---

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Afterward, I stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Beyond the glass: green hills, open sky, endless quiet. The ridge against pale blue. A bird crossed it once, then again, its call clear and bright.

I stood there with a glass of water in my hands.

Dominic stepped up behind me and wrapped both arms around me.

"What are you thinking about, Ms. Hartley?"

I leaned back against him. My hand rested over his. I turned my face to look at him.

"Summer's come."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he held me tighter.

"That does sound romantic. We slept straight through to summer."

The long, uncertain, rain-grey spring was finally over.