Forgiveness wasn’t something I deserved, but it was something I desperately wanted. It took Brody two weeks to get his official clearance to leave town and walk out on me. Part of me was jealous when he left, but after one pity party night I realized everything I wanted was already within my reach. All I needed to do was take ahold of it and never let go.

I looked up to April’s window and flipped the small box around in my hand. I’d wanted to ask her for a long time, but it never seemed right. If Joshua Mosley never entered our lives, I had little doubt that April and I would’ve been married already. I took a deep breath and grabbed the folder next to me before I got out.

It helped to hold the ring until I got upstairs. It kept me going, but as soon as I reached her door, I slipped the box into my pocket. I stared at the number on the door for a moment before I rang the doorbell. There was no turning back when I hit that button. There was nowhere to run if she said no. I pressed it and closed my eyes.

I heard the locks and opened my eyes. April opened the door but didn’t step back to let me in. We stood inches apart looking into each other’s eyes. I was begging to come in and she was begging me not to hurt her again.

I held the folder up. “It’s about work.” It wasn’t a lie, but I hoped it got me in the door.

“Of course, it is.” Her hand slid down the door as she stepped away, leaving the door open.

I shut the door and locked it before I followed her into the kitchen. She was rinsing out a bowl when I stepped in. “Is he gone now? Are you coming to ask me to hire his replacement?”

I looked at the folder in my hand. “Something like that.”

She dried her hands off and motioned for the folder. “Give it here. I’ll put an ad out for resumes in the morning. It’ll take me a little while to find the right wording for what his job actually was.”

“I’ve already taken care of everything.” I held the folder out for her.

“This ought to be good.” She wiped her hands on her pants to make sure they were dry before she opened the folder. Her hands gripped the counter as she leaned forward and started to read.

When she realized what it really was, one hand slapped the paper and she followed the words with her finger as she read. She only finished the first two paragraphs before she looked up at me. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“You want me to buy his half of the business?”

“I do.”

The shake of her head was more of disbelief than an answer. “Why?”

“The business answer is that this is a sound investment for you. We didn’t collapse under the fallout of what Brody did. It’s been a struggle, but we survived. You’re getting it at a fraction of what it will be worth when we keep rebuilding. I’ll get it back to what it was before.”

“You said that’s the business answer. Is there another one?”

“There’s a personal one. I need a partner in everything in life. That’s you.”

She pulled up a stool and read the paper again. “I don’t know what to do. I mean, I have the money, but I’m saving that money for my house.”

“I want you to buy in so no one can accuse you of sleeping with me to earn the title of partner.”

“I’m not asking you to give it to me for free, Tim.”

I closed my eyes. “That wasn’t what I meant. I want you to be able to tell people it’s yours no matter what your next answer is.”

“My next answer?”

I put my hands in my pockets and walked around the island. “I said I want you to be my partner in everything in life.” I took one hand out and held her hand. “You said you viewed our time together as a savings account for something bigger. Like the house you’re saving for, you wanted a life with me.” I took the box out of my pocket and got on one knee. “We can buy a house together. We can start that family you mentioned.” I opened the box. “Will you marry me?”

She jumped off the stool and into my arms as the tears ran down her face. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you.”

I squeezed her tight before I let go to put the ring on her finger. “You still want all those things with me?”

“The business, the house, the babies?” She smiled as she looked at her ring. “Yes.” She held my face and kissed me. “I want it all with you.”

* * *

“You’re moving into Brody’s old office?” April walked in and looked around as I set my computer up on his desk.

“I figured it was time. I mean, we’ve had time to buy a house and announced our engagement without much contact from him, so I think he’s gone for good.”

“I’m sorry.” She wrapped her arms around my waist. “I know what he means to you. I’m sorry he hasn’t been as responsive when you message him.”

“I’m just glad I haven’t told him about us yet.”

She slid her arms from me. “You still haven’t told him?”

“No.”

She walked around to the front of the desk. “Why not?”

“Look, I love you. I’ve told everyone at work just how much I love you, but he doesn’t deserve the good news. Plus, I’m not giving him the chance to shit on my good news. Fuck him. I don’t need him.”

I walked around the desk and held her in my arms. “I only need you.” I kissed her and laid her down on the desk. “If I didn’t have a meeting in twenty minutes, we would so christen this desk.”

She laughed and rubbed her hands down my back. “I’m sure we have plenty of time to do it another day.” She kissed me. “I’m more excited about christening every room of our new home.”

I smiled and brushed my thumb against her cheek. “God, you’re beautiful.”

She laughed and pushed me to stand. “No need to lay it on thick. I just told you you’re getting lucky tonight.” She kissed my cheek before she walked to the door.

* * *

“Hey, you got any aspirin or something?”

I sat up and turned my attention to the door when I heard an unfamiliar voice speak to April. Only the staff was granted access to the office area, and that wasn’t a voice I recognized. I stood.

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t carry anything like that.”

“What? You never get a headache?”

I walked out of my office to a man standing over April’s desk, peering down at her. His hands were shaking. April glanced my way causing the man to turn to me.

I pointed to the door. “Out. You know you’re not allowed here, and you know you’re not allowed to ask for drugs from anyone.”

“It’s just aspirin, man. I have a headache.”

“I heard you, but you’re going to have a bigger problem if you don’t get the fuck out of this office. Go.”

I took a step toward him and he looked me over before he retreated to the door. One of the counselors came looking for him as he walked out. He looked at me and then April before looking at me again. I didn’t have to say a word for him to know how pissed I was that one of the clients got away from him.

April came over and held my hand to try to get my fist to relax. I hadn’t even realized I was clenching it. “Calm down. Nothing happened.”

“No, but it could’ve.”

“This is why we need a full-time therapist. Please, listen to me about it.”

I walked back to my office. “I have listened, Ap. I’ve listened to everything you’ve ever said about this, and while it may be a good idea in theory, we can’t afford it.”

“Yes, we can. Something is going to happen and we’re going to lose our certification or someone is going to get hurt. Then we won’t be able to afford to breathe. Please, just look at the numbers I put together. They can hire all the staff on that side and we will run more efficiently.”

“We have enough therapists on staff already.”

“We wouldn’t need those. Well, not as many. We aren’t a huge facility anyway. You make it sound as if we need an army of therapists. We just need one really good one and some amazing counselors like Diego.”

“I’ll think about it.”

She huffed when she left the office and slammed the door behind her. Her mind was in the right place, but no one worth anything was going to take the job. I’d end up with more shit workers just looking to make a buck instead of caring about the people. The center had bounced back a lot from what Brody had done to our reputation, but I still had a long way to go. I’d entertain her idea when the time was right. We were close, but we weren’t there yet.