"Florida and Texas. Grew up around Dallas and moved to Miami after my father died," I reply.

"You plan on returning there now that The Monster is gone?"

"I plan on being wherever you are. Are you stationed here or … does it work that way?" I ask.

"Sort of. I pretty much have my choice of assignment," he says. "The military gave me a choice to leave at any point. They don't normally keep guys like me who can't qualify as mission ready. Baba pulled a few strings with old friends for me to remain, and I'm on restricted duty as a recruiter."

"You really love it."

"I do. My family has a history of public service, and this is what I want to do. I love being close to home after about eight years away from home. Baba is getting older, too, so I help out with the family foundations now that Katya moved away to be with Sawyer. I figure I'll stick around here until I retire."

I consider the snow. It's a small price to pay to be near Petr.

"You okay with all that?" It sounds like he's trying to joke, but there's a serious note in his voice.

"Completely. I want you to be happy, Petr, and from what I can tell, you are," I reply. "I … I guess I have to figure out what to do with my life now. I hadn't thought about it in the past four years."

"You've got a terrific skill with graphics. Baba would hire you in a heartbeat to work for our foundations."

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A flutter of anxiety, or maybe excitement, races through me. Petr's talking like me being here with him is permanent. I kinda love the idea.

"How about, instead of ice skating, we grab some coffee and fill in the blanks about each other's lives?" he suggests. "Favorite colors, movies, whatever."

"And cuddle," I add.

"Yeah. I don't plan on letting you go anytime soon."

And he doesn't. The next four days are sheer bliss. We talk, mingle with his family and Todd, make love every chance we have, and wake up giggling about the new positions we tried. If I'd ever imagined a perfect weekend, it would fail miserably to stack up to our perfect weekend. Petr rarely leaves my side, and when he's with me, we're constantly touching. The shadow and fear are gone by Sunday night, lifted from a combination of Simon's news and the miracle of Petr.

Monday morning, I get up early to go to work as usual. He appears with a tray of breakfast, his hair tousled and his chest bare. I reach for him automatically after he sets it down, the need to be in contact with his warm skin consuming and far too compelling to resist.




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