EPILOGUE
A year later …
Shivering from the cold, Kat pushed the beach house door shut with her butt and trudged to the kitchen, where she heaved two sizeable grocery bags onto the counter. She pulled off her hat and gloves, unzipped her jacket, and made her way into the sitting room to find Carter slouched on the sofa, watching TV, chewing the ever-loving shit out of a toothpick.
Kat smiled, watching him. He’d given up smoking on his birthday in March, and now, nine months in, he hadn’t caved. She was incredibly proud of him.
Noticing her once the commercials came on, Carter looked up and smiled. “Hey, beautiful. How was your day?”
“Long, but great,” she replied. “The boys are really something. They’re really starting to listen to me. Look.” She held up a small silver key chain in the shape of a cat. “They gave me this for Christmas.”
She’d struggled to keep her emotions in check when her class of twelve students at the Brooklyn Young Offenders Institute had handed her the beautifully wrapped gift. “I’ll miss them this week.”
Carter placed his chin on the back of the sofa, looking insanely adorable. “You’ll have me.”
Kat leaned over and kissed him. “Aren’t I lucky?”
“Beth called,” Carter whispered against her lips. “She wanted to know if we’re still going to the benefit on New Year’s. I told her yes. That okay?”
“Definitely. How was your day? Did Max call?”
Carter’s face turned sad. “Yeah, he did.” He sighed. “It breaks my fucking heart, his being in that place at Christmas, but I know it’s where he needs to be.”
Less than twelve months after his heartbreaking confession to Carter, Max was admitted into rehab, finally conceding that he needed professional help. His solo battle against his coke addiction had been valiant but short-lived. He was clean for only seventy-three days before he caved after seeing a woman he thought was Lizzie on a busy street in Brooklyn.
Carter and the boys from the shop tried their best to steer their friend onto the right path, keeping him busy, but Max’s emotional scars ran too deep. Once Max had admitted defeat, after Carter had found him unconscious on his bathroom floor, Carter had footed the rehab center bill, also clearing the shop of the debts Max’s addiction had created.
Kat cupped Carter’s cheek as she kissed him. “Be strong. He needs you.”
Carter exhaled. “I know.”
“Hey, guess what?” Kat smiled. “I stopped at the store on the way home.”
Carter’s eyes brightened. “Did you get me something nice?”
She grinned. “Oreos, milk, and twelve cans of Coke.”
He dropped his head back onto the sofa and sighed. “God, I love you.”
Kat laughed and went back to the kitchen to put the groceries away. The lush domesticity that swept through her was as familiar as it was welcome. Living with Carter had been trying at first, but after almost a year, they’d finally found a new level of comfort that Kat cherished. Sure, his obsessive cleanliness and OCD habits still drove her crazy, but it was most definitely worth it.
They split their time between the beach house and the TriBeCa apartment, which they used primarily during the week and whenever Carter was needed at WCS. The beach house, however, would always be most special to them: a precious getaway they both treasured.
Once she was done unpacking, Kat poured two large glasses of milk and tucked the pack of Oreos under her arm. She handed one glass to Carter and sat down next to him, putting the cookies between them. Carter took all of two seconds to rip the pack open and begin devouring the contents.
“So, look, I was thinking while you were at work,” he mumbled before swallowing the cream from his cookie. “I was thinking that we should exchange gifts today. You know, to celebrate your vacation time.”
Kat looked at him askance. “But it’s not Christmas for another four days. Can’t you wait?” She’d caught him at least half a dozen times shaking and touching the parcels under the tree they’d decorated together two weeks before. “Besides, Nana Boo, Mom, and Harrison will be here then. I’d like to have some gifts to open with them.”
Carter shot a longing gaze at the beautiful Christmas tree. “But …”
Kat laughed. “Oh my God, you’re such a child.”
He grinned, blue eyes sparkling. “Does that mean we can?”
“Okay. Fine,” Kat caved. “But you only get to open one.”
“Yes, Boss.” He sprang up and hurried over to the gifts.
* * *
Carter kneeled next to the tree, pretending to search through the copious number of packages underneath it. He shook, poked, and prodded, and, once he was satisfied he’d made enough of a show, he picked up a small silver package and beckoned Kat over. When she was seated at his side, looking decidedly exasperated, he passed it to her.
“This is from me,” he said softly, kissing her. “Merry Christmas, Peaches.”
“Merry Christmas.” She smiled, excitement creeping in, and began ripping the paper open.
“Oh, Carter,” Kat gasped when she saw the miniature Alice in Wonderland statue, an exact replica of the one in Central Park. “It’s perfect.”
“Really?”
“Really,” she answered, leaning over to kiss him.
“I wanted to get you this because Alice has seen us through so much.”
Kat hummed. “I guess she has.”
“And,” Carter continued, “I thought she should be here for this part, too.”
Kat looked quizzical.
Carter’s heart almost burst from between his ribs as he pulled his hand from his pocket and held out a small blue Tiffany box.
Kat’s eyes widened and snapped to his. “Carter, I—”
“Take it.”
She did and, slower than Carter could bear, she opened it and gasped. The three-carat diamond-and-platinum ring sparkled perfectly under the Christmas lights.
Breathing deeply, Carter took her shaking hand, letting his thumb trace the cursive C she’d had inked on the inside of her wrist as a birthday gift for him. It was the sexiest fucking thing he’d ever seen.
He picked up the Alice statue. “I want you to look at this and remember how far we’ve come. Alice was there when we had our first non-date and I stole the best kiss of my life. She was there when we danced in the rain and I hummed Otis Redding in your ear. That was the same night I told you who I was, and you let me make love to you all night.”
He put the statue down. “I was so broken when you found me again. But you put me back together and made me realize that the mistakes I’ve made don’t define who I am. You believed in me when no one else would.” He kissed her palm. “I know I’m a pain in the ass. I’m far from perfect. We both are. Your cooking leaves a lot to be desired and you leave your dirty laundry on the bathroom floor every morning and it drives me insane!” He chuckled when she pushed him playfully.
“But I love living with you, Kat. I love waking up with you every morning and seeing you smile, and falling asleep with you in my arms, knowing that I’ve never felt safer. I love our lazy days. I love laughing with you and fighting with you, because I know it means we get to make up. I love riding Kala with you. I want to put up a Christmas tree with you every year for the rest of my life.”
His throat became thick and he squeezed her hands. “I’ve loved you every day since I was eleven years old. Will you marry me?”
Kat laughed through her tears. “Of course I’ll marry you.”
Carter laughed with her and pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply.
Her lips and body merged with his so perfectly, so beautifully, as they always had. Pulling back, Carter took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. Staring at it, he knew it was always meant to be there. Staring at it, he knew he was finally home.
He cupped her face and kissed her again.
He owed the woman in his arms everything. He’d become the man he wanted to be for her, the man he liked being. And as their clothes started coming off when the passion between them burst into flames, Carter vowed to himself that he would continue to repay her every single day of his life.
It was his most deeply desired obligation.
His precious debt.
His beloved pound of flesh.