“I like it,” Howie declared in his booming voice. He nodded at the backsplash Calliope and Jonathan had installed, complete with letters and photographs, and smiled. “Get a good shot of this,” he told the film crew.

Three weeks had passed since the night of the backsplash. And what a night it was! Calliope exchanged a glance with Jonathan, trying not to giggle as she did. The mosaic had proven to be more of a challenge than either of them expected. Sticky glue and plaster had gotten everywhere. But not on the things from the time capsule, thankfully. The two of them had ended up a mess, though. Which required a good, long shower over at Jonathan’s place. Together. All that soap, all that steam.

Jonathan cleared his throat as Howie nearly backed into him in his effort to clear the way for the film crew. Calliope giggled, her face burning hot. The shower hadn’t been the only steamy night she and Jonathan had spent together in the last few weeks. Time was still at a premium. Once the kitchen was finished, the two of them had joined in with the rest of the crew to make-over the rest of the apartment. And work on the Haskell I rocket continued at as furious a pace as ever. So Calliope and Jonathan had made a deal. Since they wouldn’t be able to spend a large quantity of time with each other until all the projects were finished, they would make every moment of the time they could spend together of the highest quality.

And now the project was almost over.

“Howie, did you see these awesome countertops?” Kathy drew Howie’s attention to the other end of the kitchen. “Aren’t they great?”

Calliope nudged closer to Jonathan’s side, squeezing up against one wall as the film crew moved to get a shot of Kathy and Cameron admiring the counters.

“That’s marble, isn’t it?” Howie asked, squinting as he took a closer look. “I never did know what all the whistles and bells in the kitchen were. I leave all of that to Janet.” He grinned from ear-to-ear, even though his wife wasn’t there.

Calliope put on a similar grin as she glanced up to Jonathan. He returned it with just as much warmth, maybe more, and reached for her hand. Yep, all they’d needed was the breakthrough that came from laying everything out on the table, no matter how haunting or embarrassing, and things had fallen into place. At last, Calliope felt like she was herself again. Not because she had a rock-solid boyfriend, but because Jonathan had taught her to discover how to be who she was without waiting for someone else to carry her along.

“Calliope was the one who suggested this marble,” Kathy said, crossing to stand by Calliope’s side.

Calliope blinked, standing straighter. “Uh, no I wasn’t. That was all you.”

“Really?” Kathy glanced from her to Jonathan to Cameron, then back to Calliope in surprise. “I could have sworn it was your idea.”

“Nope.” Calliope grinned. “It was yours.”

Kathy laughed, nudging Calliope’s arm. “I just assume that whenever there’s a good idea, it came from you.”

“That’s the mark of a good friend,” Howie said with a wink. He gestured for the camera crew to get a shot of Calliope and Kathy.

“I wish I could say I’ve always been a good friend,” Calliope murmured.

“But you have been,” Kathy insisted.

Calliope arched a brow.

Kathy laughed at her doubtful expression, then shrugged. “I guess we remember things the way we want to.”

She smiled at Calliope, but her words stung a little. As well they should. In the three weeks since the night of the backsplash, Calliope had spent a lot of time bringing Kathy back into her life as well as taking things further with Jonathan. It turned out that Kathy saw a lot of the incidents of their childhood in an entirely different way than she did. Which had made Calliope rethink a lot of things. She still had a long way to go before she could make peace with everything that had been and was, but things looked good.

“So Kathy.” Howie strolled closer to them. He glanced to Jonathan with a grin. “Does this mean that you and Cameron have made your mind up about which apartment you’re planning to choose tonight? Are we getting a sneak peek at who the winner will be?” He winked at Calliope.

Kathy put on a mysterious smile and shifted back to take Cameron’s hand. The two of them shared a look before Kathy said, “We honestly haven’t decided yet.”

“We have a lot to talk about,” Cameron said.

Calliope clapped a hand to her mouth to stop from snorting. Talk? That sentence contained the most words she’d ever seen Cameron string together at one time.

“I like it,” Howie said, rubbing his hands together. “I like how you’re putting the mystery back into things. It will play fabulously at the big reveal tonight.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be able to get these videos of each apartment put together in time for the presentation tonight?” Kathy asked.

“Of course.” Howie spread his hands wide. “We’ve had the ‘before’ footage for weeks, and the crews have been filming the progress. It shouldn’t take more than a couple hours to put the rest of it together.”

One of the camera crew made a strangled noise, her face pinched with stress. It was Jonathan’s turn to laugh, then, as he sent the woman a sympathetic look. “Looks like Howie runs everyone who works for him ragged down to the last minute,” he said as Howie ushered the crew out of the room.

“Maybe I don’t feel so bad about you guys working late on the rocket now,” Calliope said, watching Howie and the rest squeeze around the corner and down the hall.

Jonathan laughed. “Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Calliope punched his arm playfully, then gave him a big hug. It was more of a comfort than she could have imagined to have someone know what her faults were and to take them in stride.

“I feel a little bit guilty that you guys haven’t been able to spend more time together because of this project,” Kathy said, looping her arm around Cameron’s waist.

“Guilty?” Jonathan shook his head. “Why should you feel guilty?”

“Well, if you weren’t spending all your free time renovating this apartment for us, then you could have been together more.”

“So you’re going to choose this apartment?” Calliope asked. Something tightened in her chest at the thought. A month ago, she would have called it jealousy, or at the very least, anxiety over someone else laying claim to something she’d worked so hard on. She and Jonathan really had put a lot of themselves into the space. It felt so…personal to her now.

Judging by the way Kathy studied her, she wasn’t the only one who thought so.

“I don’t know,” Kathy said. She glanced to Cameron. “We really haven’t decided what we’ll do yet. We like the barn conversion a lot too. It depends on…on a few other factors.” She glanced to Jonathan.

For a moment, Calliope had the same feeling of being left out that she’d struggled so hard against at the beginning of the project. It was like Kathy and Jonathan had something going on that she didn’t know about. She pressed a hand to her stomach to fight off the wave of insecurity that threatened her.

“I guess you two haven’t talked about it yet?” Kathy grinned at Jonathan.

“Nope,” Jonathan answered.

“Oh.” Kathy cringed and started to tip-toe toward the hallway, tugging Cameron with her. “Then maybe we should just leave the two of you alone for a minute.”

“Why?” Calliope asked, crossing her arms in suspicion. “What’s this all about?” Kathy and Cameron slipped out of the room, so her question was asked to Jonathan alone.

Jonathan wore a wide, mischievous smile. He strolled slowly around the kitchen until he came to stand against the counter near the sink. “So, do you like what we’ve done here?” he asked.

Calliope’s suspicion bubbled to something far more expectant, far more exciting. “We did an okay job,” she said, working to repress her grin. In fact, she’d kind of fallen in love with the apartment. More than kind of.

“It’s pretty comfortable,” he said. His eyes fairly glowed. He was definitely up to something.

“Yeah, I suppose so.” She sauntered slowly across the kitchen toward him.

“It makes me wonder what will happen to it if Kathy and Cameron choose Randy Gable’s barn instead of this place.”

“It would be a shame if all our work was for nothing.” She came to a stop mere inches away from him. Her heart pounded against her ribs. Heat suffused her. Her mind wanted to guess what he was up to, where he was going with their teasing conversation. He couldn’t possibly be suggesting….

“This would be a perfect sort of place for two people in a committed relationship who can’t ever seem to find enough time to spend together to live, don’t you think?” he went on.

A burst of hope flashed through Calliope, leaving her speechless for a moment. Jonathan merely grinned at her until she gathered enough wits to say, “It’s exactly that sort of place.”

Jonathan pushed away from the counter and slipped his arms around her. The protective circle of his strong arms made Calliope feel like she could do anything, could stand up to any troubles that attacked her. His arms felt like home.

“I know it’s technically way too early for this, but I feel like everything is right when I’m with you,” he said.

“Even back when everything was wrong?” She smirked at him.

He laughed. “That was a different kind of wrong. Temporary wrong. This—” He kissed her lightly. “—feels like a cosmic right.”

Inside, Calliope’s heart and soul were dancing a jig. “So what are you saying?” She looked up into his eyes, feeling like a firework that was about to burst.”

“I’m saying that I talked to Kathy and Cameron earlier, and they do like this place best of the four properties, but they’re willing to give it up and choose Gable’s barn instead.”

“Give it up for what?”

Jonathan’s smile seemed to fill the room. “For the people who put all the hard work into it.”

Joy thundered through Calliope. She swallowed. “Are you asking me—”

“To move in with me,” he finished. “Here, in this apartment. Yes.”

It was like every nerve in her body burst into song at the same time. The idea of being a permanent part of Jonathan’s life, of sharing the small, everyday moments with him, even though their lives were both incredibly busy, was the best thing she’d ever heard.

“Yes,” she answered without hesitation, throwing her arms around his shoulders. “Yes, I will absolutely move into this apartment with you.”

“Even though it means moving out of your family’s home?”

“I’ve lived there forever. I think it’s time for a change of scenery.” She leaned into him, ready for a kiss.

Jonathan wasn’t done teasing her yet, though. “Even though I still have a lot of long nights to work? Even after the Haskell I is finished, I’m sure Howie will keep us all on our toes.”

“At least when you come home late, you’ll be coming home to me.”

“So you’re up for this? It’s a big step.” He let his arms rest around her, holding her snugly against the broad expanse of his chest and belly.

“Nothing could make me happier,” Calliope said, filled with certainty.

“Well, we’ll just see about that.” He winked.

“Yes, we will,” she answered, lifting onto her toes to kiss him. It was a kiss of pure joy, delivered without reservation. Her heart had never been happier.

* * *

I hope you’ve enjoyed Chemical Reaction! I’ll be taking a little break from my beloved Nerds as I dive back into historical waters, but they’ll be back soon in the seventh installment of the series, Space Cowboy.