Of course, the family to produce a man like Backdraft would have to be everything he embodied. Warm, welcoming, funny, and kind. We made it all the way through dinner when his dad turned and asked, “Well, son, when are you going to ask her to marry you?”

“Dad!” Bryant, Backdraft’s older brother admonished.

“What?”

Backdraft laughed and reached over, taking my hand. I smiled and he stared at me, saying, “No rush, pops. We have all the time in the world and in the grand scheme of things, it’s all just fine print.”

“Well, I, for one, am glad to see you so happy,” his mother said.

His dad looked at me and winked saying, “I have to agree.”

I laughed and said, “Thank you.”

“Welcome to the family, Lil.” Backdraft’s brother leaned back in his seat and smiled at me. “It’s nice to have you here.”

I looked over at Backdraft and he pursed his lips in a phantom kiss. I rolled mine together and blushed furiously.

“It’s nice to be here,” I said and it was. It so was.

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