Stargazing
The bedroom was dimly lit. A soft playlist hummed in the background, something instrumental and slow. On the nightstand, a towel was folded. A bottle of oil. A glass of water. And next to it, a small velvet box.
My brows lifted, but he said nothing. Just guided me gently to sit.
“Lay down,” he said softly. “Let me take care of you tonight.”
And I did.
His hands moved slowly over my back, warm and firm, easing the knots beneath my skin with maddening precision. It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t clinical.
It was intimate.
He worked every muscle, every sore point, until I melted into the sheets. I didn’t realize I was crying until he kissed the back of my neck and said, “I’ve got you.”
Eventually, he stopped. Pulled the covers over me. And then—
“I got you something.”
He walked back to the nightstand, picked up the velvet box, and held it out.
“Rowan,” I started, shaking my head. “You don’t have to—”
“It’s not about that,” he said. “Just open it.”
I did.
Inside was a necklace. Not just any necklace. A tiny, elegant gold chain with a delicate charm at the center.
It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t loud.
It was a charm shaped like a heartbeat line.
And at the end of the line? Two small initials. “L” and “L.”
Larry and Laura.
My hand flew to my mouth.
“I designed it with a friend,” Rowan said softly. “I wanted it to be subtle. Yours. Something you could wear into the OR or out of it and still feel them close.”
I couldn’t speak.
He took it from the box and gently fastened it around my neck.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, finally.
“So are you,” he said, brushing his lips over my cheek.
I turned to him fully. Slid my hand into his hair.
And I kissed him.
Slow. Deep. Like gratitude. Like hope.
Like home.
His hand curled around my waist, holding me steady, like he didn’t want to let go—not just of the moment, but of me. When we finally pulled apart, I rested my forehead against his, breathing him in. The warmth of him. The quiet.
The peace I never thought I’d find again.
We stayed like that for a few seconds, lost in the silence until I spoke.
“I saw Tamara today.”
Rowan’s brow lifted slightly. “Should I be concerned?”
I gave a tired laugh and leaned back to lie beside him. “Depends. She tried to embarrass me in the middle of a party store.”
He turned to face me fully, his eyes narrowing. “What happened?”
“She saw me shopping for the twins. Took one look at the basket and told the store assistant to call security.”
His expression sharpened instantly. “She what?”
I shrugged like it didn’t sting, even though it had. “It’s fine. I handled it. Larry and Laura had my back.”
Rowan blinked. “Wait—they were there?”
“They defended me like little warriors. I think Larry scared her more than I did.”
That made him smile. A real one.
“I’m still going to talk to her,” he muttered. “She had no right.”
I reached out, tracing a lazy circle on his chest. “She figured it out, though. That they’re your kids. The Vaughn kids.”
His smile faded. “And how’d that go?”
“She didn’t say much. Just asked why I was keeping them away from the family. Told me people would ask questions.”
He didn’t respond right away. Just stared up at the ceiling, jaw ticking faintly.
I sighed. “I told her the truth. They’re my kids. My choice. They don’t belong to the Vaughns. And if they ever do, it’ll be because they decided it—not because someone dragged them into it.”
Rowan turned to face me again, his voice low. “Do you regret that? Not telling them earlier?”
“No,” I said simply. “Because if I had, they would’ve tried to control me. Or worse—control them. And I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
He nodded once. “You’re right.”
I smiled faintly. “But thanks. For saying that.”
We laid there a while longer, neither of us moving, both wrapped up in the stillness of it all. My body was still sore from surgery, my mind fogged, but next to him? I didn’t feel heavy. I felt steady.
“Come outside,” he said suddenly.
“What?”
He stood, offering his hand. “Come. Just for a few minutes.”
Still in my pajamas, I hesitated. “It’s cold.”
“I’ll grab a blanket.”
I rolled my eyes but followed him anyway. He led me out the back door, barefoot, into the soft hush of the night.
The sky above was clear, a deep stretch of velvet speckled with stars. We stepped onto the lounge chairs, and he threw a thick blanket over both of us, pulling me into his side.
“See that?” he pointed. “Orion’s Belt.”
I looked up, squinting. “Which one is Orion again?”
He laughed softly. “The one with the three stars in a line. Like buttons.”
I stared until I found it. “Oh. Got it. Wow.”
“Used to stare at this a lot as a kid,” he said. “Felt like the only place that didn’t judge me back.”
My heart pulled again.
He leaned his head against mine. “Funny, right? All that money. All that power. And the only thing that made me feel calm was something no one could own.”
I didn’t say anything. I just squeezed his hand under the blanket.
“You gave me something else like that,” he added quietly.
I glanced over. “What?”
“You.” He looked down at me. “You don’t judge me, Remi. You don’t flinch at the uglier parts.”
My voice wavered. “You never scared me, Rowan. You broke my heart, yeah. But I was never scared of you.”
He leaned in, brushing his lips against my temple. “Thank you. For still choosing to stay.”
“I never really left,” I murmured.
He didn’t reply to that. He didn’t have to.
We just lay there under the stars, wrapped in each other, in the blanket, in the quiet
honesty of the moment. For once, there was no chaos. No demands. No past looming over us.
Just the future.
It was lose, teady and definitely ours.
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