Evan would take care of everything, Paige knew. And leaving Modesto would also help get Theresa away from any temptation to let Greg back in her life.
“Why don’t you take some time to think about it?” Evan said, obviously working hard to let her come to it in her own time.
But Tony wasn’t afraid to push. “It’s time, Mom. You stayed there because you liked working with Hugh, but he’s gone.”
“I know,” she said. “But adjusting to a new company…” Theresa didn’t have to finish the thought. Change was frightening.
“We’ll all help you find the right fit,” Kelsey said. “I bet Evan has a million contacts. You could even live with me, if you’d like.”
Theresa looked at them all, and her arms moved as if she wanted to throw them around her entire family. And when Evan moved into them, Paige felt his forgiveness envelope his mother, final and complete.
It was all she could ever have hoped for him.
And for herself, to be loved by this beautiful man.
* * *
They gobbled the trifle down to the bare bowl and finished the carafe of coffee. Peace settled over Evan as he surveyed his new family.
Pure love for—and from—Paige had melted his icy heart.
“I’ve got a present for you, to say thank you for all you did for us.” Kelsey reached down beside the sofa to produce a flat box. She leaned over to lay the gift on his lap. “I hope you like it.”
The box was fairly heavy, and he tore off the paper. He hadn’t needed anything in return for what he’d done to chase off Theresa’s abuser, but the offering warmed him.
He lifted the lid to reveal a collage photo frame filled with pictures. He gaped at Kelsey. “Where did you get all these?”
“I told Susan what I wanted to do, and we went through her photo books when you left for the hotel after Yahtzee.”
“What a beautiful idea.” Paige leaned over to look, her scent weaving magic around him. “You guys sure were hotties even back then.”
Front and center was a photo of the Mavericks taken shortly before they’d all left Chicago. Their hair was longer, and he and Matt weren’t nearly as well built yet, but they’d just made their pact and were ready to take the world by storm.
The other pictures were in a satellite around the center, including one of the Spencers—Bob, Susan, Daniel, and Lyssa—and a photo of Susan and Bob on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary just a couple of years ago. Kelsey had also included a shot of herself and Tony when they were about ten. His hair was longer than he wore it now, hers shorter. Right below was a photo of Susan and Theresa from the past weekend, the two women who had helped shape him.
“Thank you.” He was beyond touched. “You couldn’t have given me anything better.”
“It was Tony’s idea. But I collected the photos. It’s a family portrait. All your family.” Kelsey’s words showed her understanding of how important the Maverick clan was to him, while also bringing to light his future. His brother, sister, and mother weren’t eclipsing anything, they were extending.
Then he saw the photo in the upper right. Paige was seated next to him on Susan’s sofa, the Yahtzee dice in her hand. She was laughing at something he’d said, her gaze on him, her love for him written in her smile, her laughter.
Just as his love for her—the love he’d thought he needed to keep secret, even from himself—was written on his face.
Kelsey had obviously seen it too, capturing the moment with her cell phone.
Paige traced the edge of the picture. “That’s a nice one,” she said softly. Her voice and her touch, the heat of her body beside him, the slight lift of her gaze to his, showed she also recognized the emotions shining through.
His feelings had been there all along, deep inside. He’d lost his way for a very long time. But now he was found.
In front of his family, he declared himself again. “I love you, Paige.”
As she said the words back against his lips, he kissed her, and his family cheered beside them. He would say it, think it, feel it every day for the rest of his life. He would thank God or the universe or whatever power was in charge for allowing him to finally see how much he needed her.
And he would be forever thankful that he hadn’t been able to resist the sweet, sexy, wild woman who tempted him so.
Because they were meant to be.
Epilogue
Daniel picked up a champagne glass from the tray Mrs. M was handing around for the Valentine’s Day toasts.
“We’re going to turn the formal living room into a library,” Evan told the group filling the room under discussion.
The new library would be small compared to the one in Evan’s old Atherton house. But this place fit Paige and Evan better than his previous residence would have.
“Here’s to a great new home for you both,” Will toasted, all fat and happy after six weeks of marriage. All right, he wasn’t fat, but he was damn happy. And Harper was beaming like a thousand watts of joy.
Everyone raised their glasses in salute and drank.
“Here’s to your new life together.” Tony Collins held his glass high, and everyone cheered with him.
That Evan had a brother and sister, twins no less, had taken some getting used to. Hell, Evan could have been Tony’s twin they were so much alike. While Kelsey resembled him, she was also a very beautiful young woman.
The photo montage of the family that she and Tony had made for Evan had been an inspiration. It showed an understanding that seemed far beyond their years. They were both good people, smart, funny, and terribly protective of their mother.