I pulled back to look into his eyes. The love there took my breath away, and I felt my throat closing up. “Thank you.”

We had gone through hell, and feeling like we were on the other side, like we’d gotten through everything and were still together—that was all I needed. I whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” His hand touched the side of my face again and he leaned in to kiss me. I loved the feel of his lips on mine, their soft touch as he held there, waiting to see what I wanted. He was letting me control this, too. It was a small gesture, but so much. I felt the hunger for him kick up in me, and I grabbed his shoulder and deepened the kiss.

He was mine.

He was home.

Carter pulled back and gazed down at me, a soft grin on his face. No words were shared, but I was ready to leave, and I nodded to him. It was all the signal he needed.

He sat back and started the car. As it swung around to head back home, I turned so I could watch her. She lifted her head at the sound of our car and looked in our direction. She did look like me. She had my dark eyes, the same heart-shaped face, and she even held herself the way I did. She seemed to recognize me right before the car completed its turn. Her eyes widened, and she jerked forward, but we drove away.

That was the first time I laid eyes on my mother. I knew I’d seen her when I was a child, but those were memories. Most of them were still buried, and the others were distant and vague.

I didn’t know if I would tell Andrea about this or not. No. I knew. I wouldn’t tell Andrea, at least not right away.

My sister was still too new to me. Getting to know her was going to take time. Her parents had already expressed their desire to get to know me more, but so far, the random dinner once a month was enough for me. I wasn’t ready to take on a new family.

I glanced down at my hand, joined with Carter’s. He’d left his family, while I seemed to have gotten some of my old one back. But after a moment, I knew that wasn’t true.

Carter was my family.

He was the only one who counted.

Everything else would fall into place.