Just Three Words (Soho Loft Romances) (40 page)

Brooklyn and Mallory stood next to them. The room erupted into applause as the screen faded to black.

“To another home run,” Mallory said quietly, lifting a glass to her colleagues.

Three glasses met hers in the center of their circle, a private tribute to the work they’d done in the midst of what had been a very trying quarter all around.

But it wasn’t over, their journey.

There were many projects ahead of them, clients to tackle and goals to achieve. Sometimes it felt like there really was no stopping the four of them if they stuck together.

The foursome enjoyed themselves at the party for the better part of an hour, accepting congratulatory wishes and dancing up a storm with the Serenity girls—and even April. It was a celebratory night and everyone cut loose in response.

After losing sight of Hunter somewhere along the way, Samantha tried her phone to no avail. She walked among the dancers, the minglers, and tried the call again, still unable to find where Hunter had slipped off to. Just then, she caught sight of a familiar form on the outside terrace, alone and looking out over New York Harbor. She pushed open the door that led outside, pausing and taking in the image of her beautiful girlfriend, her forearms on the railing and the starry sky all around her. Hunter turned at the sound of Sam approaching and held up her phone.

“Hey, you. Just saw you called. But you found me,” Hunter said. “Ready to get out of here?”

“Wait. What was that on your phone?” Samantha asked smiling and attempting to see the readout.

Hunter blushed and shook her head. “Nothing. I don’t know at all what you’re talking about. We should go.”

“Yes, you do, babelicious,” Sam teased, and Hunter laughed at the ridiculous nickname. Without delay, Samantha snatched the phone from Hunter’s hand and pressed Call on her own phone. She stared down as the photo of them from their dinner at STK appeared, followed by the name Hunter had assigned her in her phone. The name was in sharp contrast to
girl from club
or
brunette from laundry mat
. The simple words touched her heart:
My love.

“You make me happy,” Sam said sincerely, meeting Hunter’s gaze and handing back the phone.

“That’s because I love you,” Hunter said. God, those words never got old.

“I love you, too.” Sam stepped into Hunter and inclined her head upward. “Let’s get out of here. I want to be home with you.”

Hunter tucked a strand of hair behind Sam’s ear. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

It was an interesting concept, home. The dictionary, she’d recently learned, defined it as a goal or endpoint. After saying good night to their friends and thanking Serenity, they left the party hand in hand as Samantha ruminated on its meaning. For as long as she could remember, she’d always been seeking something, some sort of unnamed affirmation, inclusion, or validation in life. But in the time that she’d been with Hunter, that seeking had ceased. Because she now had all of those things and more. She’d reached her own goal or endpoint, and she’d never felt more herself as a result.

She really was
home
.

“Ice cream?” Hunter asked as they walked.

“You should know that the answer to that question will always and forever be yes.”

Hunter grinned. “This is why I keep you.”

“Gasp. That’s the only reason?” Sam asked, her mouth falling open.

Hunter shrugged. “Well, you’re also good at math.”

“Hey!” She nudged Hunter’s shoulder in protest, which earned her a kiss. “A kiss and ice cream?” Sam asked. “This is shaping up to be a pretty great night.”

Hunter turned to her with a noticeable glint in her eye, which shot Sam’s temperature up several degrees. “Oh, it just gets better from here. Trust me.”

Melissa Brayden (melissabrayden.com) is the multi-award-winning author of five novels published with Bold Strokes Books and is currently hard at work on her sixth. Alongside her writing, she is in pursuit of her Master of Fine Arts in directing in San Antonio, Texas.

Melissa is married and working really hard at remembering to do the dishes. For personal enjoyment, she spends time with her Jack Russell terrier, Bailey, and checks out the NYC theater scene several times a year. She considers herself a reluctant patron of the treadmill, but enjoys hitting a tennis ball around in nice weather. Coffee is her very best friend.

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